Simplify Your LinkedIn Marketing Plan
Do experts actually NEED a complex marketing plan for LinkedIn? You may be surprised to discover how LITTLE you can get away with and actually generate business results.
It's easy to feel overwhelmed thinking we need to become a content machine to succeed on LinkedIn, like those influencers who claim to post twice a day. 😱
➡️ Is there an ideal frequency?
➡️ Can you get by with posting less?
➡️ What about long-form content?
➡️ Will repurposing content get me penalized?
Let's talk about exactly what you can do to rock your LinkedIn marketing plan without the overwhelm, especially when we have clients to serve and businesses to run.
In this Mondays with Mindi episode, we talk about all things content and what's actually working well on LinkedIn in 2022 for experts, like us, who want to be sure they're getting a solid return on their investment.
Do You Need to Post All the Time?
While many experts think they need a complex marketing plan for LinkedIn, it’s really not that complicated to get started with your marketing on LinkedIn.
A lot of the experts I work with are not trying to become influencers in their space believe-it-or-not, as they simply want to fill their business pipeline with the right people.
As long as they have a steady stream of prospects, they are happy with their efforts.
Is there such a thing as posting too much on LinkedIn?
What’s actually the ideal amount to post on LinkedIn?
How does long-form content fit into your strategy, if at all?
Can you get by without posting any content at all to LinkedIn?
Too many social media gurus talk about “content, content, content” being the foundation of your business, but I’ve had periods myself where I posted literally nothing on LinkedIn but continued to have a steady flow of opportunities.
Huh? So what’s the secret?
Let’s have a chat about what you can do right now to master your LinkedIn marketing without wasting your time on the posts that don’t actually contribute to your bottom line.
How Much Content Should I Post to LinkedIn?
Like I mentioned before, one of the biggest mistakes people make on LinkedIn is feeling the pressure to post too frequently to LinkedIn.
If you’re an expert, like me, then you actually should be spending LESS time than the typical influencer posting content to LinkedIn.
Most of us are NOT influencers (and not trying to become one) rather we’re thought leaders who also happen to be experts.
Think about the 80/20 rule - we get 80% of our results from the 20% of things we do.
If you’re an expert, then you should be spending that 80% of your time working on your business in areas of expertise and getting new leads, not in using up all your creative energy writing posts for LinkedIn.
But Mindi, isn’t content creation and publishing a BIG part of attracting new leads on LinkedIn?
Yes and no.
As an expert, you need to focus on the activities that are going to drive your business revenue and a steady stream of opportunities.
No matter what inbound content gurus tell you, inbound marketing does NOT drive a steady stream of prospects, ideal clients or opportunities for you until you have a HUGE following or established SEO in your industry.
Content is a long-term strategy, and when you treat it like a short-term win that is going to bring in all this new business… you will be disappointed.
If you’re an expert with a small-but-mighty network who wants to become a thought leader and use LinkedIn to engage with their audience while getting new clients, you should NOT be acting like an influencer just yet.
Your focus should be on a FEW pieces of content that are going to drive the MOST results for the time invested.
In reality, you should be posting to LinkedIn less frequently than you might think.
Make sense? So, it all depends on WHY you’re using LinkedIn to begin with.
Where Do Experts Get the Most Results?
If you’re thinking about content like an expert, you’ll be delighted to know that you don’t need to do as much posting as you might have thought at first.
Hint: You should actually spend the majority of your “LinkedIn time” inside your Direct Messages and engaging with your ideal prospects -- not creating the most thought-provoking content ever created.
Like I mentioned before, WHY are you on LinkedIn?
Most of the experts I know are trying to grow their business and be able to point to LinkedIn and say that they got X number of opportunities from LinkedIn.
If you’re an “in-the-making influencer” who’s only interested in getting a bigger following, tons of engagement on posts, trying to look like they are a thought leader, and really enjoys publishing a LOT of content… this approach is not for you. You can stop watching now.
But if you’re an expert trying to be smart with their time and resources, let’s talk about what your LinkedIn marketing strategy should actually be designed to do.
In a perfect world, you want to be able to post once or twice a week, sharing your expertise in a way that pulls your ideal audience out of the woodwork, gets them to engage with you and helps them to shift perspective.
A visible expert is also a thought leader, no matter how big or small their audience is. You don’t need thousands of people who wait with bated breath for every piece of content to call yourself an expert.
You simply need to use your content to remind people of your expertise and how that you can help them if they’re struggling with a problem you can solve.
Yes, there is such a thing as “too much posting” on LinkedIn, where your credibility as an expert actually goes DOWN because you spend too much time on LinkedIn.
There’s a LinkedIn expert in my space who actually comments multiple times per day and engages with every single comment on his own posts, dozens of comments on other people’s posts… yet he claims to be a LinkedIn expert who is “reassuringly expensive.” Do I ever hear him talk about how he helps his clients? Not really. He gabs on LinkedIn all day, sounds pretty darn smart, but it makes me question how much expertise he really has.
And, you don’t have to jump on every content trend out there!
Personally, I’m pretty tired of hearing that I need to start doing TikToks and dancing to reels and becoming an entertainer just to get the attention of my audience.
Rest assured, you should not have to do any of this as an expert if you don’t want to… especially on LinkedIn!
And if you start cross-posting TikToks or Reels to LinkedIn… watch out! Your followers will disengage, unless they’re Gen Z’ers :)
How should you as an expert approach your LinkedIn marketing and content planning? Let’s K.I.S.S. shall we? (Okay, not really!)
The K.I.S.S. Approach to LinkedIn Marketing
Experts who want to simplify their LinkedIn marketing plan can do it in a number of ways. Let’s talk about some of the factors to consider to dial in your LinkedIn marketing strategy without getting overwhelmed or overposting.
We’re looking for the “sweet spot” with our LinkedIn marketing and not just posting to get engagement or look like an influencer. Thought leadership does not require dozens of reactions on posts or hundreds of comments.
#1 - LinkedIn Post Frequency
Does every expert need to post to LinkedIn? Nope. I have some experts who post once per month if they are an in-demand board member or C-suite executive. Posting more frequently would signal that they have too much time on their hands.
If you're an expert, like most of us, I would recommend posting once per week if you’re just getting started and want a good guideline to follow. Once it becomes a habit, you can play with this.
If you're already posting weekly and would like to post more, then increase to twice weekly on any day between Tuesday to Thursday.
I think posting every weekday is overkill for most people, but if you’re a marketer or social media expert, it might be appropriate to post frequently.
Personally, I usually end up posting 3-4 times per week, but always at least twice.
Consider a frequency that will work for you without causing stress or anxiety for you, then stick with it to see the results you get.
#2 - LinkedIn Content Types
Several months ago, I used to recommend that experts post a mix of short- and long-form content because both were valuable.
Videos used to perform really well. So did LinkedIn polls.
In 2022, LinkedIn is really pushing experts to use LinkedIn Creator Mode for the most visibility, which is good news for experts because we don’t have to write pithy fluff to get attention!
If you’re an expert and already producing regular content in the form of a blog, article, video, livestream, podcast or interviews… repurpose this same long-form content for LinkedIn.
I highly recommend watching last week’s session about using LinkedIn Creator mode to get started. You do NOT have to create content only for LinkedIn to use those features, as you can repurpose from other platforms for LinkedIn.
And if you don’t have long-form content as an expert, it’s about time to start thinking about how you can begin creating this type of content. Most experts are expected to create weekly or monthly content.
If you like short-form content, then go for it! Just be sure to sprinkle in some longer form content from time to time on LinkedIn to ensure that you are seen as a credible expert, not just a clever copywriter who can “game the algorithm” to get engagement.
#3 - Best Times to Post
If you’re wondering the best times to post, you don’t have to think too hard about it.
Post sometime during the workday on weekdays, and you’ll be all set.
I’ve seen too many people try to post at “the best time” and find that it actually made no difference with their audience, but you do need to test this.
If you find that posting on a certain day of the week at a certain time works well for you, then go with that!
For those who want to nerd out on this metric, I recommend using a tool called shieldapp.ai to see what times people engage with your posts.
Remember, just post at a natural time of day and during the week whenever it works for you.
For example, I go live on Monday afternoons, but it’s not typically when a lot of people are online. But this time works best for me when I am the most fresh and enthusiastic!
I like posting Newsletters on Tuesdays because more people are around.
Personal posts with a selfie image tend to do well on Thursdays I’ve found because people are often looking for distractions at that point in the week.
But, test to see what you like!
#4 - Your Weekly Content Formula
Decide on your weekly content formula using the three things we talked about. Figure out how many times per week you want to post to LinkedIn, choose which type of content you want to post, then post it at the best time of day for you.
As long as you’re posting on somewhat of a cadence, it doesn’t *really* matter what that cadence is… not if you’re an expert.
Choose a content approach that you can be consistent with, as that’s the key with LinkedIn.
So there you have it!
Let’s recap how to maximize Creator Mode:
LinkedIn Post Frequency
LinkedIn Content Types
Best Times to Post
Decide on Your Weekly Content Formula
If you’re ready to get started with LinkedIn and take the next step to optimize your profile once and for all, so you can start growing your network on the regular or land your next opportunity in 2022, join me inside The LinkedIn Accelerator program which is opening in early April!
What additional questions do you have about simplifying your LinkedIn marketing approach? Leave them below in the comments or shoot me a private message. I’m happy to answer them👇!
