How to Create High Engaging Text-Only LinkedIn Posts and Win Big!
Do you want to create high-engaging LinkedIn posts? Do you want to influence people on LinkedIn?
But you don’t know how to create posts that get a ton of engagement — views, shares, and comments.
In this article, you’ll learn how to make your post structure right to grab your network’s interest.
The Misguided Approach You Chase!
I know the article is about creating engaging text posts, but you need to build a strong LinkedIn presence if you want views and comments on your posts.
So before discussing the step-by-step process of structuring the post, we need to learn one important thing first:
Become an Influencer.
Stick with me because this is important.
When I say the word “Influencer,” what comes to your mind first?
It’s a massive number of followers, right?
We chase numbers on LinkedIn. We want to have thousands of followers and connections in our network. I used to think it was obvious.
But this is a misguided approach!
I closely analyze LinkedIn (I have an affair with this network), and I learned an IMPORTANT lesson:
This is not important how many people you have in your network. The influence that you possess on your followers and connections is important. Providing real value and having authority make you a true influencer.
Does network size matter?
Yes, it does!
Your network size helps you to increase your reach.
“How can I get my estimate network size?” — You ask.
Go to your My Network page.
Now click “## Connections.”
Here, you’ll see an accurate size of your first-level connections. Let’s dig down more to track your network size. On the right sidebar, you’ll see a section that says “search filter.”
Choose “1st and 2nd degree” and apply.
Now, LinkedIn shows the size of your network, including your 2nd-degree connections. See:
But these are just cheap numbers if you don’t provide REAL value and quality to your network.
Focus On the “What”
A key to grabbing engagement on LinkedIn is creating and posting the content (did I say quality content) that your network wants to like, share, read, and comment on.
If you know what you’re doing, you can reach from nothing to thousands of views within a few months. So you don’t need millions of followers.
Focus on “What”
Imagine you’re sitting around the table with your LinkedIn community. The community includes professionals, mentors, influencers, experts, mentees, and big businessmen.
You respect and value their time.
Now, it’s your turn to say something.
What will you speak?
Will you share some random crap? For example, you don’t want to complain about the rude behavior of the Pizza boy or your feelings about a politician.
You are more likely to say something relevant that adds value and quality to their lives. This is because you want them to see you as an influencer.
Right?
The same goes for LinkedIn. You want to share something valuable and meaningful that helps you build a trusted relationship with your network.
“But Pawan, that’s the problem! I have no idea what I’m doing,” I hear you ask.
Don’t panic. It’s normal to feel this way!
But you have to take action and do something about it.
Who would guide you on what to post?
Your Network.
Think about your target audience’s challenges, pain points, and interests. And write posts that your audience can connect to. Then, express yourself in your stories!
How can you do it?
I study some influencers and experts on LinkedIn, and here are some quick tactics that can help you be clear on your “What.”
- Pick a niche you’d like to build your influence around.
- You need to understand who you are trying to reach. Know your audience.
- Now, publish specific and relevant content — post about REAL problems your audience is facing.
- As I say, express yourself in your stories. Use the first person in your posts. LinkedIn is a platform for talking to real people.
He’s Alex Piroz, a LinkedIn coach and Influencer.
What does he do? I notice his summary on Linkedin says:
Using LinkedIn to grow the advisory firm successfully, he saw a need for LinkedIn education and, as such, pivoted that company. Turning it into Linkfluencer in 2013 with the mission to transform social selling on LinkedIn and build the next generation of influencers.
It’s easy to assume that Alex is trying to reach people who want to win more clients and build their influence through LinkedIn.
Let’s see what he shares on LinkedIn.
Aha! Stuff about LinkedIn. Alex’s posts and shares are relevant to the audience he wants to reach.
The bottom line: No matter your niche, it’s important to post relevant content.
Don’t focus on going viral. Instead, regularly share engaging content that adds value to your community.
Keep Your Post Simple Stupid — Text-Based
So, now you have an idea about your “What.”
It’s time to create a post.
“Which is your favorite social media channel?” when you ask people.
Facebook and Instagram always taste the cake in the world filled with selfies. But unfortunately, people underestimate LinkedIn when it comes to generating leads.
The Fact is, There’s something unique about LinkedIn: It’s simple, stupid, and primarily text-based posts that got the engagement.
Basic text posts generate more likes, views, and comments than any other form of content on LinkedIn.
I experimented (and noticed) that my text-based posts worked better than image and link posts. I talked with my community members and found that they also noticed the same.
Take a look at one of my text-based posts:
Now see the engagement on the image-based post:
Take a look at the link-based post:
The winner?
Text post.
A clear shot.
Here are some takeaways you will find helpful:
- Don’t make your text post lengthy. Instead, break it into short sentences and paragraphs.
- Use whitespaces to make your posts readable.
- NEVER mention a link in the body of your post. Why? Because LinkedIn Gods don’t want you to leave the platform. Instead, put the link into the comment section.
Bottom Line: Keep your content simple and straightforward to understand by an 8th-grade student easily.
Structure of a Post That Gets High Engagement
The structure of your text posts is REALLY important. So, before publishing a post, think about the structure first. Then, ask three questions to yourself:
#1. How am I going to start the post?
#2. How am I going to build the story?
#3. How to close the story?
With just a few minutes, you can produce a post that grabs interest and generates hundreds of likes, shares, and comments with just a few minutes.
How can you do it?
Here, I’ll share four steps that helped me attract great engagement on posts, and I hope these will also work for you.
Break your post into four sections:
- Start
- Middle
- Takeaway
- Call to Action
Let’s go into a little more detail on these steps.
Start (How to start your post)
Do you read the newspaper?
How do you decide whether to read or not a piece of news?
It’s the headline. Right?
The first line of your post acts as a headline. So bleed in the first two lines and encourage people to click on “see more” to read your complete post.
Your first two lines must create an emotional hook or generate curiosity.
The first two lines = Wonders happens
It doesn’t matter if you’re conveying a valuable and informative message to your community. If your first two lines aren’t exciting or engaging, your audience won’t read the rest of your message.
All your work and efforts go in vain!
Take a look at this post from Tim Denning, which got a great engagement:
Wondering why?
It starts with a line that generates curiosity among people — I turned down a job offer that paid twice my current salary.
Take a look at this post from Ron Malhotra:
Read the first two lines — Don’t let social media fool you. Entrepreneurship is not as glamorous as it appears.
It quickly grabs the attention of professionals, future entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs.
Here’s one of my posts that got immense engagement.
Why did this post grab the attention?
Because it started with a thought-provoking sentence — Is LinkedIn a New Tinder? (Spoiler Alert: NO)
Middle (How to build your story)
In this part, you have to give a shape to your story around the point you used in the opening lines.
Create some drama, conflict, and controversy in this part to make it more emotional and engaging. Be vulnerable. Be authentic. Use the words that your community can visualize.
The job of every line is to encourage people to want to read the following line. So make your language as simple as you can.
Take a look at this post from Hailey Friedman. I love the way she built out her story.
She pointed out an issue that every professional will have at least thought about at some point.
People think that Linkedin is a tool for connecting “professionally.” Unfortunately, they’re doing it all wrong.
Check out Jinny Oh’s post that got an immense engagement.
Why did this post work so well?
Because Jinny is sharing her own story, and she’s being vulnerable. Read the copy and see how she’s expressing herself:
It was lonely, depressing, and thought I had to do everything on my own. I micromanaged my contractors and was not willing to give them any autonomy.
As a founder, I thought my work and my decisions were superior. However, this mentality was only killing my business and hindering its success.
Take a look at Priyanka Desai’s post:
In the copy, she raised the pain point of content writers that every content creator can connect easily.
How could I explain, being a content writer is one of the most difficult jobs. Getting to know the person’s thoughts, making sense out of it and then converting them into articles that make sense!
Takeaway (Lessons learned)
Finished sharing your story? You MUST tie your story with a key takeaway — what lesson(s) can you and your readers learn from the story.
Your readers must feel that your post taught them something practical. If you do this, they will be interested in reading your next post.
It’s your job to deliver something valuable and relevant to your community. Don’t take it lightly. Respect their time, and they will listen to you.
Let’s go back to Hailey Friedman for a minute.
Remember, she pointed out how people are using LinkedIn wrong. Further in her post, she put the lesson she learned.
Take a look at Oleg Vishnepolsky’s fantastic post. He offers great takeaways in his posts.
Provide value, and your work will pay off.
Call to Action (Entice readers to engage with your post)
You invested your time and efforts in writing your post. Want to get the response your post deserve?
Affirmative.
End your post with a solid call to action that entices the audience to engage with your post.
CTA (call to action) is an instruction that encourages action. It should be clear and action-oriented and urge readers to respond now.
It’s your job to tell your readers what you want them to do — It could be sharing their inputs, answering a question, or clicking on a link.
If you don’t guide them, chances are they won’t show any engagement.
For example, One of my posts got 466K views, 870+ likes, and 2500+ comments. Check this out:
Good numbers, right?
Why did this post get immense engagement?
The unique thing about this post is: That post is brief, clear, and actionable. It asks readers exactly what they must do to get the free ebook.
If you’d like a free copy, just say “Yes, I’m in” in the comment section and send me a connection request.
Take a look at Rana Kordahi’s post:
She’s posing a specific question to her readers and asking their opinion.
Now I am in two minds about this, and wanted to get some opinions. Would you agree or disagree him?
Conclusion
Creating great content that gets engagement and influences people takes skills and time. It’s not something that happens overnight.
Have patience, build your profile presence, and see a higher engagement level. I hope the post ingredients will help you structure your post constructively.
And the MOST important and SECRET Ingredient is:
Consistency.
I’d like to hear from you- Have you found any method that helps you to create a highly engaging post? Or got any questions?
