5 Tips for Creating Content to Share on LinkedIn

Smart marketers know that creating highly shareable content is the best way to spread their message for the least money. When your content is intriguing, people not only click on it, but they share it. They want to be in the know, and sharing witty, insightful content is one of the easiest ways to attain expert status and more followers. So help them. Give your contacts great content they can share. It's a win-win situation. They can share valuable content, and you can build your LinkedIn network and attain expert status in your field.

But how do you set yourself apart from the crowd? What makes some content shareable while other content fails to spark any interest? The following tips will help you to create content to share on LinkedIn that will garner interest and spread your content far and wide.

1. Lasso them with a killer title

On any given webpage, including LinkedIn, readers have many different titles to click on. If you want to corner the market on traffic, you've got to create intriguing, curiosity-creating titles. Make sure your titles are not misleading, however. You'll quickly lose trust with readers if you promise one thing and deliver another. And never underestimate the power of a good title. David Ogilvy famously said, "On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar."

So how do you write a killer title? 

•  Use numbers. Numbers promise concise, useful information that readers can use right away.
•  Include enticing adjectives. The following adjectives catch attention: Free, Absolute, Strange, Incredible, Essential, Effortless
• Use "Why" and "How." Internet surfers are looking for information. These words promise useful information.
• Promise Something Valuable. Dare readers to click on your link.

Try using this formula: Number + Great Adjective + SEO Keyword + Promise. For example, if your keyword is "vinyl windows," you could call your article, "7 Incredible Ways Vinyl Windows Save You Money."

2. Understand your audience

For whom are you writing? If you're trying to expand your customer base, you're writing to all those people who are not your current customers but could be if you appeal to their interests. Find out as much as you can about them. How old are they? What is their educational background? What do they do for fun? What kinds of shoppers are they?

With this information you can tailor your articles precisely to them. If they're Gen Xers, you can throw in nostalgic references to The Goonies and Rubik's Cubes. If they're Millennials, talk to them like the digital natives they are. Use their language, and talk about the things that interest them most.

3. Be original

LinkedIn visitors see lots of the same kinds of content. If you want to stand out, offer something different. This usually begins back in the brainstorming phase. Think outside of the kinds of articles you normally write. Instead of always talking about your products and services, maybe look for the human interest stories surrounding your company. Do you have any employees with unusual interests or unique perspectives? Could you show how customers are using your products in different ways? 

4. Use your authentic voice

The internet can be a lonely place, so be a friend to your readers. LinkedIn is all about making connections, so if you use a friendly, authentic voice, you'll be better able to make new connections and reinforce old ones.

Many people find it difficult to write in their own "voices." This takes practice, especially if you were taught to write in a formal, academic way. Try writing like you talk. It might help to imagine that while you write you are having a conversation with a friend rather than giving a speech or writing a report. Those people on the other side of the computer are just people like you. Talk to them.

5. Evoke emotion

Why do we love YouTube videos that make us laugh or feel surprised? Humans have a need for expressing emotion, and they'll appreciate a chance to feel and express emotion on a place like LinkedIn, where life can seem pretty sterile at times. How do you do this? Share universal experiences with your readers like worrying about being late for work or not knowing where to sit at a business lunch. You'll be that friendly face in a crowded room, just the sort of friend they need on LinkedIn.

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