Did you know that LinkedIn celebrated its 20th anniversary this year?
When Reid Hoffman first experimented with the platform in his living room just before launching it, he probably never imagined that LinkedIn would grow into such a significant business influencer.
And probably you didn't either.
Here you are with a brand-new LinkedIn profile, envisioning its success, yet struggling to compose that crucial first post.
Like everyone venturing into something new, you're searching for guidance.
No need to worry!
Join our guide as we provide insights on how to craft your inaugural LinkedIn post and optimize your profile for future triumphs on the platform!
Why Does Your First LinkedIn Post Hold Such Importance?
While we're not asserting that the very first post dictates your entire LinkedIn journey, a well-crafted starting point can indeed significantly impact your journey.
Your style evolves, and the platform's dynamism ensures your content will change over time.
However, by that point, your audience will already be familiar with you.
Before delving into the steps of composing your inaugural LinkedIn post, perhaps you should reflect on one thing.
What’s my main reason for being on LinkedIn?
Once you're clear on your motivations and have a solid understanding of how you want to portray yourself, you're ready to embark on crafting your very first post!
5 Tips for Writing Your First LinkedIn Post
Let’s go through our well proved points for writing quality and complete beginners post.
1. Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile
You may have a perfect post ready to share, but if your profile isn't equipped to navigate the sea of other posts, all your efforts might go unnoticed. When optimizing, consider the following key points:
✔️High-Quality Profile Photo - Ensure your profile photo is of high quality and presents you in a formal manner.
✔️Detailed Description - Provide a comprehensive description that introduces yourself and outlines your professional background.
✔️List of Previous Experiences - Include a list of your previous experiences to showcase your expertise and career history.
These basics should be addressed before anything else.
Now, let's take a look at Richard's profile page.
He mentions everything relevant to his niche along with his complete contact information. Additionally, you can use the trick he employed.
He added hashtags related to his profession and the content he posts, thereby enhancing his visibility in searches.
2. Choose Engaging Topic
Think about introducing yourself -it's not a bad idea.
However, since you likely have all the necessary information in your description and experience sections, all that's left is showcasing the mastery you have at your disposal.
Start by identifying your preferred audience:
- Who are they?
- Are they connected to your niche?
- Could they be potential customers?
- How would their engagement benefit your startup?
Once you have a profile of the people you want to reach, consider what's trending on LinkedIn related to your profession.
Simply type a word or two in the search bar, and you'll quickly see the trending topics.
Keep in mind that your future audience relies on the special value you add when discussing something.
This means your first post shouldn't be overcomplicated or overcrowded with information.
Keep it simple but make it interesting.
Now, let's examine a typical post from Robin:
Robbyn is assisting individuals in advancing their careers, and here she imparts some harsh truths in a straightforward post.
To streamline your message, pinpoint precisely what you want to discuss and keep it as simple as possible.
💡Pro Tip
As you gather your thoughts on how and what to post, we'd like to introduce you to a handy tool - meet AuthoredUp!
It comes with a variety of features, but one that stands out is the Drafts feature.
Whenever you have inspiration but aren't ready to post or simply want to keep all your ideas in one place, you can use this feature to save your thoughts for later.
This feature becomes especially valuable when you encounter a compelling piece of text on your feed that you don't want to forget about permanently.
3. Create an Engaging Hook
The LinkedIn post begins with the hook.
As someone scrolls through the feed and encounters your post, having an enticing element is crucial to prompt them to click on 'see more.'
Without that attraction, they may simply scroll down, forget about your profile and post, and you risk losing them.
Keep in mind, you have only a few seconds and a handful of well-crafted sentences to shape your LinkedIn journey.
Brij may appear to discuss something entirely disconnected from his engineering profession, but judging by the reactions to the post, it seems otherwise.
If you're interested in finding out what the post is about, your curiosity is already directed towards the topic, prompting you to click on "see more."
💡Pro Tip
We recognize that coming up with a compelling hook can be challenging when you're starting on LinkedIn.
AuthoredUp as an alternative LinkedIn tool includes a Hook feature, among others.
With over 200 hooks available, you can easily find one that aligns perfectly with your topic.
Just click on the designated tab from the Text Editor, and they will be listed on the right side, as shown.
You can also filter them by using keywords.
4. Make Valuable Connections
You may optimize your profile, figure out what to write about, create a hook, and maybe even the whole post.
Still, one crucial element is still missing: Where are the people you want to see your post?
We assume you've already searched for some familiar faces, but now it's time to connect with more and less successful individuals.
We're not suggesting anything inauthentic—quite the opposite!
Follow and connect with those whose content adds value to your experience and whom you genuinely enjoy reading and discussing with.
They can also serve as great inspiration for your content.
On the flip side, people to avoid on LinkedIn include:
- Family members and old friends who aren't actively using their LinkedIn profiles.
- Individuals solely attempting to sell you something.
- Anyone with an incomplete or empty profile.
Engaging with these profiles may not contribute much to your visibility, given how the LinkedIn algorithm operates.
5. Warm Up Algorithm
Just before you're ready to post something, pause for a moment.
We want the LinkedIn algorithm to work in your favor.
While you might not expect miracles with your first post, the advice we're about to share is something you should follow every time you plan to post.
Warming up the algorithm involves engaging in activities on the platform about half an hour before posting.
This includes interacting with others and engaging with their content.
Simply liking posts won't cut it; likes don't significantly boost the visibility of anyone's post.
Instead, actively comment on posts that hold value for you.
Once you've done that, you're ready to make your own post.
This isn't just about preparing the feed to increase visibility—it's also a way of introducing yourself to others.
You can observe that Candace shared some of her experiences and seamlessly followed up on the topic that Robbyn is discussing.
How to Make the Process of Crafting a First Post Easier?
Once you get the hang of cranking out posts, creating new ones will be super easy.
But let's be real, there'll be times when your creativity just isn't kicking in.
And if you're new to this, figuring out how to craft killer LinkedIn posts can seem like a tough nut to crack.
Every seasoned LinkedIn user has been there, starting from scratch.
For those moments, wouldn't it be awesome to have a little helper to make things smoother?
This is precisely when LinkedIn content tools, such as AuthoredUp, come into play
About AuthoredUp?
AuthoredUp is your go-to all-in-one toolkit for rocking your LinkedIn content game.
It is available as both a browser extension and an app, specifically tailored for LinkedIn users that align all its functions with the platform's operations.
Some of the features it offers are:
⭐ Different Device Preview—Look how your posts will look on various devices to ensure optimal display and user experience.
⭐ Enhanced Text Formatting—Craft engaging text with options for bold and italic fonts, bullet points, and more, to make your posts stand out.
⭐ Draft Management—Seamlessly switch between multiple drafts, jot down notes, or prepare posts for future publishing.
⭐ Readability Score—Use our readability score feature to ensure your content is easy to read, scan, and understand.
⭐ Ideal for All Users—Whether you're an individual, part of a team, or working in a marketing agency, this tool is perfect for all.
⭐ In-Depth Analytics—Gain insights with detailed analytics to understand better how your content performs and engages your audience.
⭐ Comparative Analysis—Conduct comprehensive comparisons of metrics for any post to evaluate its performance directly against other content.
⭐ Peak Time Scheduling—Easily schedule your posts for optimal times, enabling you to manage other tasks efficiently while maintaining a strong online presence.
Sounds tempting?
Join AuthoredUp today and transform the process of creating LinkedIn posts into an enjoyable and exciting adventure.