Want to publish great content on LinkedIn? 

Coming up with content ideas can be a challenge.

Sometimes the hardest part is coming up with the right idea.

It also can be easy to talk yourself out of your own ideas.

So if you’re in need of some ideas or inspiration, here are 10 quick and easy tips to come up with topics.

All of the following tips were provided by various LinkedIn for Creators team members during their live What Creators Need to Know: Episode 4. I’ve summarized those for brevity and also sprinkled in a few of my own thoughts to add some context.

1. Look up common hashtags

Focus on hashtags that are used by, and relevant to, your industry.

Click on the hashtag to find high-performing posts. Use this for some inspiration on topics.

However, don’t steal or slightly reword posts from other creators. You will more likely than not be called out.

2. Talk about timely topics

This can be current events or industry news. You can also use LinkedIn’s trending section to find popular news stories and conversations, which you can use as inspiration for your next post.

Do you have to weigh in on partisan or controversial issues? That’s your call. Just know that your post could get filtered out if it’s political or you could lose followers who disagree with you.

3. Experiment with formats and publishing times

Try out a variety of content formats – mix up photo, video and text posts. See what works with your audience.

If you do livestreams, for example, figure out what works best for your audience. Try out a couple of different days of the week and times of day to see which gets you the most views. 

Consider polling your followers to find out when they would be most likely to watch. Once you figure out your time, be consistent to make watching you a habit. 

4. Quality over quantity

Not every LinkedIn post has to go viral.

Focus on creating content that could directly help one person – or even just a few people. 

If that post also happens to go viral, that’s an awesome bonus.

But numbers shouldn’t be the only way you measure success.

Before hitting Post, think about your audience. Could your content help them:

• Become better at their job.
• Advance in their career.
• Solve a problem they’re experiencing.
• Learn something new. 
• Understand current events, an issue, or other types of changes.

5. Share your truth

The good, the bad, the ugly. Show your personality. 

People want to see your real life, voice and story.

LinkedIn is a professional network, but that doesn’t mean you always have to be super polished and super professional.

6. Spark conversations – and keep them going. 

Ask your audience a question that will elicit a response and also encourage them to share their insights and thoughts. Help keep the conversation going by responding to comments.

Aside from adding questions to your post, you can use polls or tag others who you think would be beneficial to the conversation or anyone your audience would like to hear from. 

That said, tag wisely. Don’t just make a post and tag dozens of your contact – those people may find it annoying and it may do more harm than good.

Also, avoid sales pitches.

You want to be approachable. Selling is the exact opposite of being approachable. It will turn off people and can hurt your engagement.

7. Be authentic

Be yourself. Tell your story. Just be you and stay true. 

Hair, makeup, lighting, audio – it doesn’t always have to be perfect. Show up as your best, most authentic self. Do what you love and show it on video.

I believe it was Dr. Seuss who said “There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”

8. Share your experiences

Share your entire journey with your followers – your wins, challenges, losses, and everything else in between.

Be vulnerable. Be open with your audience. 

Great content doesn’t have to be perfect. Life is a little messy – so record it.

9. Stop overthinking content

Approach content with a mindset of documenting rather than creating all the time. 

Things you read or hear, conversations you have, questions you answer, problems you solve – all of this is content just waiting to be created every day.

10. Ask for a quarter off for metrics

This ties back to experimenting. 

Sometimes you need space to test, learn and set a baseline to measure performance. It typically takes time to see results on a new platform – so the last thing you want to do is think you have no traction when, in fact, you’re just starting to build the traction you will need for start seeing tangible results in three, six, or 12 months.

The best time to start creating great content on LinkedIn was years ago. But the second-best time is now.

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