Let’s be honest: most LinkedIn content is somewhere between mildly cringeworthy and actively painful. The humble-brags, the “I’m excited to announce” posts for the most mundane achievements, and let’s not forget everyone’s favorite: those bizarre fictional dialogues between CEOs and janitors that somehow reveal profound business truths.
But creating genuinely valuable LinkedIn content isn’t just possible—it’s a career superpower when done right. Here’s how to stand out without making your network contemplate digital self-deletion.
Start by abandoning the “thought leadership” mindset. My friend Miguel, an engineering manager, spent months posting generic platitudes about “innovation” that got crickets. Then he started sharing specific code reviews that improved his team’s performance—actual examples with before and after snippets. His engagement quadrupled, and he’s since landed speaking engagements at two conferences.
The painful truth: nobody cares about your wins nearly as much as they care about your losses. My most engaging post last year wasn’t about landing a major client—it was a detailed breakdown of how I completely botched a sales presentation and what I learned. It sparked a thread of similar confessions from other professionals that was more valuable than any “10 Tips for Sales Success” article.
Consider the content consumption context. People scroll LinkedIn during commutes, coffee breaks, and—let’s be real—boring meetings. Complex, nuanced takes rarely perform well. My colleague Sarah A/B tested posting the same insights as a dense paragraph versus a punchy five-point list. The list received 3.2x more engagement despite identical information.
Encourage engagement by ending with an actual question—not the fake “Agree?” or “Thoughts?” but something specific that invites diverse perspectives. When product manager Raj posted about remote work challenges, he ended with “What’s one remote work tool your team uses that most people haven’t heard of?” and received 46 genuinely interesting responses.
Finally, embrace what I call the “slightly spicy” approach. LinkedIn isn’t the place for political manifestos, but taking a moderate stance against established wisdom shows you’re an independent thinker. When everyone was posting about the “death of email” last year, marketing director Alicia wrote a data-backed defense of email marketing that went semi-viral precisely because it pushed gently against the prevailing narrative.
Remember: The goal isn’t to go viral—it’s to become the person your network actually looks forward to hearing from. In a sea of performative professionalism, authentic insight is your competitive advantage.