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Your LinkedIn profile isn’t a resume, it’s a first impression. And according to personal branding expert Kate Paine, it’s one of the most overlooked tools professionals have to build credibility, connection, and visibility. Try out these practical strategies – from adding personality to your profile to mixing up your content – to help you stand out and show up as your best (and most memorable) professional self.
Beyond the Blue Blazer: How to Transform Your LinkedIn Profile into a Powerful Personal Brand
When was the last time you looked at your LinkedIn profile and thought, “Wow, this really captures who I am professionally”?
If you’re like most people, the answer is probably “never.” Many create a LinkedIn profile because we know we should have one, fill it with resume-style information, and then let it gather dust while we focus on other platforms that seem more exciting or dynamic.
But according to personal branding expert Kate Paine, that’s a missed opportunity.
I recently chatted with Kate on the Agents of Change podcast about LinkedIn visibility strategies, and her insights were too valuable not to share. With over 30 years of PR and marketing experience, Kate knows how to help entrepreneurs, speakers, and authors craft compelling stories that elevate their authority—especially on LinkedIn.
Here’s what she taught me about turning a boring LinkedIn profile into a powerful personal brand that attracts your ideal clients.
Your LinkedIn Profile Is Your Digital Reputation
“LinkedIn is where your digital reputation can live online,” Kate explained during our conversation. While your website is the only digital asset you truly own, LinkedIn often serves as your first impression when someone searches for you.
Think about it: When you meet someone at a networking event or get recommended by a colleague, what’s the first thing people do? They Google you or look you up on LinkedIn. That first impression matters enormously.
Yet most people treat their LinkedIn profile like a resume in a “navy blue blazer”—formal, boring, and indistinguishable from thousands of others. That’s a problem if you want to stand out in your industry.
Show Your Professional Personality
One of the biggest misconceptions about LinkedIn is that it has to be stuffy or overly formal. Kate challenges that notion with her approach of “LinkedIn with personality, where professional meets playful.”
“It’s not fluffy,” she clarifies, “but you can show some personality because people want to do business with people.”
I’ve found this to be true in my own business. What I love about LinkedIn versus other social platforms is that it hasn’t been cluttered with birthday announcements, political rants, or vacation photos—but that doesn’t mean it can’t showcase your authentic professional self.
Your professional personality can still be fun, engaging, and memorable. It’s that personality that helps build connections, and as Kate puts it, “It’s that connection that builds relationship, and the relationship builds trust.”
Start with an Origin Story
Want an immediate way to make your profile more engaging? Start with an origin story that connects to your work.
Kate’s LinkedIn profile begins with “I was an avid news junkie in seventh grade”—not with “I’ve been a PR person for 30 years.” My own about section starts with “At a company party years ago, my boss hired a psychic who told me I needed to trust my gut more. So the next day I quit my job and started helping companies generate more leads online.”
These stories are memorable because they’re unique to us. No one else has exactly that origin story, which immediately differentiates us from competitors.
Your origin story doesn’t need to be long—just a few sentences that align with the work you do now. It gives people a hook to remember you by and builds that crucial initial connection.
Embrace Video (Especially Short-Form)
While LinkedIn may not be the first platform you think of for video content, Kate notes that short-form video is now performing well there.
“Short-form video is doing really well on LinkedIn,” she shared. That doesn’t mean long-form content is out—it still performs well too. The key is to mix it up, perhaps creating some longer videos (4-5 minutes) and some shorter ones that might even be repurposed from Instagram or Facebook Reels if the tone and message fit your LinkedIn audience.
Just remember that LinkedIn users often interact with the platform differently than other social media. Many professionals, including Kate and myself, primarily use LinkedIn on desktop rather than mobile. Since short-form video appears primarily in a dedicated mobile tab, relying exclusively on this format might mean missing a significant portion of your audience.
The 10% Rule for Promotional Content
One question I asked Kate that I think many business owners struggle with: How much of our LinkedIn content should be promotional?
Her answer was clear: about 10%.
“If you see somebody that you follow and you admire and you respect, but if you see them only touting their webinar or their next talk on stage or their summit that they’re a part of, if that’s all you see of them on LinkedIn, you’re going to start to not pay attention to them at all,” Kate explained.
Instead, focus on providing value through:
- Educational content – Teach your audience something useful
- Behind-the-scenes insights – Some of Kate’s highest-engaging content falls into this category
- Sharing others’ content – Be a “good LinkedIn neighbor” by engaging with and sharing valuable content from others
- Client outcomes – Don’t just talk about features and benefits; show the results you’ve achieved for clients
When you do promote, make it about outcomes rather than just announcing your offer. And consider using video testimonials from clients—they’re often more compelling than you being “the talking head all the time.”
Be Strategic About Engagement
The LinkedIn algorithm now pays more attention to how you engage with others’ content, not just how others engage with yours. This means being an active participant in your professional community.
As Kate puts it, “Be a good LinkedIn citizen, a good LinkedIn neighbor.”
When you comment on someone’s post, don’t just say “Great post!” Instead, reference something specific from their content and add your own insight. This shows you actually read and valued what they shared.
When tagging people, be judicious. Only tag someone if they’re likely to respond—the algorithm may penalize you for tagging people who don’t engage. And avoid mass-tagging; it dilutes the impact and can be annoying to those tagged.
Use AI Strategically (But Not LinkedIn’s Built-In Tool)
Like most platforms, LinkedIn has introduced its own AI tools for content creation. Kate’s verdict? “I’ve tested it, and I don’t like it. I think it’s actually pretty lousy.”
The problem is that LinkedIn’s AI tends to strip away your unique voice, leaving generic, vanilla content that sounds like everyone else—exactly what you’re trying to avoid.
However, that doesn’t mean you can’t use AI at all. Kate has been using ChatGPT for over two years to help with her LinkedIn content. She recommends using it to:
- Hone your content pillars and topics
- Generate ideas for posts
- Get a starting draft that you can then customize with your own voice
The key is to never use AI-generated content verbatim. As Kate notes, “AI has no soul.” Always infuse your own personality, stories, and insights to make the content uniquely yours.
Consistency Trumps Frequency
For busy business owners wondering how much time to invest in LinkedIn, Kate’s advice is refreshingly practical. You don’t need to post every day. One quality post per week is better than sporadic activity or low-quality frequent posts.
“Post once a week, but plan it out,” she advises. Whether you work with a VA, social media manager, or handle it yourself, having a content calendar helps ensure consistency.
The Bottom Line
LinkedIn may not be the flashiest social platform, but it remains unmatched for professional networking and establishing your expertise. By approaching it strategically—with a focus on authenticity, valuable content, and consistent engagement—you can transform it from a digital resume into a powerful tool for growing your business.
Start by revisiting your profile. Does it tell your origin story? Does it showcase your professional personality? Does it clearly communicate the outcomes you deliver for clients? If not, that’s your first step toward greater LinkedIn visibility.
Remember, as Kate emphasizes, “LinkedIn is a tool.” Like any tool, its value depends on how you use it. Use it to build connections, establish trust, and demonstrate your expertise—and you’ll see the results in your business.
Boost Your LinkedIn Visibility for Business Success Episode Transcript
Rich: My next guest is a personal branding invisibility expert with over 30 years in pr, in marketing, and a longtime friend of the show. As the founder of Standing Out Online, she helps entrepreneurs, speakers, and authors craft compelling stories and elevate their authority, especially by leveraging the LinkedIn platform.
Known for her disruptive PR approach, she turns digital profiles into powerful personal brands that attract the right fit audience. She’s passionate about helping people be seen, heard, and remembered for who they truly are.
Today we’re going to be talking about ways to boost your visibility on LinkedIn with Kate Paine. Kate, welcome back to the show.
Kate: Hey, nice to be back with you, Rich. Thank you.
Rich: So first of all, it’s always nice to see you, so, it is nice to see you. Hello. I don’t think of LinkedIn as being the fastest moving, most cutting-edge social platform out there, but it does feel like there’s been a number of changes in the past year.
What are some of the biggest changes to the platform that you’ve seen that might impact our visibility?
Kate: Can I back up from your question a little bit?
Rich: You can do anything. You’re almost like the guest who sits at the end of the couch on the Tonight Show. You’re just there and you’re a fixture. So you take control.
Kate: No. I’ll absolutely answer your question, but I want to back up to this because it’s really important. LinkedIn is a tool, just like all the tools and platforms that are out there. The cool thing about LinkedIn is it really has no competition, so it really is one of a kind.
But when you think about your presence on LinkedIn by way of your profile, you have got to think about your personal brand. It’s foundational. Because anything you do on LinkedIn isn’t going to matter if you don’t really understand that foundational component.
So let me ask your listeners, when was the last time you thought, “Wow, my LinkedIn profile is really awesome”? Or did you go. “It’s still like a resume in a navy blue blazer”. So I want people to think about it that way first before they tackle this.
Because I think what a lot of people do, Rich, and tell me if you agree with me or not. I think a lot of people throw a profile up there and call it a day. They’re like, “I’m just going to put this out here, it’s a digital resume. I’m not looking for a job, but I need to put something there.” And they just do enough, but it’s really not.
Rich: Absolutely right. Yeah.
Kate: So really what I want people to think about is that LinkedIn is where your digital reputation can live online. That and your website if you have a website. Because your website is the only thing you own on the internet, Rich.
Rich: Exactly. Preaching to the choir.
Kate: Yeah. So you really have to think about it as your digital footprint. This is where people are. If they hear your name or they meet you at a networking event, or somebody recommends you and they go Google you or put you in LinkedIn, that could be a first impression. So you really want to make sure that your presence there, whether it’s by way of your profile, and your content, and your engagement, is really solid.
Rich: I absolutely agree. And you mentioned does it look like, is it boring and in a blue blazer? And if that’s your brand, then it absolutely should. But if it’s not your brand, you need to make sure that your truest self, truest professional self, is there on LinkedIn.
Kate: And I think a lot of people don’t really know what to do on LinkedIn. I think there’s still this perception that it’s this stayed, like kind of boring, like yawn worthy, just professional and I can’t be myself.
I just did a talk, a brand-new talk about two weeks ago for a small networking group in Colorado. And the title of my talk was, LinkedIn with Personality – Where Professional meets Playful. And so it’s not fluffy, but you can show some personality. Like people want to do business with people, so let that shine through by way of your profile, too.
Rich: Yeah, I absolutely agree. I think that what I love about LinkedIn versus other social channels these days, is that a lot of the stuff that has cluttered up the other social channels hasn’t yet made its way to LinkedIn. So I don’t have to worry about somebody’s birthday.
I don’t have to feel obligated to congratulate them that their kid graduated from kindergarten. And for the most part, I don’t have to hear their political beliefs, except when it segment crosses with business.
But at the same time, I also think it can be a place to show off your personality. And maybe it is your more professional personality, but yeah, your professional personality can still be a lot of fun.
Kate: Absolutely. Remember, people connect with personalities, people connect with tone, voice, message. And it’s that connection that builds relationship, and the relationship builds trust, and then hopefully they might want to have a transaction. So that’s my methodology.
So I just wanted to back up there because I really firmly believe that this is foundational. And a lot of what you do on LinkedIn is also what you may be using over on your website, on your about page or something. But you’re not going to list all the jobs you had before, and you’re not going to list your volunteer work and all of that.
So you want to think of your LinkedIn profiles like a compliment to your web presence. Okay. Now back to the question.
Rich: So now back to the first question of the day. What are some of the changes that you’ve seen that might impact our visibility once we have established our perfect profile on LinkedIn?
Kate: The two biggest changes are, first of all, short form video is doing really well on LinkedIn. What we’ve been saying for the last few years, especially since the beginning of Covid – and this is still true by the way – long form content still does really well on LinkedIn from an algorithm standpoint. There are still human eyes on that content, so you know, longer videos, longer form posts with an image, things like that are still good.
However, comma, we’re seeing a change. And it’s not that it’s a replacement, but short form video is doing well on LinkedIn. And so what I always say to people is have a mix. Have some be longer form, maybe four or five minutes, and then have some be shorter form. If you’re creating a reel over on Instagram or Facebook and it feels like it’s got the right tone and message, then by all means, repurpose it over on LinkedIn, too. So that is the biggest thing that I’m seeing, and I’ve been reading a lot about it. So everybody’s really picking up that short form video.
The other thing is that LinkedIn has brought in its own AI, and that could be a whole separate conversation. I’ve tested it and I don’t like it. I think it’s actually pretty lousy. I know they’re making improvements to it, but if people are inclined to want to do all this stuff, and LinkedIn’s really pushing their AI, it is not very good.
Rich: When you say they’re pushing their AI, how are they pushing it? In what ways is their AI part of our experience on LinkedIn?
Kate: For example, if you write a post and you go into your home feed and you click ‘start a post’ right there in the thing at the bottom, there’s a button saying, ‘use our AI’, or whatever the button says. But it’s basically a button that is basically, if you write out what you’re writing, you can click on that button, and it’ll rewrite it. And I’ve tested it many times and it’s lousy. And you know it takes something that’s actually good, that has your own voice and tone and style, and makes it really basic.
Rich: And I think that goes to your original point, which is it’s really important to show up as yourself here. And so if you take what you wrote in your own voice, and then basically cover it in vanilla, which is what AI does.
Now, if you’re using ChatGPT or Claude, then you can train it to sound like you. But I’m guessing that the LinkedIn tool, at least at this point, doesn’t sound like you, and it just sounds like the most generic version of a businessperson.
Kate: It’s like those, I think of those generic food can labels, where it’s like ‘soup’ or ‘peas’, with the white label with the black letters. I test it every now and then because I’m curious to see if it’s evolving. It’s evolved a little bit, but I’m sure it’ll get better. And I’m sure that they’re trying to do these things just everybody else is trying to bring on AI. But I will say it’s a big change and it’s definitely being pushed, but I would caution people against, putting all of their weight into it.
Rich: Yeah, I agree. I generally don’t like AI to write for me in general, but even if I was going to do it because I ran out of ideas or whatever, I would probably go into ChatGPT or Claude, ask it for something to say on LinkedIn, and start from there. Again, not recommending that.
Kate: Well, when you and I were at the Jessica Phillips social media event in Ohio, what, two, three years ago, Jordache Johnson was there and he’s a really good AI expert. I learned a lot from him. In fact, he was the one that really encouraged me and inspired me to go into ChatGPT. So I’ve been using ChatGPT two and a half years maybe now, and I’ve really taken it on a lot in the past year to help me with my LinkedIn content, for sure.
But it helped me hone my content pillars. It helped me hone my topics. But I still, I never ever take what it gives me verbatim. Because as we’ve heard many people say, AI has no soul. So I still put my own voice to it. But of course, I’ve been using my same chat thread or whatever you want to call it, with my persona, with my voice, and it’s training and remembering, and it’s better than it’s ever been, as far as I’m concerned.
But one of the things that I think people can really do to really make their LinkedIn presence different is to really incorporate their slice of life story, like an origin story. It doesn’t have to be long, a few sentences. My LinkedIn profile starts out in my ‘about’ section. I was an avid news junkie in seventh grade. I don’t start out with, “I’ve been a PR person for 30 years and I’ve done this and I’ve done that.” That’s the navy blue blazer.
And so think about what your origin story is that is in alignment with the work that you do, so that people do build the trust. It’s not like you’re going to write multiple paragraphs about it, because it’s a way to build connection.
Rich: So I just want to say, my ‘about’ section starts with, “At a company party years ago, my boss hired a psychic who told me I needed to trust my gut more. So the next day I quit my job and started helping companies generate more leads online.”
Kate: Perfect!
Rich: That’s probably the only person in the universe who had that exact same origin story.
Kate: Yeah. And I can tell you that no one says, “I was an avid news junkie in seventh grade, and I wanted to be the next Diane Sawyer back in junior high.”
Rich: Oh, I like that.
Kate: Yeah. So no one has that. So this is the piece though, that people aren’t going to find anywhere else. And that’s what I love about when you look at your LinkedIn profile, try to make it different. Try to make it stand out. Be a differentiator in your marketplace and have whatever you have there be different than where all the other channels are and your other content and profiles, so that it’s memorable.
Rich: So let’s go back to the first thing you talked about, which was the short form video. Tell me a little bit about your strategy, and the strategy you’re sharing with your clients, in terms of how often you’re doing it, technical stuff, are you going square, are you going portrait style, things like that just to get us started.
Kate: I’ll be completely honest with you. I’m really just starting to build it up. I was, a lot of my video that I was using, as you and I were talking about before we got on live here, is that I’ve been doing my Coffee with Kate show for six, seven years, and I have gone off and on, on Stream Yard doing it live on camera. And now I’m back to doing that again, but we’re also putting it on YouTube, and we’re stripping out the audio for the podcast channels, so we’re doing all of it.
So a lot of my video had been the landscape format. And it was a lot of the snippets of my Coffee with Kate show. So now this short form video, I’ve really been reading about this and seeing this only in the last couple months. So I’m now figuring out how to transition into that. I’ve done some occasional I just pull my phone out, and I’ve done some occasional regular videos on my phone, interviewing somebody at a conference or something like that and then I’ve been posting that. So I haven’t done a lot of that yet, but it’s definitely in the works, literally.
Rich: I’ve been experimenting it in inconsistent so far myself doing the promos.
Kate: What format are you using?
Rich: I’m literally just setting up my phone, and then recording myself talking about this week’s episode of The Agents of Change podcast. But I have not been as consistent as I need to be, because that is the name of the game.
Kate: Yes, exactly. When I work with people, like I’ve got this new group program, and so I took a lot of people who really haven’t done much on LinkedIn at all. Like it’s the typical, “I’ve been on LinkedIn for however many years, and I really don’t know what to do there.” So when I took them into this deep dive, and the focus was on content and engagement. And I had them dip their toe into using ChatGPT for content.
When they started to realize the possibilities of what they could be doing, our class just ended two weeks ago, it was a six-week class, and now they’re posting all kinds of content and they’re getting engagement on it. And so I’m watching it not only to be a cheerleader for them, but watching it to see if it’s catching on. It’s anecdotal right now, but it seems to be catching on.
And I think the other cautionary thing with short form video on LinkedIn, is not a lot of it. You might see it on Instagram all the time by way of reels or whatever. I think if you’re going to do it on LinkedIn, be more intentional with it and not overload it. I still think you need texts with images, I think you need to mix it up. If you’re going to post two or three times a week, don’t post the same kind of content all the time.
Rich: I may be wrong about this, but I only see short form video on my phone when I go into that specific tab for short form video. So unless people are actively doing that, even though I’ve heard great stories about engagement, if you’re only doing that, you’re missing a huge part of the population on LinkedIn who might only be using it on desktop or isn’t necessarily going into that tab. So that’s another thing to keep in mind. So I like your advice of mixing it up a little bit.
Kate: Yeah, I agree with that, too. I use, of course, I’m in LinkedIn all the time, but I use LinkedIn primarily on my desktop. It’s just because I’m usually writing things that are longer, or I’m reading things, or I’m commenting on things. And it’s just frankly, it’s just easier to see, to be honest.
And at the same time, I only pay attention really to my notifications in LinkedIn. So if I see the little red bubble with 12 things or 25 things, I go there. I don’t, like I do on Facebook, I don’t go to the feed in LinkedIn and just willy-nilly scroll through. I just don’t. It’s just there’s too much, there’s too many sponsored and promoted. I don’t have that kind of time. I do it in Facebook though. So it’s just funny how we have those different behaviors.
The point is, that you want to make yourself approachable and accessible to people. And you really want to position yourself for your expertise. It’s not that you just are the expert in something. It’s, “I am the expert who does this, who helps achieve this. If you are looking for this solution, I’m the one that can provide the solution.” But then showcase things that actually exemplify the outcomes you’ve had for people. I don’t think enough people do that on any channel or even on LinkedIn.
I think sometimes we’re really good at listing our features and our benefits, but we’re not really showing the results people have sometimes. And I think there’s a really great content opportunity there.
Rich: How much of our post do you feel should be that kind of promotional, whether it’s features, benefits, or it’s outcomes-based, versus just kind of education, establishing rapport? Is there a ratio principle, some sort of ratio that you have in the back of your head when it comes to the type of post that you’re doing in terms of where on the funnel somebody might be?
Kate: I don’t know if I have a ratio, but I would say that the promotional part on LinkedIn specifically should only be about 10%. And I’ve read a lot of algorithm reports and data things that echo the same thing.
And if you think about it, think about any of you who go to LinkedIn. And if you see somebody that you follow and you admire and you respect, but if you see them only touting their webinar or their next talk on stage or their summit that they’re a part of, if that’s all of them on LinkedIn, you’re going to start to not pay attention to them at all because it’s going to feel like, oh, they’re on a thing again, or, oh, they got another thing again. And for a while, a lot of people were doing that on LinkedIn because it was professional.
So backing up to your other comment, think about your content pillar. So if educational is one of them, make sure that you’re putting content out there that is showing somebody something, teaching them something, just offering value, frankly. Leaving them with something that’s helpful. You don’t always have to have a call to action, like, “What do you think?” That’s just, you can use those sparingly, especially on LinkedIn, but 10% from the promotional standpoint.
Like when I do a webinar, I only really probably put out, I usually promote for two weeks before it. And I put out maybe a total of four to five posts about it, and I change up each one. But I’m also offering something that is an outcome versus ‘check out my next webinar’, ‘Register here’, you know what I mean?
And the other thing I’m doing now is I’m collecting more video testimonials of people who’ve been through my class, and I’ll use those going forward because that person can say, “I took Kate’s class and I learned x, and you could, too”. You know what I mean? I’m being corny about that, but that is much more enticing to me than it is just me being the talking head all the time.
Rich: We’ve talked a lot about creating content for the newsfeed on our own behalf or to our audience. What type of effort you put towards commenting or engaging with other people’s content on the platform?
Kate: A lot more than I used to. And one of the things that we’re finding out about with some of the new algorithm changes is that, again, LinkedIn has human eyes behind their algorithm. Yes, there’s the secret sauce and all that, but they still have a cap of first level connections of 30,000 people. And the reason I mention that is because it underscores quality over quantity.
So it’s very important. Engagement now is with other people’s content is something that the algorithm is paying attention to. So I translate that into, each of you who are using LinkedIn should be a good LinkedIn citizen, a good LinkedIn neighbor, right? So it’s not all your own content. You need to go, again, the notifications tab is helpful. It’ll show you people you’re connected to, like Rich Brooks just posted about this. And I’ll be like, oh, I’m going to pop over to Rich’s and I’m going to put in a comment. And not just “Great job, Rich.” “Rich, I loved your point about da dah…” and spell it out. Put something in there. If you’re going to share other people’s content, share it, tag them.
And a cautionary thing on tagging, by the way, and this is specific to LinkedIn too. Only tag somebody if you think they’re likely to respond. If you read something by like Brene Brown and you want to tag Brene Brown hoping she’s going to comment, it probably won’t happen. And the algorithm will ding you for tagging somebody that doesn’t engage. So only tag people that that you think are likely to reply or make a comment or something like that. But again, judiciously. Just don’t go crazy tagging people either. So, think these things through a little bit.
Rich: I think thinking about that, it’s more that you don’t want to tag like 12 people, 15 people in these posts. And that’s what I see a lot of times. ‘So and so mentioned you on LinkedIn’. I go there and I have to scroll through 27 names even to find myself. That is going to bring very little value.
Personally, if I was going to quote Stephen King and he was on the platform, I’d probably tag him even if it hurt my algorithm, just because I wanted to let him know, I’m thinking about you.
Kate: Plus, he lives in Maine, so there’s that.
Rich: Plus, he lives in Maine, so there’s that connection. Plus, we’re both Red Sox fans.
So how do you advise your clients when it comes to maybe some industry specific trending topics? How do you avoid sounding like everybody else when everybody’s talking about tariffs or AI or something like that? What advice would you give people?
Kate: I’ll give you a PR answer, and then I’ll give you a LinkedIn answer. So the PR answer is, do pay attention to the news. If you are, and maybe it’s not tariffs, but if there’s something going on in the news that is in alignment or resonates with what you do, use that as an opportunity to showcase your opinion, your thought leadership on that topic. That is being on trend, that’s being on point. And from a PR standpoint, that’s actually really valuable. So that’s a really good practice to do. Again, judiciously.
The other answer is to think about your own content pillars. People usually have about three or four content pillars. And what you do over on Instagram, there may be room to repurpose that on LinkedIn. But your voice is going to be a little bit different on LinkedIn, and you’ve got to speak to that.
Like maybe you do a behind the scenes thing at a conference and it’s more, “I just met the keynote speaker”, and so you put it up on Instagram and it’s more playful. But then you could take that same thing and put it over on LinkedIn and talk about, “I got to meet the speaker and we talked about this more in depth, and it was such a nice place to be able to talk about this, and I shared this and that.” You can go a little bit deeper where you’re still being professional, but you’re also showing some personality.
So I would say that knowing those content pillars for you as well. So maybe education awareness, that’s one. Behind the scenes is a really good one. The majority of my content, when I do behind the scenes stuff, I get the most engagement on that stuff. People love it. Again, your voice is a little different on LinkedIn than it would be on Facebook and Instagram, but you could still use the same video or the same pictures. Just have your angle be a little bit different.
Other people’s content is another good way to engage with people because it’s, again, back to being that good LinkedIn neighbor, you’re showcasing other people. Maybe you’re showcasing a client or somebody that you respect, and then the promotion is probably the least of it. You should still have some in there. People expect some, just don’t do it all the time. It just gets old.
Rich: So one of the things you had mentioned that you should use judiciously is the idea of, ‘leave a comment if you agree’ or ‘tell me what you think about the comments’, which is tactical, we’ve all tried it one time or another.
What are some ways that we can get real engagement on some of these posts, if for no other reason than we want to show to the LinkedIn algorithm that people like us and pay attention to us?
Kate: That’s a great question. I think we all used to , “what do you think about this?” It was a very open-ended, generic kind of call to action, right? And people have gotten used to it, and nobody responds anymore. So dependent on your topic in your actual content, ask a pointed question. Ak something that’s really going to get somebody to think about it. But only do that judiciously on occasion.
I think we were all trained for a long time in social media to put a CTA at the end of every post. And then if you have four or five posts a week, it’s just it’s ridiculous, and people don’t want to even engage. So I think a pointed question is a really good thing.
I think one of the things that’s more popular, and I think it started on Instagram, and you may have seen this too, is respond with a one word. And so sometimes that can be good because then it’s an opportunity for you to DM somebody. But make sure you have a plan for what that is. Like if, “Just drop the word ‘I want to know more’” or something, or the phrase “I want to know more” and I’ll reach out to you. But make sure you have a plan and a strategy for that. Don’t just willy-nilly put it out there because then you could get 30 people and you’re going to be like, ah, what do I do?
Rich: Yeah. Or 300. Yeah. One of the tactics I’m seeing more often is, “say whatever it is, and I’ll send you the free report”. Which is another funnel tactic that people can use. And I’m not judging. If it works for you, great. But I also think it depends on what is that brand that you’re trying to put out there on social media, and specifically on LinkedIn.
Kate: Exactly. I might use it for a webinar. One of the things I do is if I do a webinar, I don’t know if I’ve ever done the same topic twice. There’s always going to be overlap. LinkedIn is LinkedIn or personal branding or PR, it is what it is. But I’m always trying to find something that is a different, a different angle and a different hook, which is what you do when you’re in PR like I am, too. So that’s important.
I think a lot of times we were taught with social media, wash, rinse, and repeat. And I actually think you’re hurting yourself if you’re doing that. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a plan, but make sure you’re staying innovative, because everybody clues into this stuff really fast.
Mikayla Alexis, another fellow LinkedIn expert, she posted a couple days ago about how she’s able to tell when people use AI. You can just tell. And I’m one of them. Back in the early days, do you remember if you saw “beacon” and “tapestry” in the content, it was like you knew that was from ChatGPT? So you don’t want to be that person. People who are savvy, and most people are pretty savvy, can catch onto that. So it’s a mix of different things.
Rich: So for an owner or marketer at a small to medium sized business with little time to spare, what is the most valuable pack or value packed way that they can spend their time on LinkedIn?
Kate: I would say that if they’re going to get into a consistent posting schedule and they want to do something quick and easy, then at least post one time a week minimum. And two to three is great. You don’t need to post every day on LinkedIn. So I would say post once a week, but plan it out.
Plan a calendar whether you have a VA that can help you, or a social media manager, or even go if you use AI, go into ChatGPT and ask it some really pointed questions, some prompts to get you some really detailed information. I’ve got a couple right here if you want me to share.
Rich: Yeah, please.
Kate: So these are some sample prompts that I shared with my group. So for a content theme, “Suggest five content themes for your industry or profession, targeting your right fit audience, to build engagement and authority on LinkedIn”. Now, if you already have a chat going in your ChatGPT or Claude or whatever you use that has your persona in there, it should be able to give you some really pretty good ideas.
Another one is trending topics. I was talking about things that are on trend or on point. “What are three current trends in your industry that I could write about to spark engagement on LinkedIn?” Because the cool thing about some of these AI tools, they at least know the different types of voices for different channels, for the most part. Yeh. Yeah, certainly
Rich: Yeah. Yeah, certainly they understand LinkedIn.
Kate: Absolutely. For sure. Or for a post, “Write a LinkedIn post about X topic, sharing three actionable tips to help your audience.” So describe what the audience is, solve a specific problem, and see what comes up. And use that for inspiration and idea, and then tweak it to be your own voice and put in your own stuff.
Rich: Yeah. And pro tip, if you have been posting for a while on LinkedIn and you like your voice, but maybe you just are struggling, you can scrape that content from LinkedIn, feed it back into ChatGPT, and train it up in your voice how you like to talk on LinkedIn. And that will get you closer to that final draft.
I still, and I think you recommend the same, Kate, you still want to go through that. Because ChatGPT can’t tell your personal stories for you. It can just mimic or parrot your voice.
Kate: When I work with my VIP clients and I interview them in an intensive, it’s two hours for their story, I am trying to tease out their story nugget. Once I get that, I actually still have a writer. I have writers, actually, that I hire to write. But we use AI, and I will take that story transcript, I will feed that into AI so that story is there so that we have that. That AI knows that this is a human with a real, personal story here and to give it some soul. Because AI on its own has no soul.
Rich: Words to live by. Kate, if people want to learn more about you, your webinars, your trainings, where can we point them?
Kate: They can go to my website at standingoutonline.com. You can certainly connect with me on LinkedIn at @Kate Paine and it’s P-A-I-N-E. So send me a DM there or email me at kate@standingoutonline.com and I’m happy to send any information.
Rich: Awesome. We’ll have all those links in the show notes. Kate, thanks so much for coming back.
Kate: You’re so welcome, Rich. I always love chatting with you. Thank you.
Show Notes:
Kate Paine is a personal branding and visibility expert with over 30 years of experience in PR and marketing. As the founder of Standing Out Online, she helps entrepreneurs, speakers, and authors craft compelling LinkedIn profiles that reflect their authentic stories and expertise. You can connect with her on LinkedIn or visit standingoutonline.com.
Rich Brooks is the President of flyte new media, a web design & digital marketing agency in Portland, Maine, and founder of the Agents of Change. He’s passionate about helping small businesses grow online and has put his 25+ years of experience into the book, The Lead Machine: The Small Business Guide to Digital Marketing.