How much weight can you expect to lose on the first day, in the first week, or within the first month of starting a new workout regimen? Probably not much, right?
Yet, I see so many professionals anticipating significant engagement on their LinkedIn posts in the initial days or weeks of their personal branding journey. Just like fitness, success on this platform isn’t about immediate gratification—it comes from consistency and daily improvement.
If your posts are hearing crickets, it’s not necessarily because your content is bad. It might just be that your “workout routine” needs a little adjustment. Let’s look at why your engagement might be low and how to fix it.
Why Engagement Matters
Engagement is the currency of LinkedIn. It’s not just about vanity metrics or getting likes; it’s about resonance. When people engage, it signals that your message is landing, your authority is building, and your network is listening. Without it, you are shouting into the void.
5 Ways to Revive Your Engagement
Tailor Content to Your Audience: If the content doesn’t resonate with your audience or isn’t relevant to their industry, they won’t stop scrolling. This is the equivalent of trying to sell a steak to a vegetarian. Tailoring your content to meet the specific needs, pain points, and interests of your connections is crucial for stopping the scroll.
Stop Selling, Start Serving: If your posts are constantly selling something or seem overly promotional, your audience will tune out. The best content provides value, shares insights, or tells interesting stories without asking for a credit card. Give value first; the sales will follow later.
Master the Art of Timing: Posting when your audience is asleep or offline is a guaranteed way to kill engagement. Analyze when your connections are most active on LinkedIn and schedule your posts accordingly to maximize visibility.
Optimize Your Visuals and Formatting: Is your post a wall of text? Is the image low-quality? Posts with compelling visuals and clear, concise formatting tend to perform significantly better. If it’s hard to read or unappealing to look at, people will move on.
Ride the Wave of Trends: Content that ties into current trends, news, or events naturally garners more attention. If your posts ignore the context of what is happening in the world (or your industry), you might miss out on easy opportunities to capture interest.
The Secret Sauce: The Law of Reciprocity
To truly maximize your engagement, you have to understand that LinkedIn is a social network, not a broadcast channel.
The “Give to Get” Strategy: If you aren’t actively engaging with others’ content—liking, commenting, and sharing—they will be less inclined to engage with yours. Reciprocal engagement boosts your visibility and interaction rates. Don’t just be a poster; be a participant.
Keep It Fresh, Keep It Consistent
Consistency is what keeps you top-of-mind. If you post sporadically, your audience forgets you. Furthermore, algorithms change and technical issues happen. It is beneficial to constantly experiment with different types of content and strategies to see what resonates best with your network right now.
Your Consistency Starts Here
Building a personal brand is a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t be discouraged by a slow start. Focus on providing value, showing up every day, and engaging with your community.
Ready to get started? Need help starting your personal branding journey? Book a free discovery call with me, and let’s build a strategy that works.