Apr 30
I Posted on LinkedIn for a Week, and It Didn’t Hurt. I Promise*
If you’d rather talk about your first partner with grandma than post on LinkedIn, this piece is for you.
The fear of posting held me back for more than 3 years. That’s the gestation time for a basking shark!
If posting on LinkedIn feels like walking into a hungry alligator’s wide-open mouth, I get you.
My 7-day experience of posting on LinkedIn
My first post on LinkedIn went out last week. I had commented on a friend’s post, and it gave me an idea for mine.
So I took out my laptop and got typing. Delete, delete, type, delete, type…
About an hour and a half later, I had a post ready to go online. It was checked for grammar and simplicity of language. All that had to be done was click on that “post” button.
Sweat created a vertical pool on my back, and my fingers shivered. I “accidentally” hit the post button, sighed loudly, washed my face, and looked at myself. Nothing new there! Then I went for dinner.
A few hours later, I came back to my phone and saw the notifications from LinkedIn. My friends had liked the post and commented on it. A stranger had liked my post too.
I thought of another post the next day and took an hour to write it. Then came the other post and then the next one. While I usually take about 15 minutes to write my 150–200 words post, it takes me 30–40 minutes to edit it. I had done this for organizations when I worked with them, so I could do it for my page.
I don’t have a viral post, but I have gotten over the fear of posting. And the best part, it didn’t hurt me. Except for the painful shoulders because I stooped over my desk!
Why posting on LinkedIn won’t kill you.
“I am just a girl posting on LinkedIn asking people to love me.”
Oh dear, no. No. Please don’t do that. You’ll hurt yourself.
Post because you want to. Or to get clients for your business. Or for marketing.
It’ll be harsh if you chase the blue likes, a surprisingly curious purple man, and the yellow insights bulb. It’ll be like talking with your grandma about your first partner.
If you’re selling your services there, it makes sense to track the business you get from LinkedIn. How many clients did you get? How much $$$ did they bring to your business? But don’t go around chasing the thumbs, hearts, bulbs, and claps on your first post :)
The easier way to get started
I took baby steps towards it. If I liked a post, I’d hit the like button. For a few weeks, this was all I did.
One fine day, I saw a post that resonated with me. Not like the resonation in a tuning fork from school, but the kind where you share experiences with a person/group. I wanted to comment on that post, so I did.
A few days later, another comment on someone’s post. And then one more the next day. I eventually became comfortable with commenting.
Now when you comment on someone’s post, they’d usually reply. Why? Because they don’t want to leave a reader hanging unless they’re out on a GTA-like mission.
What’s next? The 4-letter word that begins with the 16th letter in the English alphabet and is followed by the 15th. The last two letters are nicely arranged alphabetically.
POST.
Initially, posting can feel terrorizing, and it’s understandable. You’re making yourself vulnerable.
My 3-step method for posting on LinkedIn without pulling out your eyebrows
- Idea spark
- Putting fingers to the keyboard
- Post.
Whenever you get an idea to post something, sit with it for a moment. Find what you want to share and how you’ll express it.
Next, type. Type your idea down and go for a walk. Your legs will thank you. After that walk, edit the post. Fluff the fluff, and edit like you mean it.
Finally, add a picture, video, or audio if you want to. And hit that post button. You did it! Yoohoo!
Note that these steps don’t include looking at your engagement numbers. If your post gets a like or a comment, yay! Respond to the comment if you want to.
What would you do? Only what you can. Post. That’s it.
“But it’s scary, and if I get no engagement, I’ll look like a person on a can!”
First things first — why are you looking at that person? Let them use the bathroom in peace! :D
There’s not much you can do about how you look without likes and whatnot. You can’t force people to click those buttons or comment — they do so at their own will.
And as they say in New Zealand, she’ll be right!
Post. The internet is vast. There’s certainly a place for you 😀
Do you want to work together? Send a message here, and let’s get talking! I promise I’ll be nice and probably talk about ice creams and unicorns :)
