5 Quick Sources of Inspiration for New, Engaging LinkedIn Posts Inspiration can come in so many forms.
By Josh Steimle
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
With the right kind of inspiration, quality content naturally flows. On LinkedIn, this matters more than ever because creating and sharing interesting posts allows you to expand and solidify your network connections.
Right now the average LinkedIn engagement rate hovers around 2% for most, but there's plenty of ways to bump this number up. Adding images or videos can help increase up overall impressions, and so it is important to add some variety of formats when strategizing your content schedule.
Regardless of format, the best way to guarantee engagement is to find the right sources of inspiration you can quickly refer to when you need some help crafting your next post.
Related: How to Get Thousands of Views on Your LinkedIn Content
1. Consistent trends in customer feedback
If you start noticing the recurring trends in your customer feedback, be sure to take note and have a system that automatically categorizes trends.
Eighty-six percent of customers say they will pay more for a better customer experience, so even if your product isn't a good fit, taking the time to make the experience a pleasant one increases the overall value of your business. Their feedback, whether positive or negative, also gives you precious information about how to improve or what's already working well.
The trends in the feedback you're seeing and hearing likely stem from an issue other businesses encounter as well. Share what you see with your peers, how you responded, and you'll likely hear from others who have thoughts on the matter as well. These kinds of conversations are valuable to all involved, and will likely see engagement as they provide real-life problems and solutions.
2. Common questions from clients
Before ever receiving feedback after a sale, we often receive inquiries from potential customers who want to know more before they make a decision.
It's a good sign they are reaching out for more details about your business, but it also means your listed information is somewhat lacking as it failed to anticipate and answer their question. Naturally, you should respond to the potential client quickly, but also take note as to what exactly they want to know more about and why this matters to them.
Build a LinkedIn post around these common questions, how the conversations typically go and how your business shifted in response. These insights are quickly actionable and your audience will likely be eager to engage with them.
Every business must adjust to meet new market demands, and opening up conversations about common client questions helps everyone understand the current landscape more clearly.
Related: 10 Questions to Ask When Collecting Customer Data
3. Sticking points in the sales process
Getting over the hump of the sales process is a big moment for any business, but it's unrealistic to expect every lead to convert. What businesses can do is see at what step customers abandon ship and then take steps to fix it. More than 55% of sales fail due to budgetary concerns, with other factors like timing and fit coming into play as well.
Whether it's at the beginning or end of the sales funnel process, pinpointing where the sale fell through is the first step in fixing it. If you can improve in just this one small area a few percentage points, your business stands to benefit greatly, especially for scalability purposes as you grow.
It might seem odd to share where your business is struggling in the sales process, but others will appreciate the openness and honesty of the frank discussion.
4. What clients say they would like to see
While it's important to track the metrics and feedback from past sales, it's equally important for business leaders to keep an eye on the horizon. If clients keep mentioning a hole in your current inventory or offered services, make note of it.
Sales and subscription confirmation can be set up to have brief surveys attached. This is where you can quickly gather data and insights from your audience. Feedback surveys completed via SMS receive a surprisingly high response rate of around 40%, but email works as well.
Whether it's a new color or a product bundle package, when your audience speaks about what they want, you need to listen. These gaps in the current market are a gold mine for LinkedIn posts. These are enticing conversations for business-minded connections who are always trying to anticipate the needs of tomorrow and start preparing today.
Related: Staying Ahead of the Curve: How the Customer Experience is Evolving
5. Ideas gaining steam with industry leaders
When you see an intriguing idea posted in one place, it's easy to write it off as a novelty, but if the same core idea seems to be popping up all over the place, it's time to take notice and action.
Industry thought leaders with large audiences hold a powerful position on social media and LinkedIn. Fifty-eight percent of users read one hour or more of their posts per week. In the age of short attention spans, that's an incredible amount of focus and priority people place on these posts.
The ideas you see bouncing around the thought leaders of your industry likely weren't created by them but are their take on the big ideas of the age. You can do the same with your own posts to great effect. Briefly summarize the issue, give your opinion and then open the floor for discussion.
Inspiration can come in so many forms. Keeping your sources varied and fresh helps ensure your posts are engaging and interesting to your audience.
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