As a virtual advisor, viral posts can do a lot for your business.
And if you’re looking for a platform to focus your content efforts around, it has to be LinkedIn.
Over the course of a year, a few viral LinkedIn posts can help you connect with thousands of prospects, schedule dozens of appointments, and ultimately generate business at VOLUME.
I’ve personally coached hundreds of advisors and helped them generate MILLIONS in AUM just by learning how to leverage LinkedIn.
And I’m confident I can help you, too.
In this article, you’re going to get:
- The proprietary 5-step process for viral posts on LinkedIn
- 21 content ideas so that you always have something powerful to post.
- 8 LinkedIn posting cheat codes to take your content to the NEXT LEVEL.
If you commit to giving me 7 minutes of your time, I promise to deliver all of that (and more).
You in?
The 5-Step Process Virtual Advisors are Using to Create Viral Posts on LinkedIn
#1: Flip Your Mindset
Let me tell you guys a quick story.
When I first started writing copy, I was absolutely terrible.
I could hardly string two sentences together…let alone make them sound persuasive.
I made lots of mistakes…didn’t know how to write a subject line….didn’t know how to find topics that people would find interesting.
My copy was a MESS.
And that’s how I fumbled through my first couple of years.
But then I began studying what all the great copywriters and marketing experts were doing.
I learned from the likes of Jay Abraham and Carlton Sheets – watching what they were doing and mimicking it.
I’d pull something I liked from one copywriter and combine it with another element or technique that someone else was using effectively.
But I was still nervous and uncertain.
I didn’t have my own voice – or at least I hadn’t uncovered it yet.
I was constantly worried that if I strayed too far from what I saw other people doing, that I would miss the mark.
That people would laugh and I’d feel exposed.
Does that resonate with you?
Are you worried that you’re going to post something and look dumb?
That was probably my biggest fear at the time.
And it sounds silly, but I would keep seeing in my head this old boss that I had like 10 years previously. This real hard-nosed guy who would let you have it.
I would picture this guy whenever I was writing and he would look at me with this face of disgust and say, “That’s stupid.”
I tell you that story because I assume a lot of you have a similar mindset.
You’re probably judging yourself through the eyes of other people in a story that doesn’t exist.
And it’s time to flip the script…to recalibrate your mindset.
You see, at that time, my copywriting skills were being suppressed by fear.
But then something changed.
Instead of picturing that old, angry boss, I began to picture a guy named, Barry.
Barry was the first guy that ever bought a course from me. He was one of the first people who really believed in me.
It was early in my career and I had ZERO idea what I was doing.
In fact, I didn’t even have a course. I just made it up on the spot and sold it to this guy.
It was an eight-week course – and, yes, I delivered it as promised – and at the end of it, Barry sends me this amazing video of gratitude for what he learned.
I was so blown away that I could touch somebody like that.
Even though I had never really engaged with him in person, he responded…
And I’ve never forgotten that.
So when I write….I write to Barry.
I don’t let the old archetypes of myself infiltrate my mindset. I picture Barry and I write to him.
I want YOU to find your Barry.
To do this, I recommend imagining the happiest, most gleeful, supporting person you’ve ever known in your life.
That’s your person.
It could be your mom or dad, an influential teacher from high school, a best friend, or an encouraging mentor. Or maybe it’s your most loyal client?
We all have a different person, and once you find your Barry, you’ll get over your fear of looking stupid and finally embrace your voice.
And that, my friends, is where all good copywriting stems from.
#2: You Do You!
This second point ties in well with the first.
And it’s really quite simple.
I want you to do you.
Don’t try to be me. Don’t try to be Oprah, or Tony Robbins, or Mark Cuban.
Why? Because they’re already taken.
Just be yourself!
People don’t want to connect with a fake version of Dave Ramsey or Suze Orman. The reason people like these individuals is because they’re being themselves.
People want to connect with YOU! (Not a fake version of someone else.)
When you show up and be yourself, people will find you. They’ll seek you out and you’ll have a line waiting out your door.
#3: Be Consistent
I know you’re busy.
I know you have dozens of tasks on your plate on any given day.
And I know posting on LinkedIn doesn’t seem like the most important item on that list.
So it keeps getting pushed to the back burner.
But here’s the deal…
If you want to be successful with LinkedIn and generate viral LinkedIn posts, you have to be consistent.
Both quality and quantity matter.
LinkedIn rewards people who consistently publish good content to their platform.
The great news is that LinkedIn isn’t Twitter. You don’t need to post a dozen times per day.
In fact, research from Hubspot suggests that users see peak engagement when they’re posting roughly five times per week (or once daily). And anything more than 10 posts per week actually produces diminishing returns.
Just be intentional. Start doing it once per week if that’s all the time you have.
You don’t have to create some master calendar of LinkedIn posts and content. Just do it once a week.
Block out 30 minutes on your calendar and use that time slot to put out one original post.
Focus on the person who really appreciates you and just do you!
#4: Use Compelling Ideas and Topics
I know when I was first starting out, I would sit there with this paralyzed feeling. I didn’t know what to post.
But I came to realize that I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel.
I just started finding content formats and topics that were already working and then created my own original content that was loosely based on that structure.
Not sure what to post on LinkedIn?
Here are some viral LinkedIn post ideas to prime your pump:
- Reactions (give a reaction to relevant things that are happening)
- Pros and cons list
- Screenshots of meetings, events, and experiences
- What do they need to START doing?
- What do they need to STOP doing?
- Tech Tool Roundup (what tools do you use?)
- Would you rather?
- Roundup post of people you admire
- Humble brag
- Common misconceptions
- Bring attention to something that isn’t being talked about a lot
- Share your history
- Throwback Thursdays (e.g. What did your office look like 5 or 10 or 20 years ago?)
- Memes
- Top 10 Lists (e.g. “Top 10 things to do before firing your employee…”)
- Share infographics
- Common questions? (What are common questions you get all the time?)
- Selfie videos
- Do’s and Don’ts
- Interview a client or boss
- Something that inspires you.
Save this list to your drafts folder and just pick a random one each week. You’ll never be short for topics to post on LinkedIn ever again.
#5: Memorize These LinkedIn Cheat Codes
Growing up as a kid, my brother and I would play Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis…all of the classics.
And sometimes when we would play these games, we would use those old school cheat codes.
You know: Press B + A + A + Up + Down + Left + Right + Start Button and watch as the NBA Jam guy’s head would get really big or Mario would run faster.
Well, I’m about to give you some LinkedIn cheat codes, which are basically PRO TIPS that will boost your chances of getting a LinkedIn post to go viral.
Here are a few of my favorites:
- Post a video. Videos get 5X more engagement (likes, comments, shares) than a picture or text. If you’ve truly mastered your mindset (tip #1), you should be able to turn on your phone’s camera and record a quick selfie-style video – no problem. (I know that’s REALLY scary for some of you – but try it and see what happens.)
- Use LinkedIn hashtags. The Top 5 LinkedIn hashtags as of September 2020 are: #networking, #workingfromhome, #homeoffice, #workingathome, and #life.
- Aim for peak timing. The best day to post on Linkedin is Wednesday. And the peak times occur during the same day 7:45 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 12:45 p.m., and 5:45 p.m. EST. From Tuesday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. is the most consistent period of engagement.
- Avoid dead periods. The lowest engagement day is Sunday, and you should avoid posting from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. (any day of the week). However, COVID changes everything….so TEST!
- Email your list. You don’t want to do this every time. But if you have a really good post, send a quick email with the link to your list and ask them if they’ll go like and comment. You’d be surprised how many people are willing to do a quick favor like that – especially if you promise to return the favor.
- Run a contest on your LinkedIn post. Do a contest about your post. Something like “best comment wins” is always effective.
- Create an engagement “pod.” Create a group of colleagues or friends who are committed to liking and engaging with each other’s posts. Set up a group SMS or Slack channel and notify everyone when a new LinkedIn post goes live.
- Get tag happy. Tag people you know, or want to get to know. When someone sees that they’ve been tagged in a post, they’re going to click. Many will comment and share, as well.
In addition to these eight LinkedIn posting cheat codes, I’m going to leave you with my MEGA CODE.
We’ll call it the Rule of 15.
It goes like this: Within the first two hour of posting on LinkedIn, you want to get 15 comments and 15 likes.
If you can do that, the LinkedIn algorithm will notice you and be much more likely to boost your post in the feed.
Follow the other cheat codes above and you shouldn’t have any trouble getting 15 comments and 15 likes.
Want to See Real Viral Posts from Actual Virtual Advisors?
I know sometimes it helps to see visualizations.
It’s one thing to have an idea of what a viral post looks like in your head, but it’s something else to actually see one in action.
In a recent Virtual Advisor Power Hour, I did an in-depth analysis of two viral posts.If you’d like the SCREENSHOTS of these posts – as well as a breakdown of why they were so successful – I’d be happy to shoot them over to your inbox.
Fill in the form below and I’ll give you the inspiration you need to go viral on LinkedIn within the next 90 days or less…
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2 Responses
Awesome,as always! Thank you so much!
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed it and hope you can put some of these tips into action.
-Sky (Team Advisorist)