One of the things I worry about when I eventually start writing on LinkedIn is how to create content that stands out in a crowded feed.
The answer, according to Justin Welsh, lies in creating content that leverages three content paths you can use to convey information to your audience and elevate your LinkedIn presence:
- Leading the tribe
To lead your tribe, you need to establish yourself in your niche. Then, you create content by sharing your expertise, experiences, and insights to guide your audience. This path is suitable when you have enough experience to justify the content you share. However, the people you serve with this content are usually behind in their journey.
A good example of this is Justin Welsh himself. He has established himself as an expert in his field. Most of his writing follows this path because he imparts experience to those who want to learn from him.
This path suits those who have established themselves as an expert.
- Discovering for your tribe
You can use this path when you don't have the expertise related to the content you're writing. You become the researcher and do the work to uncover new learnings so your audience doesn't have to. This path means you share new findings or information that you've found to help your audience stay ahead.
While Alex Wieckowski is an established creator, he does many discovering posts for his audience. Alex reads a lot of books, and he shares what he has learned with his audience. Here's an example of a post which I think reflects the discovery path:
- Reporting to your tribe
With this path, you become a reporter and uncover truths by interviewing experts, authorities, and other people within the niche you write about. You keep your audience informed about the latest news, trends, and events. This is a powerful path because rather than having to convince your audience of the knowledge you want to impart, you use other sources to testify for you.
In the post below, David Perell gives us a sneak peek of his upcoming podcast with Alex Hormozi. However, David has also interviewed other experts in his field, such as Shaan Puri and Ali Abdaal, to name a few. This is how David uses his platform: he interviews other experts who write online to share their stories, knowledge, and expertise to help his audience become better online writers.
You need to identify which paths to take to convey your message on LinkedIn.
For beginners just starting to write online, the discovering and reporting path is the best way to convey your message with conviction. Of course, you do not have to stick to only one path. It could be a mix of all three paths, depending on the content you are writing on and the level of expertise.
