How to Make a LinkedIn Post Shareable

Getting your LinkedIn post in front of more people isn't about gaming an algorithm, it's about inspiring other people to share it for you. A single, well-crafted post that gets reposted by a handful of people can generate more reach than a dozen posts that fall flat. This guide breaks down the practical strategies and creative touches you need to craft LinkedIn posts that your network actually wants to share.

First, Understand Why People Share Content

Before you write a single word, it's helpful to understand the psychology behind the "repost" button. People don't share content randomly. They do it for very specific, often subconscious, reasons. Tapping into these motivations is the foundation of creating shareable content.

• Utility (To Help Others): Humans are wired to help their tribe. If your content offers a genuinely useful solution, a step-by-step guide, or a valuable resource, people will share it to help their own connections and colleagues solve the same problem. They’re essentially saying, “Hey, I found this cool thing, and I think you’ll find it useful, too.”
• Identity (To Signal Who They Are): Sharing is a form of self-expression. People share content that aligns with their personal brand, professional identity, or core values. When someone shares your post about empathetic leadership or the future of AI, they’re telling their network, “This is what I believe. This is a topic I’m knowledgeable about and care about.” Your content becomes a tool for them to build their own reputation.
• Emotion (To Connect with Others): Stories about triumphs, failures, lessons learned, and relatable struggles create an emotional connection. People share these posts because they see themselves in the story and want to share that feeling with others. It’s a way of saying, “I’ve been there,” fostering a sense of community and shared experience.

Aim to hit at least one - and ideally two - of these motivators with every post you create. Is it useful? Does it help someone define their identity? Does it create an emotional resonance? If so, you’re already on the right track for creating a LinkedIn post that gets noticed.

Craft an Irresistible First Line

On LinkedIn, you have about two seconds to stop someone from scrolling. The first one or two lines of your post - the hook - determine whether they read more, engage, or glide right past. A post can have the most valuable insights in the world, but if the hook is weak, no one will ever get to them.

A good hook often does one of the following:

• Makes a contrarian claim: Challenge a commonly held belief in your industry. Example: “Everyone says you need to post daily on LinkedIn. They're wrong.”
• Starts with a personal confession: Vulnerability is magnetic. Show a bit of your human side. Example: “I completely bombed my first major presentation. Here’s what it taught me about preparation.”
• Presents an intriguing statistic: A surprising number makes people lean in and want to know the story behind it. Example: “90% of startups fail, but not for the reason you think.”
• Asks a pointed question: Get the reader thinking and reflecting on their own experience. Example: “When was the last time your work truly excited you?”
• Leads with a powerful story element: Drop the reader right into the middle of a narrative. Example: “The worst feedback I ever received came from an intern.”

Your goal isn't clickbait, it's to create curiosity. Promise your reader that if they stop and read, they’ll gain a valuable perspective or insight. Spend extra time here. Write three or four different hooks and pick the one that feels the strongest.

Make Your Post Easy to Read

Nobody wants to read a giant wall of text on a mobile phone. Structure and formatting aren't just about aesthetics - they’re about respect for your reader's time and attention. A post that is easy to scan is infinitely more likely to be read to completion and shared.

Think short, punchy, and scannable.

Simple formatting tricks that work wonders:

• Extremely short paragraphs: Stick to one or two sentences per paragraph. This creates a ton of white space, making the content feel less dense and more approachable.
• Use bullet points or numbered lists: When you’re offering advice, steps, or resources, format them as a list. Emojis can serve as visually interesting bullet points.
• Emphasize key thoughts: Use bolding or italics a few times to draw attention to the most important takeaways in your post. Don't overdo it, but a little emphasis goes a long way.
• Strategic line breaks: Think of line breaks as pauses in a conversation. They give the reader a moment to digest an idea before moving on to the next one. Use them intentionally to create rhythm and flow.

This isn't about "dumbing down" your content. It’s about presenting your ideas in the most effective way for a busy, scrolling audience.

Tell a Relatable Story

Facts tell, but stories sell (and share). LinkedIn is a professional network, but it’s still full of humans who connect through narrative. Posts that outline a personal experience - a challenging project, a career change, a lesson from a mentor - perform incredibly well because they are memorable and relatable.

You don’t need a groundbreaking epic. The most effective stories are often simple and follow a clear arc:

1. The Mess: Start with the problem, the struggle, or the mistake. "Earlier in my career, I was terrified of public speaking."
2. The Method: Describe the steps you took to overcome it. "So I joined a local club, read three books on rhetoric, and practiced in front of a mirror."
3. The Message: Share the key takeaway or lesson you learned. "The biggest unlock wasn't the practice, it was realizing that public speaking isn't a performance - it's a conversation."

People share these stories because they found clarity in your journey and want to pass that insight along. To dive deeper into strategies for increasing engagement, discover how to make LinkedIn posts more engaging.

Provide Genuine Value and Actionable Advice

If you want people to view you as an authority, give away your best ideas. Shareable content is often highly tactical - it gives the reader something they can immediately apply to their own work or life. Instead of discussing high-level concepts, break them down into actionable steps.

Types of high-value posts that get shared frequently:

• Step-by-Step Guides: Break down a complex process into a simple, easy-to-follow list. For example, "My 5-Step Process for Writing a Cold Email That Actually Gets Replies."
• Tools and Resource Lists: Curate a list of your favorite tools, books, podcasts, or resources for accomplishing a certain task. This saves people time and positions you as a helpful expert.
• Carousels (Document Posts): Use a PDF to create a multi-page carousel that's visually engaging and packed with information. These are highly shareable because they act like mini-presentations or infographics that stand out in the feed.
• Frameworks and Mental Models: Share a unique framework you use to think about a problem. Example: “The 'Listen, Acknowledge, Ask' framework for handling difficult client feedback.”

When you generously share high-value content, you build trust. People remember you as the person who helped them, making them far more likely to share your future content as well.

Include an Attention-Grabbing Visual

While text-only posts can perform extremely well on LinkedIn, posts with visuals consistently get more attention. Your visual element is another chance to stop the scroll and reinforce your message.

However, not just any image will do. Avoid generic stock photos. Your visual should feel authentic and relevant to the content of your post.

Effective visual ideas include:

• A friendly photo of yourself: People connect with faces. A high-quality, authentic photo of you adds a personal touch and helps build your personal brand.
• A simple custom graphic: Use a tool like Canva to create a simple graphic with a headline, a quote from your post, or a key statistic. This is a great way to reinforce brand consistency.
• A behind-the-scenes shot: Give a glimpse into your workflow, your office, or a project you're working on. It feels authentic and helps people connect with your process.
• Infographics or chart: If you're sharing data, visualize it! A simple chart or graph makes the information easier to digest and more memorable than text alone.

End with a Question That Sparks Conversation

The best LinkedIn posts feel like the beginning of a conversation, not a final statement. Wrapping up your post with a question invites a conversation and encourages engagement in the comments.

Ditch generic questions like "What do you think?" They're too broad and often get ignored. Instead, ask something specific that prompts a thoughtful response and makes people want to share their own experiences or insights.

• Bad Question: "What are your thoughts?"
• Good Question: "What's the best piece of career advice you've ever received that sounds counter-intuitive?"
• Bad Question: "Any questions?"
• Good Question: "What's one marketing tool under $50/month you couldn't do your job without?"

A good question doesn't just generate comments, it makes the entire post feel more dynamic and communal. When the comment section fills with valuable ideas contributed by other people, the post becomes a resource in itself - making it even more likely that someone will share it with their network to bring more voices into a great discussion.

Tag People and Pages Authentically

Tagging can be a powerful way to expand the reach of your post, but it has to be done with purpose and respect. When done right, it notifies someone that you've mentioned them, and they'll often engage with or share the post to their own network. Learn more about how to tag someone on LinkedIn.

Great ways to tag authentically:

• Tag someone whose idea or work inspired your post. ("This post was sparked by an article @JaneDoe wrote on leadership...")
• Tag people you collaborated with on a project you're referencing.
• Tag the company or tool you are writing about in a positive light.

Avoid the spammy practice of adding a long list of random influencer tags at the end of your post. It comes across as desperate and inauthentic, and it adds no value for your readers. A thoughtful tag is a sign of respect, a spammy tag is just noise.

Final Thoughts

Creating shareable content on LinkedIn is less about chasing trends and more about connecting with people. By focusing on providing real value, telling relatable stories, and structuring your post for easy reading, you give your audience a compelling reason to share your message with their network.

Focusing on great storytelling and strategy is the hard part. As we were running our own marketing teams, we got frustrated with social media tools feeling overly complicated, buggy, or dated. That's why we built Postbase, a clean and modern scheduler that lets us plan and publish content reliably so we can spend less time fighting our tools and focus on what to say next.