HOW to consistently post on LinkedIn as a Software Engineer
Systems I've learned from Justin Welsh and Matt Gray
Image by StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay
Have you ever been told that you should post more on LinkedIn? Perhaps you were told this advice in order to build a brand and/or secure a full time job. Perhaps you were told this so you could grow your audience to secure more clients. Regardless of why you were told this advice, there remains a problem:
Telling someone what to do, isn’t the same as guiding them on HOW TO DO IT.
In this article, I aim to address this gap by sharing practical strategies for posting more consistently on LinkedIn. And it all starts with two things:
Setting aside a time to create your content (i.e. Saturday mornings at 10am)
Organizing your content into categories that inspire and spark ideas.
The majority of this article will focus on categories you can use to spark ideas that will help you post more consistently on LinkedIn.
Categories
The content categories I will present, which you may have encountered online but never considered structuring into a system, have been instrumental in building my audience. These categories are a blend of concepts I've learned from Justin Welsh and Matt Gray. One way to apply these categories is by setting them in a spreadsheet and writing down various post titles that come to mind. For example, in the tips and tricks category (I discuss this category next) you could write the following:
How to convert any value in javascript to a boolean
How to use the null coalescing operator in javascript
Regardless of how you use these categories, the goal is for them to organize your creative thinking instead of trying to curate ideas from scratch. The remaining of the article will focus on the different categories that can help you create consistently on platforms like LinkedIn.
Tips and Tricks
As a Software Engineer who regularly engages on social media platforms like LinkedIn, you’ve probably come across a post showing you how to do some nifty thing in Javascript or a popular framework like React. Tips and tricks are a great way to build authority and demonstrate your technical ability. Next time you're looking for inspiration for your LinkedIn posts, consider highlighting those small yet invaluable skills that could benefit your audience.
If you don’t know any tips and tricks, I encourage you to learn some and share with your audience. By doing this, you’ll continue to grow your craft and build your brand
Lessons
If you’re struggling to find ideas for your LinkedIn post as a Software Engineer, think about the lessons you’ve learned along the way that can help someone else in their tech journey. Did you spend way too much on a bootcamp when you could of took a more affordable online course? Did you get a degree when you could of went to a bootcamp? Whatever the lesson, be willing to be vulnerable and share with your audience for their benefit. Here’s a personal lesson:
As I look back on my journey, one big lesson sticks out to me: I should of started small by building simple landing pages. Had I done this, I would had been prepared for entry level jobs that only required basic html and css skills.
When my audience hears this, they will value their small wins and not be overwhelmed with all there is to know in the tech industry.
Playbooks
When I think of playbooks, I think of what actions and strategies did someone use to drive their desired results. As a Software Engineer, you can talk about study habits, sleep routines, or any habit that drove any victories you’ve achieved. You can also observe and discuss someone else’s playbook in your post and how you plan on using their tactics
List
The idea behind list or listicles, a term I learned from Justin Welsh, is to give your audience a list of things that could be beneficial for them. For example, you could list 7 courses you took that helped you level up as a Software Engineer. Or a list of “go to” Node packages you use in every project. You could even list new javascript features like temporal that may be introduced in the Javascript ecosystem.
Personal stories
By personal stories, I don’t mean Situationships or seasons in your life that include “juicy details”. I mean personal stories that reflect your journey as a Software Engineer. Personal stories are a great way to connect with your audience, future clients, and/or employers. In a world were A.I is ever increasing, I believe personal stories, based in truth, will gain tremendous value. An example of a personal story, as a Software Engineer, could be the hardship of trying to find your first job and how you managed to stay positive and resilient through the process. Or it could be how you weren’t resilient and how you plan to be going forward. I’m persuaded the more vulnerable we are as humans, the more we connect with each other.
Tradeoffs
As a Software Engineer, recognizing tradeoffs is crucial to writing good code. Recognizing tradeoffs is also a good way to spark ideas for post to provide value to your audience. An example of a tradeoff post could be the tradeoffs between Next.js and Remix. Or the tradeoffs between using Zustand and Redux.
Observations
The Observation post should focus on trends or patterns you’ve observed in the tech industry. For example, I’ve noticed from being in the industry as a full time and contractor, that React Native and Firebase is a go to stack among engineering teams. Making your audience aware of this can provide value in streamlining what technologies they should focus on.
Contrarian
The Contrarian post is focused on challenging established ideas and providing a new perspective. For example, using the Context API as a global state manager is a an accepted practice. But based on research, I would challenge this idea and say it shouldn’t be used for global state. Instead, it should be used to avoid prop drilling per Reacts docs.
The contrarian post isn’t for the faint of heart. Be ready for push back with this one.
Past vs Present
The past vs present post can take on various forms but the heart behind it is this: Communicating with your audience how something (i.e tech market, frameworks, languages,…) used to be one way and how its changed. For example, maybe you believed Redux wasn’t the way to go at some point in time. But since RTK has streamlined the process, you now think Redux is a viable competitor in the world of state management. Maybe you use to think React Query was necessary. But with Server Components popping up, you’re thinking differently. Whatever the case, the Past vs Present post is a good way to provide your audience with a Birds Eye view on the ever changing landscape in tech.
Word of encouragement
These categories will most likely serve you best when you do the following:
Schedule a time to write
Start small (i.e 5 LinkedIn post a week)
Be authentic
Tell me about your results
If you decide to use these categories to curate LinkedIn post, tell me how it goes.
✌🏾