♻️ does your LinkedIn content pass this test?

Jul 13, 2024 12:25 pm

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Hey friend!

Way too many companies and brands phone it in with their social content and then wonder why they get 3 likes on the content.

So today, I want to dive into a simple concept that could 100x the value of your LinkedIn content.

It's what I call the "No Link Test."

The No Link Test: What it is and why it matters

The "No Link Test" is a simple yet powerful concept: if you remove the link and call-to-action (CTA) from your LinkedIn post, does it still provide value to your audience?

This test challenges you to think beyond teasing content that drives toward a click, and encourages you to create posts that stand on their own.

Why does this matter?

Your audience is scrolling through their feeds at lightning speed. And you don't get the luxury of choosing which posts your content sits between in a feed.

Your C+ post could get sandwiched between two As and folks will simply keep on scrolling.

If your post doesn't offer immediate value, it's going to be overlooked.

Nobody comes to social media to click a link. You included.

When your content passes the No Link Test, you're respecting your audience's time and also increasing the chances of engagement and shares.

When content falls short

Let's look at an example that fails the No Link Test.

I'm going to pick on Dreamdata a bit here, but it's just a random example. I actually like the majority of the social content they put out.

So let's take a look.

Nothing too crazy. In fact, it looks like the majority of B2B content we see out there on LinkedIn.

Now, imagine this post without the link to the larger blog post.

What are you left with?

Not much, right?

There's very little actual value coming from the post.

It's essentially a teaser that provides no real value unless you click through.

This approach might work occasionally, but it's not the best strategy for building a loyal, engaged audience who looks forward to reading your content.

Leveling up the content

So, how can we improve posts like the Dreamdata example?

Here are a few suggestions:

They could highlight each model and discuss it in detail.
They could share the top three models and use the link as a teaser for the remaining two.
They could turn the top five into a carousel post, providing all the information directly on the platform.

And any of those three things would bring more value than the link alone.

So, moving forward ask yourself a simple question before you hit publish:

"Can this post pass the No Link Test?"

Have a great week!

Justin

Founder, Distribution First

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