Advocacy on LinkedIn 101

LinkedIn is a great “town square” to share opinions. We’ve put together a few tips every post should have, as well as a few ideas for ways to get started in case you need inspiration.

Every advocacy post should:

1. Have a clear position – It’s important to have a clear idea in your mind of your advocacy ask(s). Ideally, a position will clearly outline actions (what needs to happen), actors (who needs to act), and urgency (by when does action have to happen).
2. Use plain language – Writing with plain language (and explaining jargon) makes it easier for readers to understand. In advocacy posts, it is critical to ensure your readers understand the message and the ask. In particular, avoid unnecessary acronyms; if acronyms are necessary, make sure to write them out on first use.
3. Start with a compelling headline – Catchy headlines and titles are important to grab the attention of a user. There are lots of ways for a headline to be compelling: try questions, motivational quotes, statistics, or an eye-catching statement (even a single, powerful word) to encourage users to pause and read when scrolling.
4. Encourage Engagement – In your post, encourage readers to complete an action, which might be an external link to a letter or way to contact a member of Congress, but could also include something LinkedIn specific, such as comment on, like, or share the post. You can also poise a question for readers to respond to; engagement helps build relationships and allows you to better understand the needs and wants of your audience.

Ideas to get started:

1. Tell a story — Stories are a powerful way to get to the heart of issues – who is impacted? who can this benefit? Storytelling in advocacy has the ability to persuade others and inspire readers to act.
2. Reuse old content — Using previous content that performed well can not only save time, but also still receive just as much engagement as when it was first posted. Many advocacy asks are revolving, so tweaking old posts and reusing them can be an effective time saver.
3. Screenshot tweets to comment on — Whether you agree or disagree with the tweet, using them for commentary is a great conversation starter on LinkedIn.
4. Ask for recommendations — Sometimes the best way to use LinkedIn and other social media platforms is to crowd source good ideas and best practices. Want to create a list of some of the best ways to gain congressional support? Start by asking the question, “What are some of the best ways to urge congressional support?” Then add an action such as, “Add your recommendations in the comments below.”