Most people are guessing on LinkedIn. You know the drill: you log on, wonder what to post, what format to use, and it just feels confusing. But here's the truth: the highest performers on LinkedIn aren't guessing.
They're using patterns, data, and proven structures. They're pumping out content that seems impossible to keep up with, and there's a formula behind it. I’ve built a personal brand with over 600,000 followers across social media, and LinkedIn is where my content starts. Today, I'm pulling back the curtain on my "content cheat codes" – the exact strategies I use to grow and convert on LinkedIn.
Stop Guessing
Most of us think we need to be an expert, have a certain degree, or reach a specific career level before we can post. That's a myth. Posting isn't about your qualifications or talent. It's about teaching people two rungs below you on the ladder. Think about where you were a year or two ago; teach that version of yourself.
And it's definitely not about luck or random inspiration. On LinkedIn, there's a structure that works. My social media success? It boils down to one thing: "If I could boil down my social media success to one thing, it would be pattern recognition." When you're running a science experiment, the more data you have, the better your decisions. What if you could have other people do the LinkedIn studies for you? That's what I call sneaky content. It's about identifying patterns that are already working and recreating them.
Anatomy of Viral
So, how are winning posts built? I study high-performing LinkedIn content, really breaking down the anatomy of a viral post.
Here’s what I look for:
- A pattern-breaking hook: This needs to stop the scroll, fast. I love bringing in storytelling, personal anecdotes, or a contrarian opinion. Think short, quippy sentences that don’t go beyond the line break. Something like "Personal brand changes how people treat you" – that’s short, punchy, and makes you want to know more. If you want hook ideas, just scroll LinkedIn or check out Taplio’s viral content feed. What makes you stop?
- Relatable tension or problem: You need to identify a problem your audience is experiencing. My sneaky way to do this? I get on free mentorship calls with people in my target audience. I ask them, "Where are you struggling?" I listen for their exact language. If everyone says, "I feel overwhelmed," then my post will be about feeling overwhelmed in your career search. Use their words, not complicated jargon.
- A story or insight: We've all heard it: "Share from the scar, not the wound." We're not trauma-dumping on LinkedIn. Once you've overcome something, reflect on that learning. Share the journey, not just the destination.
- A concrete takeaway: Every post needs a clear message. What's the one thing you want people to remember? For example, "visibility is your perceived value."
- An engagement trigger: This is my favorite way to boost engagement. Ask a question, ask for feedback, or give your audience an option. People love to choose. I’ve seen posts where I say, "You have two choices: be mad about this, or use this information to your advantage," and people jump into the comments to pick their side.
I'm always looking at how others are doing it. Take Tori Dunlap's hook: "I get about 100 messages each week. 99% of them are bad. This is why." That's a template you can steal today! "I've worked with 100 sales teams, and here's what the top 1% do differently." Numbers in hooks? They stop the scroll.
Content Formats
Right now, carousels really outperform text posts. They're great for repurposing content, too. Personal photos also work incredibly well. Think of it: you drinking coffee at your desk, out and about, at a conference. Why? Because as humans, we are biologically wired to be attracted to other people's faces.
This isn't just an algorithm thing; it's a biology thing. You can take it up with your brain! Now, if you're not comfortable showing your face, that's okay. Consistency is more important than ultimate optimization.
You can use carousels (Taplio has a great carousel generator, by the way, which saves so much time from Canva back-and-forth!) or share photos of things that aren't your face: your coffee, your pet, a city skyline. Videos are performing okay for me right now, but I do think LinkedIn will keep prioritizing them. If you start creating videos and get comfortable on camera, you'll be ahead of the curve in a year.
Repurpose, Repurpose
My whole strategy revolves around this: find what's working for other people, recreate it for myself, and once it performs well, I repurpose it again and again and again. I'm not kidding, if a piece of content performs well, I'm repurposing it literally every single month for the next six months. You don't have to come up with new content ideas every day. My workflow is simple:
- Identify high performers: I go to the Taplio viral post section, or use the Chrome extension to look at individual creators’ top posts. I'm not going to post something if I don't know it works. Why run the experiment myself when others already have?
- Analyze the structure and hook: What are the repeating patterns? Is it about outliers? Inspiration? A contrarian take? For example, I noticed Alex Hormozi's top posts are personal, vulnerable, and show his failures – not just "grind harder" content.
- Adapt to my voice: I take that pattern and make it my own. Taplio's AI assist is incredible here. I can tell it, "Hey, I want to make a post that chronicles my career timeline by year, showing that an inconsistent career is okay." It generates a LinkedIn-optimized post that understands the algorithm, unlike generic AI tools.
- Schedule it out: I schedule my repurposed content for a month or more in advance.
I measure performance by saves, comments, shares, profile visits, and inbound opportunities – not just likes. These metrics tell me what's truly resonating and converting.
Consistency Wins
The biggest mistake I see people make on LinkedIn? Not enough consistency. I started creating content inconsistently probably like 2018 – a week on, a year off. Sound familiar? It wasn't until around 2022 that I got consistent.
The feedback loop of creating, seeing what performs best, and repurposing has been the most effective for my growth. I only truly doubled down on this in the last six months, and those have been my highest performing ever. Look, there are two games in content creation: consistency and optimization.
Get consistent first, optimize later. The tips and tricks don't matter unless you're posting consistently. There are a billion users on LinkedIn, and less than 2% post once per week. If you're posting once a week, you're in the top 2%. Three times a week, learning and improving? You're in the top fraction of a percent. I schedule one to two posts every week using Taplio, so I know something is going out. It eliminates the stress and ensures I'm consistent.
Monetize Your Brand
Moving from audience growth to monetization requires a strategic shift. First, if you want to monetize, you need a LinkedIn featured section. Most people don't have one, and it's a visual way to show what you offer.
My favorite way to use it is to share a free digital product. You probably already have one in your Google Drive – an onboarding guide, a webinar, a checklist. Turn it into a freebie, collect emails, and then once you have an offer, email your list. And don't be afraid to make an ask! "Hey, I'm looking for three graphic design clients this month." You never know unless you ask.
My top-secret method for converting followers into clients without feeling salesy? I go on LinkedIn Messenger and ask people, "Hey, what's your goal for March? What's your goal for Q2?" Two things happen:
- They respond with a goal that aligns with what I do. I say, "Your goal is to build your personal brand? I'm a personal brand consultant, and I can help. Want to get on a call tomorrow?"
- They respond with something irrelevant. I offer encouragement, a referral, or a resource.
Here's the thing: sales is just solving someone's problem. People are on LinkedIn looking for you right now. They're searching for "executive coach in London." Make it easy for them to find you by building your personal brand, being vulnerable, and being crystal clear about the problem you solve in your LinkedIn headline.
Trends Matter
What trends in 2026 actually matter? I think hashtag strategies are noise. I haven't seen a ton of difference in my own experiments. What's real is good formatting: line breaks, lists, emojis. You see how viral posts have natural line breaks and bullet points?
People call it "broetry," but it works. When you're reading an email, you don't want a big wall of text, right? It's the same on LinkedIn. Also, videos are going to become more important. LinkedIn is slow, remember?
What's happening on TikTok and Instagram is years ahead. While videos aren't always top-performing for me right now, getting comfortable on camera and learning to edit is a skill that will put you way ahead in a year.
The bottom line? Stop guessing on LinkedIn. Embrace pattern recognition, study what works, and make it your own. Repurpose your winning content relentlessly, because you don't need new ideas every day. Consistency beats everything else.
And when you're ready to monetize, be vulnerable, talk to your audience, and don't be afraid to make an ask. Building a personal brand isn't about being perfect; it's about being human, solving problems, and showing up.
If you're ready to dive deeper into these strategies, I invite you to explore my book, Career Cheat Codes, available for preorder now. It’s packed with insights on using your personal brand to build a bigger, more monetizable career.
And if you want to create content with me every day, check out my Sunrise Content Club.
