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Nonprofits Resource Hub > Grow your following

Empower leaders to join the conversation.

Establish thought leadership and post insightful content that gets your nonprofit noticed.

1. Identify potential thought leaders ↓

2. Get a pulse on the current conversation ↓

3. Start posting thought leadership content ↓

Identify potential thought leaders.

If you have someone at your nonprofit with a unique perspective about your cause, like your CEO or founder, encourage them to post on LinkedIn.

This can help you grow awareness for your organization and establish your leader as an expert in the nonprofit space, which may lead to future speaking opportunities.

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Get a pulse on the current conversation.

Help your chosen thought leader find an entry point into the broader conversation.

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Learn from established thought leaders.

If you’re new to producing thought leadership content for yourself or your organization’s leadership team, start by following other leaders in the nonprofit industry. This can give you an idea of what kind of content they’re posting and what topics are top of mind. The LinkedIn Top Voices in Social Impact list is a good place to start if you aren’t sure who to follow.

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Engage with existing content.

Once you’ve discovered other nonprofit thought leaders and organizations to follow, you or your thought leader should start engaging with this established thought leadership content by leaving insightful comments on relevant posts and sharing your own content.

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Join relevant groups.

Become a member of LinkedIn Groups relevant to your cause and observe what kind of content people are interested in. Use these insights to inspire your own content. These groups can also act as a testing ground for your own thought leadership content, allowing you to practice and find your voice in front of a smaller audience. To start, check out the LinkedIn for Nonprofits group.

Note:
Make sure these engagement efforts come from you or your leaders’ personal profiles, and not from your organization’s Page.

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Start posting thought leadership content.

Give your leader the support they need to get started with these tips and best practices.

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Respond to collaborative articles.

Explore collaborative articles on LinkedIn to find an easy place for your thought leader to start sharing their expertise. Collaborative articles allow LinkedIn members to share insights and advice on a range of professional topics. Members who make noteworthy contributions over time are awarded a Community Top Voice badge to display on their LinkedIn profile.

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Post from your leader’s or your individual profile.

Thought leadership content should come from an individual person — not an organization. However, if you’d like to amplify your thought leaders’ content or your own after it’s been posted, you can engage with it from your nonprofit’s Page.

Be active.

Continue to engage with other thought leaders’ content, including commenting on and sharing their posts if they’re relevant to your audience.

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Engage your followers.

Use questions and prompts to drive engagement and make sure to engage with the people who comment on and share your thought leaders’ or your content. It’s important to make thought leadership content feel like an ongoing conversation.

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Start small and ramp up.

Don’t feel pressured to post every day, but try to post regularly (ex: weekly or biweekly). Quality is always better than quantity. Here are a few ways you or your leaders can jump into the thought leadership conversation on LinkedIn:
• Provide commentary on stories in the news and current events.
• Share knowledge on a relevant topic.
• Discuss key takeaways from a recent event or conference.

Utilize your team.

Remember, thought leadership doesn’t have to be a solo effort. Other people in your organization can help you or your leaders by drafting posts and helping to plan content.

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Back to: Utilize your network.

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