How to Create Storytelling Content on LinkedIn
- Build You Marketing
- May 15
- 9 min read
So you want to tell your entrepreneur or career stories on LinkedIn? We LOVE that. You're in the right spot to learn, and we're psyched to have you. Below, we take you through our secret sauce that will make your LinkedIn storytelling content stand out on people's LinkedIn feed.
Get strapped in... and ready to learn:
What is Storytelling LinkedIn Content?
Although there is no official definition of 'storytelling' content on LinkedIn, our team defines it as, "the expression of specific moments using actions and words that allowreaders to picture the moment.
Basically, storytelling content allows you to build an online 'persona' around who are you and your personality.
Why post Storytelling LinkedIn content?
People buy from people that they trust. It's really that simple.
That's why storytelling content is extremely important to share on LinkedIn because it builds trust with people overtime. Take the "know, like, trust" principle for example...
The Know, Like, Trust Principle
1. Know
People must first become aware of you or your brand. If they don’t know you exist, they can’t buy from you.
Hence, they discover you through stories as this content is the most engaged with on LinkedIn.
2. Like
Once they know you, they need to like you. That doesn’t mean being everyone’s best friend, but it does mean that you need to be relatable, authentic, and aligned with their values or interests which storytelling allows you to build with readers.
Most of the time, the impact of your stories is not the actual content itself, it's the way it makes readers feel. You want to help readers recall similar stories they have been through because it creates a sense of relatability and people remember how you made them feel. Overtime, if you consistently make people feel great when they read your content, they will want more and more.
3. Trust
Finally, they need to trust you before taking action, whether that’s buying, hiring, or referring. Trust is built through consistency, authenticity, and transparency over time. Mainly, if you consistently share interesting stories that are relatable, you build this trust with your audience.
Again, people buy from, follow, and champion people they know, like, and trust.
Storytelling content on LinkedIn helps move your audience through all three stages in a very organic way.
What makes Great Storytelling Content on LinkedIn?
Ok, now, you understand why you should share storytelling content on LinkedIn, but now you need to know to actually craft great storytelling content. Here are our "Do's" and "Don'ts" for storytelling LinkedIn Content.
General Storytelling LinkedIn Content Best Practices
Show, don't tell
Instead of directly stating something point blank like saying “I’m a great leader” or “I value teamwork,” the 'Show, don't tell' technique encourages you to illustrate those traits through descriptive language. For example, rather than claiming you are resilient, you should describe a challenging situation you faced, how you overcame it, and what you learned. You must use dialogue and focus in a specific moment to truly evoke emotion. Your goal is to create a movie of what's happening within the reader's head. This creates emotional connection and builds credibility because it allows your audience to see your values and skills in action. You basically prove the things you want your audience to believe to them.
Focuses on a Specific Moment
As alluded to above, a successful storytelling post creates a movie in the head of a reader, so they can imagine the story happening. This ensures that they understand what is happening and can emotionally connect to it deeper. Take your average novel for example; the writing is all focused moment-by-moment and uses real dialogue and descriptive language. It allows the reader to connect with the characters and even imagine themselves in the story. Using general stories or not getting in the 'nitty gritty' descriptors can hurt story quality and make it less authentic. Keep in mind, people remember how you make them feel, and not necessarily what you said. And yes, it relates to small things such as, "7:30AM" feels less authentic than "7:46AM."
3. The story is actually Interesting
Would you read your own story if someone you did not know posted it? If you even hesitate for a moment, the answer is, "no." People do not have a lot of time and it's really challenging to stand out on the LinkedIn feed with literally millions of posts going out everyday. The idea matters the most. Don't write about a boring moment or something that is very generic. Select your story idea carefully prior to sharing. We like to think from a journalist's perspective and ask, "is the story good enough for a journalist to write about it?" If the answer is yes, it's a great signal that you have story with a real headline that people will click on.
The Photos Visualize the Post
Remember, the only 2 things a scroller can see before deciding if they want to click, "read more" on your post is the 1st sentence and imagery. Your photos can make or break post performance. For example, if you are telling a story from the past, you want to make your photos feel nostalgic, so having them be a bit more grainy or showing what you look like during the time period you are sharing about. This can also impact whether you use 1 or 3 photos. Nonetheless, you want your photos to tell the story for you, even if someone does not read the post. This increases the emotional impact of your writing.
How to Write Storytelling Content on LinkedIn
Whew! This has already been a lot of information, and now, we're in the final stretch. Below, you will find our framework for how we craft LinkedIn storytelling content.
Hook / Sub Hook
Hook: First sentence of your LinkedIn post that captures attention
Sub-Hook: Second sentence of your LinkedIn post that gets someone to take action
As briefly mentioned above, the hook and sub-hook of your post are the only 2 sentences a reader can view before clicking 'read more' on your post, which is why these need to be perfect. If people don't love these 1 or 2 sentences, they will scroll right past your post. Generally, for storytelling posts we don't use a direct sub-hook because the hook both captures attention and gets people to act.
Hook
Capture people's attention.
When my Mom thought she was going to pass away, she gave me this note.
We consider this first sentence the 'headline.' Think about any GREAT news article. They all have great headlines to stand out against the rest of the headlines, so that people read 1 article over another. This first sentence is the story headline. Just by reading this 1 line, you now know what the post is about and come to a decision if the story is interesting enough to read.
Sub-Hook
Generally, most posts (except milestone) utilize a sub-hook that get's people to take action (click 'read more'), but in the case of storytelling, authenticity is paramount and if the headline is strong enough, you shouldn't need a sub-hook to capture clicks.
That said, we leave this line blank and insert an extra space/line between the headline and story opening similar to a news story that has a big headline that is separate from the actual story.
Story
Alrighty, you captured the reader's attention and now they're reading your post. Now, your goal is to keep their attention for as long as possible. That said, similar to an article, you want to jump right into the story. You want to start by setting the scene for the reader to helps them better visualize the moment. For example, a moment from 1987 will be pictured a LOT different than 2024 in someone's head.
Back in 2012, my Mom went through an emergency surgery.
I won’t go into details, but she wasn’t sure if she was going to make it.
So she wrote my Sister and I her final words in a sealed envelope.
Not to be opened unless the unthinkable happened.
To everyone’s relief, she was just fine.
But even 13 years later, I still carry that note with me EVERYDAY …
After reading these six lines, you can see how the story shifts from 2012 to 2025. The difference in what a reader pictures is vast here. At first, the post sets the scene during a time when the original author was younger as shown when '2013' was mentioned versus the reader may see the author more grown up when '2025' is mentioned. It provides a foundation to the entire story that creates the right scene for the reader to understand and picture the story.
What
Once you have set the scene for the reader, now is your time to dive into the actual story. This is arguably the part of the post where you have the most freedom to write as you'd like to. We advise you to use creative writing principles such as an an anaphora: repeat a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences.
and it’s gone to:
• Every Middle School Class
• Every High School Class
• Every College Class
• and every business meeting/event I’ve ever attended.
It sits in the front left pocket of my North Face Backpack.
This puts the story in very simple terms for readers and allows them to feel the impact of it. You can imagine where this note has gone. When the reader pictures "every college class," they might imagine the author sitting in a college classroom with the backpack next to them. This is a major area for "show, don't tell" principles, so that people can continue the movie in their head.
Why
Now that the reader has envisioned the story, your goal should be to make the story resonate and relatable. Express the 'why' behind the reason you shared the story in the first place to create purpose, relevance, and resonance. Without a clear 'why,' your post can feel like a random anecdote and does not give a reason for your audience to relate to or support it.
but if readers can takeaway a lesson or a deeper meaning that helps them, they receive value in return for their time. Take this piece of the post as an example:
Not because of any superstition though …
more so, it always reminded me to “follow my dreams” as written on the back.
A lot of entrepreneurs don’t have the support of their loved ones, especially right out of college.
But my Mom has never stopped believing.
Never stopped listening to all my ideas.
Never stopped answering my 1k+ questions.
Never stopped cheering me on.
Here, you see that the author clearly states why that letter from his Mom is so important. They plainly write, "[a] lot of entrepreneurs don't have the support of their loved ones, especially right out of college." This shows that the deeper emotional feeling to the author is actually about the mental challenges of entrepreneurship, and given the target audience is other founders, it creates a space for readers to relate and resonate with this topic, thinking something like, "Ya... I was lucky my Mom was supportive of me too." The memories rush into their mind and you've made them feel great.
Again, people remember how you made them feel ... NOT what you actually say!
Conclusion
Finally, you'll want to wrap this post up. While generally the conclusion is a a great place for a call-to-action, in a storytelling post, that comes off to sales-like. Remember, your goal here is to create trust and relatability, so you are not trying to sell anything, per se. That's why we recommend finding a way to wrap up the story. Generally, your overall thoughts and reflection on the story are great best practice.
Mom, if you’re reading this…
I love you so much. Thank you so much for your mentorship and trust. You inspire me to be a better person and “follow my dreams.”
Everyday is Mother’s Day to me.
In this conclusion, you will notice that the author speaks directly to his Mother. This is a common creative writing tactic that boosts authenticity and allows the reader to feel as if the author is talking directly to them. In this specific example, any Mom's that come across this post will be the most emotionally impacted by the closing line, potentially thinking of their kid and how much they love them.
For the final time, people remember how you make them feel ... NOT what you say!
There you go! Your post is complete and you're officially one of LinkedIn's BEST storytellers. If this was helpful....
Other LinkedIn Profile Tips & Tricks
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