How to Share Thought Leadership on LinkedIn (Without Sounding Like Everyone Else)

If you're a founder, marketer, creator, or consultant — you’ve probably been told: “Post thought leadership content on LinkedIn.”

But let’s be real. What does that even mean? A thread of jargon-filled advice? A recycled carousel with AI stats? Or just another “Here’s what I learned…” post?

Let’s fix that.

First, Why Thought Leadership Matters

According to LinkedIn’s B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report:

• 65% of decision-makers say a brand’s thought leadership significantly influences their perception of the company.

• And 61% say they’re more willing to pay a premium to work with a brand that demonstrates deep expertise.

But here's the twist: Most people try to write thought leadership posts like they’re submitting a whitepaper to Harvard. You don’t need to be a PhD or Fortune 500 CEO.

You just need to share:

• What you know

• What you’ve seen

• What you actually believe

And do it in a way that teaches, not preaches.

A Simple Framework: The “Teach → Tell → Takeaway” Method

You can use this for almost any post idea — whether it's personal, tactical, or strategic.

1. Teach:

Start with a clear lesson or insight. Think: “Most startups don’t have a content problem — they have a clarity problem.” “Hiring fast is easy. Hiring well? That’s where founders struggle.”

Make it punchy. Make it real. No fluff.

2. Tell:

Back it up with a story, experience, or observation. Talk about what you’ve seen. Use client examples (anonymized if needed), mistakes you’ve made, or market patterns you’ve spotted. This is the credibility part — not stats, but skin in the game.

“One of our early clients burned $30K on paid ads before realizing they were targeting the wrong persona. What they needed wasn’t more leads — they needed a better narrative.”

3. Takeaway:

End with something actionable or reflective for your reader. It could be a question, a framework, or a mindset shift. Examples:

• “Before you scale content, ask: Does my audience actually see me as a category expert?”

• “The smartest founders I know aren’t loud — but they’re consistent. Especially on LinkedIn.”

• “Ask yourself: Am I teaching people something they can use today?”

Other Winning Frameworks You Can Steal

Here are three more plug-and-play formats:

a. The ‘Mini Case Study’

Problem → Solution → Result → Learning Use this when you want to highlight a success (or failure). Example:

“We worked with a B2B brand that wasn’t converting any leads from LinkedIn. The problem? Every post sounded like a job ad. We rewrote their founder’s content strategy around 3 buyer objections. In 60 days, 7 warm leads. Lesson? LinkedIn rewards relevance, not reach.”

b. The ‘Question + Reframe’

Ask a common question → Offer a fresh perspective Example:

“Do you need 100,000 followers to land clients on LinkedIn? Not really. You need 100 right-fit people who trust your brain.” Then explain how you build trust. That’s the thought leadership.

c. The ‘Point of View’ Post

Strong opinion → Support → Invite discussion Example:

“I think personal branding > performance marketing for early-stage startups. Because nobody buys from a company they don’t know — they buy from people they trust.”

Back it up. Then end with: “What do you think? Agree or strongly disagree?”

Final Tips to Keep It Human & Credible

• Write how you talk. Thought leadership ≠ stiff writing.

• Don’t sell. Teach first. The inbound leads follow.

• Use ‘I’ when sharing experience, and ‘you’ when giving advice. That keeps it warm, not preachy.

• Consistency beats virality. One smart post a week > 10 generic posts no one remembers.

TL;DR: Start Simple, Stay Real

Thought leadership on LinkedIn is about this:

→ Sharing what you actually know → In a way others can actually use → With a tone that feels actually human

If you keep showing up with value, your audience will start to show up for you.