Should a local media brand post on LinkedIn?
Short answer
Yes, for the business side. LinkedIn's algorithm shows posts about your area to local decision makers even if nobody follows you. A Texas operator got at least one inbound call a day from bankers, business owners and city leaders within two weeks. Post first-person proof of community impact, not news. Keep Instagram for consumer news.
"I would never ever do WilCo Guide content on LinkedIn if it wasn't for the algorithm, because nobody's following me on LinkedIn. The point is LinkedIn will literally put my content about Williamson County in front of these bankers in Williamson County."
Why does LinkedIn work for local?
Geo-relevance. LinkedIn shows posts about a place to the business people in that place, follower count or not. A local media operator in another Texas city started posting about his town and got:
- At least one inbound call a day after about two weeks.
- Calls from business owners, a revitalization director and a bank.
- At least five bankers and city leaders reaching out within a few weeks, even though his likes looked modest.
- One post with 90 likes and 32 comments.
Those are his numbers. I suspect it works less well in a very big market like Austin.
What should I post on LinkedIn?
Not news. First-person proof that you're helping the community.
A peer's example:
"It's not news. It's, hey, I've been doing these dinner clubs in downtown and we've generated over $20,000 in revenue for local downtown restaurants."
Super personal, super first person. This is me, I'm here, I'm helping the community this way. Decision makers see it, want to meet you, and some offer retainers.
It can't be content AI could write. It has to be: here's what I did, here's what I saw downtown, I went to this meeting and here's what happened.
Can someone on my team post for me?
It won't work as well. People want to meet the individual.
How do I split LinkedIn and Instagram?
| Channel | What goes there |
|---|---|
| Normal local news for the public | |
| The business of the county, ad results, partner announcements | |
| Reusable text |
My suggested weekly LinkedIn mix: three posts about WilCo Guide, two about greetform, one personal. We set Monday and Thursday production sessions, and I want advertiser language to shift toward "Partner."
This was inspired by a peer's results. I haven't measured revenue from it at WilCo yet.
Answered by TJ Larkin. From Local Media HQ podcast episodes, client calls and TJ's own notes in 2025 and 2026. Last updated .