Between texts, emails, social media, meetings, and news sources we're bombarded with information. Think about how you browse the internet. You skim through articles, right? You're not alone. Your audience doesn't read your post—they scan it. According to UX Planet, people only read 20% of web content. Imagine the stats for your social media content. Most people on LinkedIn scroll through their feed to learn more about their industry, research ways to upskill, do some window shopping, or be entertained.
Like their other social media, their LinkedIn feed is an infinite scroll of distraction. Here's how how you can write "scannable" content:
Put your key points first so it's not overlooked/missed.
Don't bury the value. Don't add unnecessary fluff or filler words.
Use powerful, short words and sentences to keep your audience engaged.
Use listicles rather than paragraphs. To put it simply, a listicle is an article, social media caption, or blog post written in a list format.
Break up your text with subheadings, bullet points, and white space to make it easier on the eye to read/follow.
Incorporate carousels and visuals into your posts to make information easier to digest.
Don't assume people read 100% of your post. Assume people consume just 20% of it. Better make it count.