Earlier this year, I was booked to speak at a conference. Instead of waiting for the organizer to send me a logo and a registration link, I offered three things: a LinkedIn post promoting the event, a blog entry for their newsletter and a short webinar to prep the audience before I ever walked on stage.
The webinar changed everything. Registrants who attended it told the organizers it was the reason they showed up to the event. Not the marketing email. Not the early-bird discount. A 30-minute webinar from the speaker they were about to see live.
Not every speaker will offer that, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to ask. And the smart speakers will say yes, because you’re giving them something specific to talk about on LinkedIn instead of the usual “Excited to announce!” post that the algorithm buries before lunch.
Your keynote speaker has an audience you cannot reach on your own. Here is how to turn that audience into your event’s best marketing channel.
[Related: AI Is Looking You Up on LinkedIn. Here’s What It Finds]
1. Send Them a Story, Not a Flyer
Speakers post generic announcements because that is all you gave them. Instead of a logo and a registration link, send a two-sentence description of a problem the audience is facing and why this session addresses it. When the speaker writes from that angle, their post reads like insight instead of promotion. The algorithm rewards insight.
2. Give Them a Quote They Can Use From You
Write one sentence about why you booked this speaker. Make it specific. “We brought in [speaker] because our attendees told us they are struggling with [problem] and nobody is talking about it.” When your speaker includes that in their post, it gives the audience a reason to care. It also makes you look like a planner who listens.
3. Offer Them a Stage Before the Stage
This is what worked for me. A pre-event webinar gives the speaker a reason to post on LinkedIn three times instead of once: promoting the webinar, sharing a takeaway after the webinar and building anticipation for the live event. Each post gives the algorithm another signal. Each one reaches an audience that your marketing budget cannot buy. Not every speaker will agree to a webinar, but many will write a guest blog entry for your newsletter or record a short video. The point is to create something worth talking about before the event starts.
[Related: How to Write Comments That Get You Discovered on LinkedIn]
4. Suggest They Post About the Audience, Not About Themselves
The highest-performing LinkedIn posts are about the reader, not the writer. Instead of “I’ll be sharing my framework for x,” help the speaker frame it as, “If you’re a meeting planner dealing with x, this session was built for you.” That shift changes who the algorithm shows the post to.
5. Comment on Their Post Within the First Hour
When your speaker publishes, be the first comment. Tag your organization’s page. Add context the speaker did not include. Your comment extends the reach of their post into your network while their post introduces your event to theirs. Two audiences, one conversation.
6. Ask the Speaker to Post After the Event, Too
The post-event post is where real value lives. A speaker sharing a specific moment from your stage, a question from the audience that surprised them or a lesson they took away from your attendees creates content that planners save and forward to colleagues. That saved content shows up in feeds for weeks. It becomes your best marketing asset for next year.
[Related: Here's Why Planners Should Post Comments on LinkedIn]
7. Make It Easy, Send a Template
Most speakers will post about your event if you remove the friction. Send a short template with the angle, the key details and a suggested structure. Make clear they should rewrite it in their own voice. The goal is not to hand them a script. The goal is to remove the blank-page problem that stops them from posting at all.
The Bigger Picture
Every speaker who posts well about your event becomes a distribution channel you did not have to pay for. Their audience sees your event through a trusted voice. And the planner who makes LinkedIn content part of their speaker onboarding process will see reach they cannot achieve with marketing dollars alone.
You already negotiate AV requirements, travel logistics and session format. Add LinkedIn content to the conversation. It takes five minutes during the booking call. The speakers who get it will thank you for giving them something real to talk about.
Connect with Richard on LinkedIn.
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