What to Post on LinkedIn When You Run a Mining, Manufacturing, or Oil and Gas Company
If you've already accepted that LinkedIn is worth your time as a heavy industry founder, the next question is the one that trips everyone up: What do I actually post?
That's not a small question. Most LinkedIn advice was written by people selling SaaS tools, coaching programmes, or personal development courses. Their content playbook doesn't translate to a 200-person mining operation in Western Australia or a third-generation manufacturing company in the Midwest. The examples are wrong. The tone is wrong. The whole framework assumes your buyer is a 28-year-old startup founder scrolling on a Tuesday afternoon.
Yours isn't.
[If you're still wondering whether LinkedIn is the right channel for your industry at all, start here — [Why LinkedIn Works Differently for Heavy Industry Founders](link to Post 1) — then come back. ]
What a manufacturing CEO should post on LinkedIn - and what they should stop posting
Let's clear something out of the way first.
What doesn't work:
Motivational quotes with a stock photo of a sunrise
"Excited to announce" posts that read like press releases
Articles that read like your company brochure, repackaged
Anything that starts with "In today's fast-paced world..."
Your buyers are operators. They run shifts, manage procurement cycles, and deal with real-world problems that have weight and cost. They respond to content that sounds like it comes from someone who understands that world - not someone performing thought leadership at them.
What a manufacturing CEO should post on LinkedIn?
The short answer: posts that prove you understand the problem your buyer is sitting with right now. The problem — in their language, with the specificity that shows you've lived it too.
The five content types that consistently work for heavy industry founders
1. Operational truth posts
These are short, direct observations from inside your world. What you noticed, what it cost, and what you did about it.
This format works because it sounds like no one else on LinkedIn. It's specific. It's earned. And it makes your buyer think: this person gets it.
2. Decision-making posts
Walk your audience through a real decision you made - without dressing it up. What were the options? What did you weigh? What did you choose and why?
This is the highest-converting content format for industrial founders because it demonstrates judgment. And judgment is what a $2M procurement decision is actually buying.
3. Behind-the-scenes from the floor or field
What does your work actually look like? Most buyers have never been inside a plant like yours, on a site like yours, in conditions like yours. Show them.
When a decision-maker in Houston sees what your operation actually involves, they calibrate their expectations - and their respect - accordingly.
Photos from the site. Short video from the floor. A shot of the problem before you solved it. These are simple to produce and nearly impossible to fake.
4. Industry frustration posts
Pick one thing that your industry gets consistently wrong - supply chain timelines, spec communication, procurement assumptions, whatever you see regularly - and say it plainly.
These posts generate comments from people who feel the same frustration. That's engagement with signal. The people who respond to this are your buyers, your peers, and your referral network.
5. Client outcome posts — without the case study format
Don't write a case study. Write a story.
Outcome posts that lead with the human moment, not the metric, get read. The metric can come in the middle.
How often should an industrial company founder post on LinkedIn?
The honest answer: consistently beats frequently, every time.
Two to three posts per week, written in your actual voice, will outperform daily posting that sounds like every other LinkedIn account. Your buyers are not refreshing their feeds. They're not following you for volume. They're following you because at some point, something you said made them think: I want to know more about this person.
If you're starting from scratch: aim for two posts a week for the first 90 days. Stay consistent. Review what got traction at the 90-day mark. Then adjust.
The practical starting point
If you've been staring at the "Write a post" box and not knowing where to start, here's a simple prompt to use on yourself this week:
What's one thing that happened in my business this month that surprised me, frustrated me, or made me think differently?
Write that. In the language you'd use with a peer at an industry event. Not polished. Not branded. Just honest and specific.
That's your first post. Everything else follows from there.
Feel overwhelmed? I understand it might be a lot to do with your busy schedules. Why not get on a 1:1 call?
I'll review your LinkedIn profile, your posting history (or lack of one), and your positioning as a founder in your sector. You'll leave with a clear picture of what's costing you visibility and a starting point that's built for your industry.
