Lights, camera, call-to-action: 5 LinkedIn copywriting tips for pharma
Striking the balance between corporate and conversational
3 mins | 29/09/2025Key takeaways
- Writing for LinkedIn is like writing for a character: Create a corporate persona and write in their voice
- Cut, cut, cut! Keep your sentences snappy for maximum impact
- Grab attention quickly. And keep it.
- Tag your team-mates and encourage conversation
- Include specific anecdotes to humanise your messaging
Silence on set!
Thank you. Now that I have your attention, let's start the scene. (I'm going to be really pushing for a film theme throughout this article, so just bear with me).
As a pharma company, getting tone of voice right on LinkedIn can be a bit of a tricky customer. Your copy has to walk the line between:
- Your company's corporate tone of voice, used across different platforms
- LinkedIn users' preference for human-led, unpolished content
It's likely that your company's corporate tone of voice is pretty... staid. That's to say, formal and straight-laced. Your company's brand identity is underpinned by credibility, scientific rigour, and exacting standards, so it's no wonder that your corporate tone of voice reads like a whitepaper. And hey, that's exactly as it should be.
But on social media, that same tone of voice doesn't translate quite so well.
Now, I hear you. You're telling me "that's why we chose LinkedIn as our primary social media platform. It's serious. It's professional. Just like us". And you're right, LinkedIn is a great choice to showcase your pharma company in the digital space. But that doesn't mean LinkedIn's audience and algorithm favour a tone of voice that reads like a press release.
So, now you're stuck. Your LinkedIn posts aren't gaining any traction, and accounts that write copy like a Gen-Z texting their friend are getting double the likes that you are. But how can you alter your account's use of language without compromising your corporate identity?
It's all one big balancing act. Here are our five top tips:
1. Character work
LinkedIn favours content that sounds like a human. So… write like a human. A specific human. Create a corporate persona to write from, and simply type out what that person would say.
This is easy for me to say, I know. I started my career as a screenwriter (can you believe it?), and I've always found that writing as a particular character is the best way to nail tone of voice. Especially in settings where your copy should sound a bit more like spoken word, such as on LinkedIn.
And there you have it. The backbone of your new LinkedIn tone of voice. Casual and conversational, but still professional, serious, and punchy. You've nailed it. Or you will have, after a few more tweaks…
2. Cut it out
Anyone know the first rule of screenwriting? "If it doesn't move the plot forward, cut it out."
That rule applies perfectly to writing copy for LinkedIn. In fact, the only difference between writing for screen and writing for LinkedIn is how much more fun LinkedIn copy is. (Apply your own sarcasm here).
But seriously, if you don't need a word, lose it. I don't care that you want to put three synonyms for ‘reliable’ into one sentence.
Chop that post up. Use three-word, two-word, or even one-word sentences. Throw full stops around like there's no tomorrow. Keep your post punchy, and scannable. Your audience will have a much easier time digesting your message, and you'll sound a lot more conversational.
3. Big opener
Start big. Your posts will truncate after 125 characters, so please, please, use those characters wisely. Open with a bold stat, a punchy number, or an attention-grabbing quote.
Set up a question that your audience just have to find out the answer to before they can scroll on. Do whatever you have to do (that's legal of course) to get users to click ‘read more’.
4. Tag, you're it
LinkedIn wants to be "people-focused"? Fine, we'll play along. Tag your people. If your senior leadership team gave a presentation, tag them. If you're recognising a colleague for an achievement, tag them. If you worked with a charity partner on an initiative, tag them. And then encourage that individual to like, comment, and share.
Quick tip: Don't stuff your post full of tags! A maximum of three tags per post is enough. And don't forget to check with your actors (tag-ees) that they're happy to be tagged before you cast them. (I know I'm pushing the film bit to its limits here, but please just go with it).
5. Be specific
Why do people on LinkedIn hate corporate-sounding posts so much? Because they don't have any soul, and people don't trust them. And, let's be honest, they're boring.
I call this ‘The Netflix Principle’. Users on Netflix can watch any movie they like. If you don't hook them in the opening scene, they'll just return to the main menu and select something else.
On LinkedIn, The Netflix Principle isn't just in effect, it's on steroids. Busy professionals have a million other ways to spend their time.
Busy professionals have a million other ways to spend their time. They're already choosing to be on LinkedIn (which isn't the most entertaining platform to begin with). If they're not hooked by your post, they'll simply scroll past, or change apps. You can't stop them.
So, we get it, you had a great team away-day. You fostered cross-functional working relationships and re-aligned on your company values. Sweet. But so what? That's not a story.
Tell us what Dave did at dinner that had everyone in stitches. What joke did CEO Sandra make at the podium that made the team guffaw? Who won the teambuilding Lego challenge, and did they do it by cheating? That's the real story. That's the kind of content that humanises your brand, and gets you those coveted likes, clicks, and shares.
End scene
Of course, there's more to nailing the LinkedIn platform as a pharma company than that. We've not even touched on emojis (hint: they're useful) or hashtags (hint: they're less useful). But I wanted to write '5 tips' in my article title, so I'm only giving you 5.
Why not contact AMP27 at info@amp27.com for a consultation on how we can transform your corporate LinkedIn presence?
