How Do I Find The Right Positioning Specificity On LinkedIn?

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Don't Keep Adding Details Just To Sound More Specific

You start with “I help consultants.” Then you add an industry, revenue range, business stage, company size, and location. Each detail makes the position look more precise, so it feels like you’re getting closer to the right answer.

But precision isn’t automatically useful.

Start with the audience, problem, and result. Then test anything else you’re thinking about adding. Does that detail make it meaningfully easier for the right person to understand who you help, what you help with, or why your expertise fits their situation?

If it doesn’t, making the position narrower hasn’t necessarily made it better.

There isn’t a fixed amount of specificity you need to reach. Don’t ask whether another detail makes the position narrower. Ask what becomes clearer because you added it.

Start With The Three Things A Buyer Actually Needs To Understand

Before adding more restrictions, make sure the foundation is doing its job: one person → one problem → one result.

Test each part:

  1. Person: Who needs to recognize that this is for them?

  2. Problem: What are they dealing with that makes your expertise relevant?

  3. Result: What meaningful change do you help them create?

“I help entrepreneurs grow their brands” leaves all three loose. Which entrepreneurs? What does “grow” mean? What problem are they trying to solve?

Compare that with: “I help independent consultants turn unclear LinkedIn content into a position potential clients can understand.”

Now the person is identifiable, the problem is visible, and the result has a direction. The Positioning Worksheet helps clarify those three decisions before you add anything else.

Don’t use industry, revenue, company size, or other qualifiers to compensate for a foundation that still isn’t clear. Test additional restrictions only after the person, problem, and result make sense on their own.

Add A Detail Only When It Changes Something Important

Suppose you’re considering changing “consultants” to “financial consultants.” Don’t add the industry simply because it sounds more specific. Test what that restriction changes.

Ask four questions:

  1. Does it change the problem? Do financial consultants deal with this problem differently?

  2. Does it change what they want? Are they trying to reach a different result?

  3. Does it change how I help? Would I need different expertise, guidance, or methods?

  4. Does it improve recognition? Does “financial” make the right buyer much more likely to think, “This is for someone like me”?

If financial consultants face different regulations, messaging challenges, or client-acquisition problems, that restriction may earn its place.

But if consultants across several fields have essentially the same problem, want the same result, and need the same help, adding “financial” may only remove people who still fit.

How Specific Should My LinkedIn Audience Be? goes deeper into which audience differences actually matter.

Apply the same test to revenue, business stage, company size, geography, or any other detail you’re considering.

Remove One Boundary And See What Actually Changes

Take your current position and remove one detail at a time.

Say it’s: “I help independent B2B marketing consultants earning $100K–$250K use LinkedIn content to generate qualified sales conversations.”

Remove the revenue range first. Then test “B2B,” “marketing,” and “independent” separately.

After each change, ask:

  • Does the problem now apply differently?

  • Have people with different needs entered the audience?

  • Would I need to change my content or solution?

  • Is it harder for the right buyer to recognize the fit?

If nothing meaningful changes, that detail may not be earning its place. If removing it brings in people with different problems or makes the message less clear, the boundary is probably useful.

You can serve people outside a boundary and still need that boundary for a clear position. But if removing it costs you nothing, keeping it may only make your audience smaller.

Can A LinkedIn Niche Be Too Narrow? takes that question further when those restrictions start reducing viable opportunities.

Stop Narrowing When More Detail Stops Making The Position Better

You’re probably specific enough when the right person can recognize themselves, understand the problem and result, and you know what content belongs. People with essentially the same problem shouldn’t be excluded without a reason.

From there, the decision is simple:

  • Still unclear: Narrow the part causing confusion.

  • Clear and relevant: Stop adding details.

  • Clear but too restrictive: Remove the boundary that adds the least clarity and test again.

You don’t need to rebuild your position because one part needs adjusting. Change the smallest part necessary.

That’s also how the Content Authority System approaches a stable authority position: get the core decisions clear, then build your messaging and content around them instead of repeatedly changing direction.

Every Restriction Should Have A Reason To Be There

There isn’t one right level of specificity for every LinkedIn position. Start with a clear person, problem, and result, then make each additional restriction earn its place.

Add one when it makes the fit easier to understand. Remove it when all it does is make the audience smaller. Once another detail stops improving the position, stop adding more.

The goal isn't to make your positioning as specific as possible. It's to make every piece of specificity useful.

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