BY GISELLE AGUIAR

id you know that LinkedIn is one of the top five sources cited by AI answer tools? In the last year, LinkedIn has increasingly been cited as a credible source of information, and the AI Answer Engines mention the people or companies sharing it.

Along with Reddit, YouTube, and Wikipedia, LinkedIn consistently ranks among the top five platforms cited by AI answer tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s Gemini AI Overviews or AI Mode. It’s much easier to use than Reddit, and it’s less time-consuming than creating YouTube videos. It’s where you can become known as an expert in your field or industry, in addition to building credibility and topical authority.

Back in June 2024, I wrote an article for Messenger, “The Two Sides of LinkedIn”, that covered the basics of LinkedIn, so I’ll get into what’s new.

Like everything in the AI world, the self-storage industry is evolving rapidly, and so is the way investors, vendors, and facility owners find information. Whether someone is a large franchise operator looking for new gate access software, an investor seeking off-market deals, or a mom-and-pop owner researching how to increase their profits, they are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) for answers.

When your ideal prospects ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google Gemini for recommendations, those platforms pull information from the web to generate answers. Surprisingly, LinkedIn is one of the most powerful places to ensure your business is the answer they find.

We are past the point where AI search is just a future concept; it is already here and actively shaping buyers’ decisions. A recent Semrush analysis of 89,000 URLs cited across major AI search engines revealed a massive shift in visibility: LinkedIn is now the second-most cited domain across AI models, ranking along with Wikipedia, YouTube, Reddit, and every major news publisher.

That same study noted that across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Mode, an average of 11 percent of AI responses reference LinkedIn. On ChatGPT specifically, that number is 14 percent. This means that more than one in eight AI answers that your potential customers are reading is shaped by a LinkedIn post. If your brand or facility is not consistently publishing on LinkedIn, someone else’s content will fill the gap and shape what AI tells the market about your field.

Many professionals hesitate to post on LinkedIn because they feel they lack a massive audience. However, the data completely flips what we knew about going viral. Follower count and reaction metrics have near-zero predictive power on whether AI cites a post.

A post with 10 reactions gets cited at the same rate as a post with 100 reactions; the median cited post actually only has 15 to 25 reactions and a single comment. Even better for small mom-and-pop operators or solo real estate investors is that people with under 500 followers get cited at the same rate—and sometimes more—than creators with massive followings. AI search engines do not reward popularity contests; they reward the most relevant, highly specific answers. This levels the playing field.

To top it off, LinkedIn is rolling out (not everyone is going to see it at once) their internal AI-powered search. Thus, being crystal clear is more important than using buzzwords in your posts, headlines, and about sections. Use all the space that each section allows!

To dominate in AI search results, follow these specific, data-backed strategies.

Including deep details in your posts increases your citation rate by 77 percent. For self-storage, this means moving past generic statements like “The market is hot,” and instead sharing precise numbers, real data, and methods. Furthermore, naming entities such as companies, products, or software increases your citation odds by 33 percent. Instead of vaguely talking about “property management software,” compare specific brands and explain exactly how their automation engines differ for facilities of different sizes. AI reads the plain text of your post to formulate answers for users asking about those exact tools.

While standard feed posts are valuable, LinkedIn articles are the secret weapon of AI visibility. Long-form articles account for an astounding 50 percent to 66 percent of all cited LinkedIn content. The sweet spot for AI citations is original content between 500 and 2,000 words. AI models love articles because they are structured, indexable, and easy to extract clear answers from. If your self-storage parent company already writes blog posts for its website, simply copy and paste that content into a LinkedIn article. That’s a high-leverage move you can make right now.

Businesses today rely heavily on both corporate trust and personal relationships. Fortunately, AI search utilizes both. Perplexity favors company pages, which account for 59 percent of its LinkedIn citations. Conversely, ChatGPT and Google AI Mode heavily favor individual creators, pulling 59 percent of their citations from personal profiles. To win across all platforms, large franchises and vendors must invest in their corporate company page while simultaneously encouraging their executives, facility managers, and investors to share thought-leadership posts on their personal profiles.

AI heavily favors creators who show up regularly. Around 75 percent of cited authors post five or more times within a four-week window. To maintain this consistency without burning out, you should divide your content into a specific funnel or customer journey.

• Top-of-Funnel (TOFU) Growth Content (35 percent) – Broad industry observations are designed to attract new followers. For example, you could write a “newsjacking” post reacting to a recent industry report.
• Middle-of-Funnel (MOFU) Authority Content (35 percent) – Share deep expertise and educational posts that build trust using an infographic.
• Bottom-of-Funnel (BOFU) Conversion Content (20 percent) – These are lead-generating posts. The most effective format here is case studies. For instance, a consultant can detail how an underperforming mom-and-pop facility went from 60 percent occupancy to 95 percent occupancy in six months. Highlight the exact steps taken and provide real numbers as proof.
• Personal Content (10 percent) – Share stories about your journey as a real estate investor or business owner to humanize your brand and deepen connections with your existing network. This helps build trust and credibility.

Old: More followers, faster growth.
New: Followers barely move the needle. Follower count is now a vanity metric.

Old: Going broad to go viral.
New: Going niche to get found. Each post should be catered to a niche target market.

Old: Posting two to three times a week.
New: Posting as often as you can—the more posts, the better to feed the AI chatbots.

Old: Short, clipped, one-liner posts.
New: Writing like a human again. Write for your target audience, even if you think they’re not on LinkedIn.

Old: Links buried in the comments.
New: Links in the post. You can even put more than one!

Old: Carousels rule the feed.
New: Infographics rule the feed. Using NotebookLM from Google, you can easily create infographics in minutes.

Which posts and articles got the most reach, shares, and/or engagement? Post more of the content that worked. Consistency is key. Edit your successful posts slightly and repost.

By the way, ChatGPT now commands 92 percent of AI referral traffic! Don’t you want to increase your chances of being cited? Note: AI tools are evolving so quickly that by the time you read this, there will be changes, new tools, and new tricks. Follow me on LinkedIn to get the latest news and tips: https://www.linkedin.com/in/giselleaguiar.