Scrape high-engagement LinkedIn posts and auto-post with Gemini images

Description

Who's it for

This workflow is ideal for:

Content creators who want to replicate successful LinkedIn strategies
Social media managers monitoring competitor content performance
Marketing teams analyzing trending topics in their industry
Personal brands looking to create data-driven content
Agencies managing multiple LinkedIn accounts

What it does

This comprehensive workflow automates the entire LinkedIn content lifecycle: it scrapes viral posts from target accounts, analyzes engagement patterns, identifies trending topics, generates original AI-powered content based on those trends, creates accompanying images, and automatically publishes to your LinkedIn profile or company page.

How it works

Phase 1: Data Collection (Runs every 12 hours)

Scheduler triggers the workflow twice daily
Fetches LinkedIn profile URLs from Google Sheets
Processes profiles in batches of 3 to respect API limits
Uses Apify API to scrape recent posts from each profile
Adds 3-second delays between requests to avoid rate limiting
Filters for high-engagement posts (20+ likes, comments, or reposts)
Saves viral posts to Google Sheets with full metadata

Phase 2: Content Generation (Triggered by new data)

Monitors Google Sheets for new viral posts every minute
Filters posts published within the last 3 days that haven't been analyzed
Aggregates trending content into a single dataset
Analyzes patterns using Google Gemini AI to identify:
Common themes and topics
Engagement triggers and hooks
Successful content structures
Trending hashtags and formats
Generates original LinkedIn post with proper formatting
Creates AI image prompt optimized for minimal text
Generates professional image using Google Imagen
Publishes complete post to your LinkedIn account
Marks analyzed posts as complete to prevent duplication

Setup steps

1. Configure Google Sheets

Create a new Google Sheet with two tabs:
Tab 1: "usernames & links" - Add LinkedIn profile URLs you want to monitor
Tab 2: "scrape data" - Leave empty (auto-populated by workflow)
Connect your Google Sheets credentials in both nodes
Replace all instances of YOUR_GOOGLE_SHEET_ID with your actual sheet ID
Replace SHEET_GID values with your actual sheet GIDs

2. Set up Apify API

Sign up for Apify account and get API token
Replace YOUR_APIFY_API_TOKEN in "Scrape LinkedIn Posts API" node
Note: Apify has free tier with limited requests

3. Configure Google Gemini credentials

Obtain Google PaLM API credentials
Add credentials to both "Google Gemini Chat Model" and "Generate an image" nodes

4. Set up LinkedIn publishing

Connect your LinkedIn credentials in "Publish to LinkedIn" node
If posting as organization, replace YOUR_LINKEDIN_ORGANIZATION_ID with your company page ID
If posting as individual, change "postAs" parameter to "person"

5. Configure scheduling

Default schedule: every 12 hours
Adjust "LinkedIn Content Automation Scheduler" trigger if needed
Consider your API rate limits when changing frequency

6. Test the workflow

Manually trigger Phase 1 to scrape posts
Verify data appears in Google Sheets "scrape data" tab
Wait for Phase 2 trigger or manually activate it
Check that content is generated and published correctly
Verify posts are marked as analyzed in Google Sheets

Requirements


Google Sheets API access (free)
Google Sheets Trigger OAuth2 (free)
Apify API token (free tier available, $49/month for more)
Google PaLM/Gemini API key (pay-per-use pricing)
LinkedIn OAuth credentials (free)

How to customize

Adjust scraping targets:

Add more LinkedIn profile URLs to your Google Sheets
Change batch size in "Process Profiles in Batches" (default: 3)
Modify post limit per profile in Apify API call (default: 1 post)

Modify engagement filters:

Edit "Filter High-Engagement Posts" node thresholds
Default: 20+ likes OR 20+ comments OR 20+ reposts
Adjust based on your niche's typical engagement rates
Add additional criteria like views or impressions

Customize content analysis window:

Change "Filter Recent Posts (3 Days)" to analyze different timeframes
Options: 24 hours for fast-moving trends, 7 days for broader patterns
Balance between recency and data volume

Refine AI content generation:

Edit system prompt in "LinkedIn Content Strategy AI" node
Adjust content length, tone, or style preferences
Add industry-specific guidelines
Include brand voice requirements
Modify hashtag strategy

Customize image generation:

Edit image prompt structure in AI prompt
Change visual style, colors, or composition
Adjust for brand guidelines
Modify dimensions or aspect ratios

Change posting schedule:

Adjust "LinkedIn Content Automation Scheduler" frequency
Consider optimal posting times for your audience
Balance between content quality and posting frequency
Coordinate with other marketing activities

Enhance data collection:

Increase posts per profile in Apify settings
Add more profile URLs to monitor
Implement competitor tracking
Track additional metrics like impressions or click-through rates

Add notifications:

Connect Slack/Email nodes after successful posts
Set up alerts for high-performing content
Create reports of analyzed trends
Monitor API usage and errors