As a social media trainer, one of the things I get asked about the most is how to make the most out of LinkedIn for business.
Boosting your LinkedIn engagement can be simple, for both your personal and LinkedIn business pages.
Make Sure Your Updates Are Public
Making your updates public means that your posts will reach people outside of your circle of followers and those who are not signed into their LinkedIn accounts. In order to do this, you need to make sure that your settings are correct, which can only be done via a desktop browser.
- Click on the “Me” icon at the top of your LinkedIn home page and click “Privacy”
- Then click on “Followers” under the “Blocking and Hiding” section
- You will be able to switch between “Your connections” and “Everyone on LinkedIn”
When creating a post from your company page you will have an option of posting to the public or a targeted audience. Both are great depending on what you want to achieve with your post. Previously, company pages could only post to a targeted audience or “all followers”. Below is a step-by-step guide, from LinkedIn, on how to post an update on a company page. This guide includes the aforementioned options.
Like Your Own LinkedIn Posts
Yes, you read that right. Like your own posts. It might go against everything you believe, and feel a little unnatural, but do it anyway.
Why? Because people are more likely to like or comment on a post that someone has already engaged with.
Be Sociable
I cannot emphasise this point enough, and it goes for all social media platforms. When someone engages with you by commenting on a post, you need to reply – even if all you say is “Thank you for your feedback” or “We are glad you found this interesting”.
You can also simply like user comments to show them that you appreciate their interaction. If you reply to your followers, you may start a conversation – this could lead to them replying again and sharing your post.
Post Fewer Images
I bet I have just disrupted everything you have ever learned about social media; I know – I felt the same. While images and links work wonders on other platforms like Instagram and Facebook, they do not seem to be best practices on LinkedIn. Here’s why:
- People come to LinkedIn with more serious intentions and to interact with other professional business people.
- Text-only posts work best on LinkedIn because they appear, and should be, more original and more personal.
- Share your personal experiences, advice, and even your aspirations (work-related of course) with others and they will be more likely to engage.
- Remember that LinkedIn allows you to use up to 1300 characters per update – so you can really dig in and share a short story or blog, but it is best not to make posts too long.
- Bear in mind that LinkedIn cuts off your post by adding a “See More” tab after three lines on a desktop and five on mobile; so make sure that these first lines pack a punch. Don’t shy away from asking people to share their opinions – this is how conversations are started.
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