We’re often asked how to get the most out of social media, especially LinkedIn. In this post, we share a quick round-up of our top LinkedIn tips so you can supercharge both your personal profile and company page.
Scroll down for best posting times and ways to increase your engagement.
Post an update, leave for a minute or two, then edit the post and add the link to increase the visibility of your updates.
Why?
Because LinkedIn, like all social networks, wants to keep users on the platform. It downgrades any posts that feature links to other websites.
However, there is a glitch with LinkedIn. The algorithm only sees the first version of the post – not any subsequent edits. If you post an update without a link then edit it, LinkedIn doesn’t downgrade the post.
NOTE: JUNE 2020: IT APPEARS THAT LINKEDIN HAS REVERSED ITS POSITION ON EXTERNAL LINKS. HOWEVER, IT’S UNCLEAR WHETHER THIS IS PERMANENT.
If you want LinkedIn users to engage with your posts, share something eye-catching.
Images and videos stand out in the news feed more than text.
There are lots of articles about this but there are no definitive rules. However, consensus dictates that the best times are:
Tues, Weds, Thurs
7-9am, 12-2pm, 4-6pm
That’s because people may be thinking about work, but not actually be working.
Like all social networks, there’s an algorithm that ranks content and how often it appears in news feeds.
One of the ranking factors is engagement rate. If a post receives a low number of engagements, the algorithm downgrades it (and future posts from that profile) because it appears unpopular.
Therefore, if you post more than once a day, you divide the potential number of potential engagements between posts because they can’t all appear at the top of a feed.
Read more: Facebook Groups for Business
Following on from the point above, the more engagement your updates get, the higher your posts should appear in news feeds.
Therefore, it’s important to encourage engagements as much as possible.
Here are some suggestions:
Text formatting is another clever way to increase engagement.
If a post is longer than 3 lines, the text breaks and a ‘Read More’ link appears at the bottom of the post. Viewers have to click the link (and therefore engage) to read the rest of the update.
Write posts with a snappy, interesting headline, then use the return button on your keyboard to start the full article on the 4th line.
Add bullets, headings and emojis to your updates to make them more eye-catching and easier to read.
If you have audiences on other platforms, invite them to follow you on LinkedIn.
For instance:
Explain the benefits of following the page and what’s in it for them.
There’s no point using a hashtag no one is interested in. If no one is following it or searching for it, you post may never be seen.
How do you know whether a hashtag is popular?
Type it into the search box at the top of the page. The results will show how many people are following.
Comment (either as a profile or company) on other people’s posts to get noticed and grow your audience.
This is especially useful if you’re looking to build a relationship with leads and prospects.
Use the @ symbol to tag other LinkedIn users and draw their attention to your posts. The update will appear in their notifications.
It can be confusing because people don’t know which page to follow. As a result, it divides your potential audience between all available pages.
If you have company pages for each service line or product, it also reduces the opportunity for cross-sales because followers won’t hear about different aspects of your business.
And, possibly most important, it creates extra work. If more than one page has to be maintained, your marketing efforts are spread more thinly. If your page looks dormant or inactive, your following may leave.
What are your LinkedIn tips? What have we missed? Drop a note in the comments below to let us know what you think.
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Hello there! I want to thank you for publishing and packing a ton of useful information. I have a LinkedIn profile but it’s always good to learn how to optimise it further. I have been convincing a friend to create a profile on LinkedIn who wants to switch jobs. She was feeling a little overwhelmed about it but after reading your post, she decided to use Linkedin for job opportunities. Keep sharing!