By Chris Cochran
Staying up-to-speed on LinkedIn tools is an ongoing process. I’ve had a profile there for many years but didn’t start getting more active until I started my own business last year. I remembered a door prize I’d won at a conference for information professionals a few years earlier, a book I still hadn’t read called 21 Days to Success with LinkedIn. It was sitting on my bookshelf just begging to be read. Even though it was a few years old and likely outdated, it was a slim volume and worth a quick read. It gave me a good introduction to looking at LinkedIn with a strategic mindset.
You’ll find any number of opinions about LinkedIn and its effectiveness from regular and occasional users – I find it’s a good way to network, market, learn and teach. The key to effectively using LinkedIn is being consistent and intentional. If you want to just lurk – reading posts, hitting the “like” or “congratulate” buttons, and maybe commenting occasionally — that’s a good, easy way to get started.
Even if you’ve had a LinkedIn profile for a while, but maybe haven’t been actively writing new posts or adding substantive comments, you might not be aware that there are lots of ways to maximize your impact. If you’ve decided that you really need to move your business or career prospects forward, more intentional actions would benefit you. Deciding to utilize LinkedIn for those goals is a great first start. As a professional colleague said on her blog recently, connecting with others and learning what they need is a key part of LinkedIn; it’s called social media for a reason.
Want to learn more about how LinkedIn works? Naturally, there are individuals and websites that follow the latest developments in how LinkedIn’s algorithm works, how it processes the billion+ posts made every day, and how it detects and manages spam (yes there’s lots of spam!). The way it does those things is your key to writing effective posts and comments that bubble up into your network’s feeds so you get visibility. Here are some resources if you want to explore the algorithm further (there are plenty of others):
· LinkedIn Algorithm: How it Works in 2023
· The 2023 LinkedIn Algorithm Explained & How to Make it Work for You in 2023
· LinkedIn Changed Its Algorithms – Here’s How Your Posts Will Get More Attention Now
Thinking strategically about LinkedIn goes hand in hand with thinking about using LinkedIn effectively. Here are my Top 5 Tips for Getting Strategic on LinkedIn:
- Build your network – Effectively getting your message out depends on having a network of individuals to potentially reach. Your network is made up not only of individual connections, but also of cohorts following similar interest areas as you. I could write a blog post just on building your network. There are lots of resources on how to build your LinkedIn network – explore some possibilities on your own.
- Use hashtags – This is one tool that I have to constantly remind myself to take advantage of. Just like on other social networks, using hashtags extends the reach of your post to others who have an interest in your topic. As you start to type a hashtag, LinkedIn gives you prompts for hashtags based on what you’re typing. That’s a big help to see which are in use and may already have followers. Or you may just need to create a new hashtag. The more focused your hashtag the better.
- Scheduling posts can increase your impact – I don’t see this tool talked about too much, but it’s another way to get maximum impact. I’m in the Pacific time zone, so if I finish writing something at 2 p.m. and want to post it, it’s already 5 p.m. on the East Coast, when a lot of my network is starting to wind down their day. If they’re in Europe, they may be getting ready for bed. If I finish writing something and it’s after 12 noon my local time, I’ll often schedule my post to publish at 9 a.m. Eastern time the following morning (and typically I only post on weekdays). My assumption is that more eyes will see it if I post at 9 a.m. Eastern instead of 5 p.m. Eastern (think of the morning news “cycle”). But of course, 9 a.m. Eastern is 6 a.m. Pacific. So I use the little “Schedule for Later” icon next to the “post” button to schedule the time I want to post. This is a great way to preload and schedule posts for publishing while you’re on vacation, too.
- Be Consistent but not Persistent – Learning more about the LinkedIn algorithm taught me that it doesn’t like it if someone posts more than every three hours or so. That sets the spam detectors off. Better to approach it from a weekly planning perspective and try to spread your posts out during the week.
- Comment on Other’s Posts – LinkedIn likes it when you share meaningful, substantive comments. They don’t have to be long. Did you have a positive reaction to something? Do you have something to add to the conversation that your network may find helpful? Maybe you disagree with what the author said – tell her in a constructive way or add to the conversation in a thought-provoking way.
There are many ways to be strategic on LinkedIn. People write books – many of which are probably in your local library – and articles on the web about it. The landscape for social networks is constantly changing and evolving. There are plenty of ways to learn more without breaking the bank.
Those are MY five tips for getting strategic on LinkedIn. What are your tips? Are there tools or tricks you’ve learned that make LinkedIn an effective business development tool for you? Please share in the comments.
An Inquiring Mind 