LinkedIn is one of the social-media powerhouses of our time – it has in excess of an estimated 350 million users. If you’ve signed up to be one of those users, you have the chance to really take advantage of a host of opportunities – but are you doing that to the best of your ability?
Here’s one simple way to start maxing out your LinkedIn potential: optimize your updates.
That in itself is a powerful means of taking advantage of this, the third most popular social network in terms of unique monthly visitors, which is behind only Facebook and Twitter. However, it’s unique in that it has a more professional and less personal focus – and that’s something to keep in mind as you read on.
Ideas for LinkedIn updates?
- Links to your blog posts and/or video you’ve created
- Links to articles about your industry or profession
- Links to articles about leadership or technology (i.e. from Forbes, Fortune or Mashable are great places to look)
- Press releases from your company or organization
What should you avoid posting about on LinkedIn? Anything overly personal – for example photos of your family or pets. Save those updates for Facebook or Instagram!
It will also serve you well to share your LinkedIn updates on Twitter. Though it’s no longer possible to automatically sync tweets to publish on LinkedIn, it’s still easy to share. Simply select the “Everyone + Twitter” option in the Share With dropdown box as you compose your update.
It’s still easy to share your LinkedIn updates to Twitter.
Like Facebook and Twitter, you can tag other users and companies in your updates. This is easy to do – just include the @ symbol immediately followed by the user or company name in your status update. The party that you’ve tagged will be alerted and a link to their profile and page will be created in your status update. They may just return the favor.
Consider using @mentions in your updates in order to gain a rapport with individuals and companies.
If you’re using your LinkedIn Company Page, publish Company Status Updates to apprise your followers of the latest news. Doing this on a consistent basis will make your page sticky, encouraging audience members to come back repeatedly to find out what’s new on tap.
Here’s how to publish Company Status Updates.
Finally, a few brief optimization tips:
- Keep it current, catchy and relevant in 50 characters or less.
- Ask questions to create interaction.
- Provide a link.
- Do your research.
- Interact with commenters.
Lastly, remember since LinkedIn is a quieter network (less people posting and less ads) – you have an opportunity to get your message and your update in front of more people. Just like anything in social media, consistency and have a strategy is critical to your success!
For more resources, check out 3 Quick Tips for Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile for Real Estate and 10 Ways to Optimize Your LinkedIn Blog Posts.
If you have any questions or comments, be sure to leave them below. Also let’s connect on LinkedIn!
