Boasting no fewer than one billion users, LinkedIn has solidified its place as the premier professional social networking site. Yet having a profile on the platform only scratches the surface of how you can leverage LinkedIn in your position. To get the full power out of LinkedIn, you must proactively stay relevant within its unique ecosystem.
LinkedIn isn’t a set-it-and-scroll type of social media landscape, especially for leaders wanting to be noticed. Though you can certainly treat it that way, you won’t get much mileage from being silent or disengaged. Instead, you need to become a very noticeable participant throughout LinkedIn’s environment, which means you need to put strategies in place.
Below are some best practices to help you strengthen your LinkedIn presence, build your network, improve your credibility, and get recognition for your brand.
1. Optimize and freshen up your profile
Has it been a long time since you dusted off your profile on LinkedIn? Even though you’re the boss, your LinkedIn results should reflect your latest position and credentials. This includes anything from your speech at an industry conference to the crystal trophy a philanthropic organization awarded you.
Go through your profile line by line. Does it still reflect the tone you want? Is it filled with important keywords pertinent to your role and company? LinkedIn’s algorithms look for keywords like all social sites when recommending matches. Therefore, it’s worth taking the time to optimize all aspects of your profile to grab both human and AI attention.
During this process, consider adding a different personal image. Far too many LinkedIn images are years old. Now is a good time to be certain that you’re showcasing a “what you see is what you get” photo.
2. Publish your thoughts
LinkedIn’s publishing mechanism is terrific for getting your thoughts out to countless followers. Statistically, posting just once each week could more than quintuple your following.
What should you post? Rather than just writing whatever comes to mind, work with your marketing department to create a content strategy. Your articles and posts should ideally relate to your company’s marketing goals. That way, you can earn thought leadership while boosting your business online.
Stay active after each of your articles goes live for a real power move. Engage with people who comment and respond to your writings. This shows you’re involved in the process. It can also help grow your authority and expertise.
3. Read and comment on others’ published material
Set aside about 30 minutes to an hour each week to look through others’ publications on LinkedIn. These could be your peers or important figures in your industry. Or, they might simply be people discussing subjects you’re interested in knowing more about.
Be certain to engage with what you read. You don’t have to comment on every post, but giving an occasional thumbs up or other emoji response indicates your interest in the writer, the topic, or maybe both.
In time, you may find that the more you engage with another leader on LinkedIn, the more likely the leader will reciprocate. This could benefit you in myriad ways down the road. You never know when a LinkedIn contact could become a mentor, a partner, an investor, an employee, or a friend.
Modern professionals can’t ignore the importance and influence of LinkedIn. No matter what stage you’re at in your journey, you — and the company you’re heading up — can gain an advantage from investing energy and time into your LinkedIn persona.
