With an audience of more than 640 million professionals, LinkedIn is one of the best places for you to get noticed, build your reputation and grow your business.
But like any social network, there are some rules of the game you must know if you want to look professional and take advantage of all the benefits LinkedIn has to offer.
Here are some things you’ll want to avoid:
1. Having no image
We all want our posts to get noticed. And posts with images are proven to get DOUBLE the engagement – so instead of rushing to publish your post, go for maximum impact every time and always include an image, or even a video. You’ll want to make sure it’s good quality, sized correctly and relevant too!
Here’s a quick guide to the correct image sizes for LinkedIn.
2. Talking about yourself
One of the biggest turn-offs for readers of your content is someone who focuses only on themselves. LinkedIn is designed for interaction and networking, so instead of just broadcasting all your wins, share posts from other members in your network, acknowledge their successes and offer help if you can.
3. Connecting without a reason
LinkedIn is a great place to meet people in your industry, get advice and attract customers. It’s easy to send someone an invitation to connect, but instead of just clicking the ‘Invite’ button, add a brief message telling them why you want the connection, and how the connection can benefit them – they’ll be much more likely to reply if you do. In fact, LinkedIn’s research shows the acceptance rate of personalised invitations is around 74% – compared with around 30% for non-personalised ones. Pretty compelling data!
Here are tips for what to do more of:
1. Sharing your knowledge
One of the best ways to build your reputation is to provide useful information without a sales pitch. LinkedIn members in and outside your network are much more likely to share educational and how-to content than a marketing or promotional message, taking you to an even bigger audience.
2. Keeping it brief
With so much content competing for attention, posts that are concise and precise often get the best engagement. So instead of trying to cover everything you have to say all at once, focus on just one or two key points in each one of your posts.
3. Making yourself easy to find
Get to know the most common keywords and hash tags in your industry and use them every time you post. That way, if your audience is looking for an expert, they’ll be more likely to find you.
Ready to start using LinkedIn more effectively and take your online presence to the next level? Join us at our next LinkedIn Strategy workshop: more info
Thanks to Buffer.com for the link to current image sizes for LinkedIn.
