10 Simple Ways to Engage on LinkedIn
One of the biggest questions that we get regarding LinkedIn is: what do I post? LinkedIn is such a unique platform that people often just don’t get it. Is it a social media site? A career site? A media site? What is it?
Well, it’s all of those things. And, because it’s a multi-faceted platform, it’s not like posting on Instagram or Facebook, where a beautiful picture and one-word caption will suffice. LinkedIn typically requires a little more meat. I’m sure there have been well-received one-word picture posts on LinkedIn, but those are typically the exception. On this platform, you need context and color.
LinkedIn is your personal branding tool. You can use LinkedIn if you want to find a new job, build your network, secure a speaking opportunity, and so much more. Whatever your LinkedIn goals, you need to demonstrate exactly who you are, what you do, and why you are great at it.
So how can do you that? Post, engage, share, and comment. There are a few different ways to do this, and we will break it down for you. This is a 3-part blog series leading a total of 40 content ideas for LinkedIn.
If you’ve never done ANY sort of engagement on LinkedIn, we suggest starting off easy.
Here are five ways to engage on LinkedIn if you are a newbie.
Like or react to someone’s status.
Comment on a person’s new job or promotion post. LinkedIn even prompts you on what to say!
Comment on a kudos post. For those who don’t know what this is: LinkedIn encourages people to give “kudos” to connections through a special type of post. It’s a little jazzier than regular text posts, so you’ll recognize it. If you see a kudos post and you can attest to that person’s skills, leave a comment like, “I agree! Jane is a wonderful worker.”
Comment on a company’s status. Maybe they had good news or a new hire—comment there.
Comment on the status of an influencer or thought leader. If you go into the My Network tab, you’ll see that LinkedIn suggests you follow certain influencers and high-profile thought leaders.
Ok, so you did that for a few weeks, or you’ve already been doing that. Now, you’re ready to move on to something a little meatier. In these cases, you can start simple with the comments and then work your way to meaningful and thoughtful comments that demonstrate your expertise.
Here are five types of posts that you can like (or react to) and then comment on.
A LinkedIn article that someone wrote. (And you’ll recognize these because it will say the person’s name and on LinkedIn below the article title.)
An outside article that one of your connections shared.
A blog or a press release written by a company you follow.
An event that someone says they are attending. Comment if you’re attending, or comment if you’re bummed to be missing it.
A photo. Sometimes people post photos of them meeting other contacts, at events, of a new building, or even their family. Go ahead and leave a nice comment.
So we’ll start there. Part two will delve into the types of posts you can share from inside and outside the platform. Stay tuned!
