“I need more social media platforms like I need more cavities.”
“I don’t have time to post and write articles.”
“I don’t really know how LinkedIn works!”
If any of these sound like you, read on. LinkedIn remains the world’s largest business network, and getting on this bandwagon can be simple. Here are 3 easy ways to jump in and boost your LinkedIn engagement.
As I’ve written about before, a strong LinkedIn presence is a career development must-have. Even if you’re not an active networker or social media buff, LinkedIn is important because hiring managers, employers, and clients alike use LinkedIn to vet potential contacts. Recruiters use LinkedIn as their primary candidate sourcing pipeline.
Once you’ve got a solid profile in place, the second step to leveraging LinkedIn is Engagement. LinkedIn strategist and speaker Maria Fafard says engagement is one of the most misunderstood, underestimated, and underutilized elements of LinkedIn use. Engagement strategies keep you in the loop, keep you prevalent in your connections’ minds, and reinforce your personal brand. In short, they position you as a professional who is, well, engaged.
Here are 3 super simple ways Fafard recommends to establish an active presence on LinkedIn and engage with your network:
Comment
When you log into LinkedIn, your home page shows a feed of comments, status updates, and articles from your connections and people you follow. Once or twice a week, spend 10-15 minutes scanning through your feed and leaving comments. You’ll stay on top of professional news and trending content in your industry, and you’ll put yourself on the radar of key people in your network.
Recommend Your Connections
What goes around comes around, so spread some love among your LinkedIn connections. In the header section of your connection’s profile, click on the arrow to the right of the “Send a Message” button, then select the “Recommend” option in the drop-down menu. Write a brief recommendation of that person’s professional accomplishments. It doesn’t need to be fancy; short, sweet, and specific does the job.
These recommendations are super useful. (For someone like me who runs a referral-based business, they are GOLD!) You’re doing your connection a great favor, spreading goodwill, and gaining an enthusiastic career advocate.
A word of caution: write recommendations only for people whom you have worked with closely or have done business with. Writing recommendations for someone you don’t know is unethical and misleading.
Post a Status Update
On your LinkedIn home page, click on the “Share an update” button right above your newsfeed. But remember, LinkedIn is different from other social media platforms. Think twice before posting an update about your pet, your lunch, or your weekend plans. You may even want to avoid taking a strong political stance. LinkedIn posts should be related to and support your professional brand. But they don’t need to be detailed or complex.
- A link to an informative article (with a sentence or two explaining why it attracted your attention).
- Heads up about an upcoming professional event.
- News of a recent professional project or workplace win.
- Updates about your company or industry.
- Insights from a recent training session.
Keep the tone of your updates light and humble, not overly self-promotional.
These kinds of posts establish your industry credibility and relevance. They’re well worth your while, especially if you’re seeking to establish yourself in a new role or make industry connections.
LinkedIn has become an essential part of career hygiene. That’s why our ELEVATE and ALTITUDE packages both include LinkedIn profile optimization. We make sure your profile aligns with your resume, portrays your professional brand, follows LinkedIn best practices, and is chock-full of relevant keywords so recruiters can find you for the right jobs.
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