Confession: I have no LinkedIn strategy. I only recently started posting there for my nonprofit organization, and TBH, I need to improve my game. LinkedIn has a lot of potential to be a great place for me to spend my time and effort. But I honestly don’t really understand it all that well. When LinkedIn first started, it was presented to me as a place I needed to be in order to network and find employment. But I think it’s safe to say there’s much more to the platform these days. Recently, I found myself thinking about this. I knew it was worth my time but I had no idea where to begin. So I decided to do some digging and find the answers to some of my biggest questions. If you’re new to LinkedIn, maybe the answers will help you, too.
1. What should I post?
It turns out, there are a lot of different types of posts you can create on LinkedIn. Most of the articles I read were in agreement, you should use a variety of different formats. It was also clear that you should use a variety of long and short-form content. It turns out, you can use LinkedIn both for 1-2 sentence motivational posts and also for longer posts, also known as micro-blogs. Some of your options are: Give advice, ask a question or take a poll, tell a story, or share something another business or person posted with your take on the idea. Your LinkedIn strategy should include a variety of these posts and should focus on building relationships and showing authority in your industry.
2. When should I post?
You can schedule certain types of posts ahead on LinkedIn, but not all of them. But whether you’re scheduling ahead or trying to post at the moment, it’s helpful to at least be aware of the best times to post. This likely varies based on your industry and your specific audience. But in general, Tuesday through Wednesday 10am-12pm are good times to post on LI.
3. How often should I post?
According to LinkedIn, you should be posting at least once per day, even on weekends. If your jaw dropped reading that, you’re not alone. It’s helpful to know what LinkedIn recommends, but I’m going to offer a caveat; stick with what you can do consistently. Don’t post 15 times one week and then not again for two weeks. Figure out what you can do regularly, and do that. If you have some extra time, it won’t hurt to post and engage more. But I’m willing to argue that consistency and quality are more valuable than quantity.
4. What else should I be doing on LinkedIn?
There was a lot of agreement on this answer, too. Don’t be selfish on LinkedIn. What does that mean? It means that you shouldn’t only post to your own page. Connect with other people and businesses, read what they have to say, and have a dialogue with them. Answer other people’s polls and questions, offer a reflection or question on their microblogs, etc. Be present and authentically engage with others’ content.
5. How do I use my business page vs. my personal page?
A business page is important because it allows you to show up professionally. If you have employees, they can even promote your business content and interact with it. But your personal page still offers a level of connection that your business page doesn’t. Most people recommend using both in order to balance professionalism and relationship. The nice thing is, your personal page can share content from your business page, so you don’t have to come up with new content for every single personal post.
Do you have any LinkedIn tips or tricks that I missed here? Honestly, although I learned a lot during my deep dive into LinkedIn, I still have a lot to learn. I’d love to learn from you.
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