LinkedIn is becoming tremendously popular among professionals to build their personal brands, promote their products and services, and share expert tips on trending topics.
Before posting content on LinkedIn, it is important to have a content strategy and follow LinkedIn post best practices to reach your target audience more effectively.
Posting content on LinkedIn is also great for SEO. Since LinkedIn is a global platform with a high authority domain, it gives your content a better chance to rank well in search results than native blog content.
Let’s explore LinkedIn post best practices for professionals to stand out in the crowd and create a unique and authentic personal brand on LinkedIn.
Create Short and Sweet Posts
Despite being a ‘business’ social media platform, LinkedIn is still a ‘social media’ platform. And on social media, people don’t want to read big blocks of text.
Long posts are boring and hard to read. People won’t interact with such posts, which kills their reach. Therefore, keep your text posts short, sweet, and easy to read.
Post your Pictures
This is the best post-practice on LinkedIn. Combine your text post, especially a personal story, with your picture.
People want to see your beautiful face and your personality. They may forget what you wrote in your post but will remember your face for a long time.
Post Stunning Graphics
If you don’t want to post your pictures but still want to get attention on LinkedIn, consider posting stunning graphics.
Use Canva or Figma to create graphics for free, or hire a professional graphic designer to save you time.
Post Carousels
This is the second-best-performing format on LinkedIn, right after pictures and selfies.
For some people, carousels perform the best. To create a carousel, put your writing on a set of beautiful images in Canva or Figma and download it as a PDF. Then publish this PDF in the form of a document on LinkedIn.
Create a Posting Schedule
Having a posting schedule will save you from decision fatigue. It will also help your audience anticipate your post, which may lead to more engagements.
If you post daily, share your post at roughly the same time every day. If you post weekly, pick a day to share your post and stick to it.
Use 4 Hashtags only
Hashtags make your posts look ugly. Big creators are not putting hashtags into their posts nowadays. They are becoming obsolete. But as a beginner, you can use 3 to 5 hashtags in your posts.
However, using 4 hashtags at the bottom of your posts works wonders. Experiment with different numbers and find your optimum.
Avoid Adding External Links to Every Post
Though adding external links to your posts is not against the community guidelines of LinkedIn, if you do, you might experience lower visibility and impressions on your posts than usual.
This is because people don’t like engaging with posts having external links. The algorithm genie will scare your post and curb its reach. Create some posts without links and others with external links.
A wise approach is to add links at the bottom of your posts or in the comments. Another way is to edit your post and paste the link once it gains momentum. Use only one link in one post.
Engage with Comments
Comments bring you visibility. Engage with other creators by commenting on their posts. It builds trust and genuine connections among people. Show your personality in the comments. It helps people know more about you and connect with you. Be respectful, kind, and supportive.
The more time you spend on LinkedIn after posting, the better your post will perform. To crack the algorithm, leave comments for 15 to 20 minutes before you share your post. After posting, comment for at least two hours. Organic growth demands time; therefore, invest your time in your personal brand. Make sure to reply to the comments on your posts.
Plan for long-term
Be patient and consistent on LinkedIn. By consistency, I do not mean posting every day; it could be once a week, twice a week, or three to five times a week. It all depends on your availability and time.
Make sure to post frequently enough that people remember you. Build your authority on LinkedIn by adding value.