Beyond the typical networking, resume assessments and industry insights, LinkedIn can also be a valuable tool for enhancing thought leadership and growing a business. We’ve compiled our top tips and tricks to help you maximize the algorithms and increase your sitewide exposure.

Optimize Your Personal LinkedIn Presence

Unlike other networks, all comments and interactions on a post are seen by that user’s connections, whether the connections are part of the post originator’s network or not. In simple terms, that means your engagement can easily be seen outside your network, and vice versa. Here’s what you need to do:

Post Commentary & News on a Consistent Basis

Easy enough, right? You need to share your thoughts, company announcements and expertise via posts regularly to build and grow a solid following. We recommend creating a content calendar that provides a solid scheduling base, but is also flexible enough to adjust when new, post-worthy happenings arise.

Respond to Comments on Your Posts

Responding to comments, in addition to “liking” them, not only incites more engagement but also helps boost the content in the algorithm. The more activity a post has, the more people will see it.

Strategically Connect With People You Know

There is debate about whether you should only connect with users you have personal connections with, or if you should accept/seek connections with those you’ve never met. We lean on personal connections but see the argument for the alternative. To build your network and discover more people to engage with, you can sync contacts from your email address book, join Groups and review “People You May Know” in your account settings.

Engage With Others

If you engage with others often, they’ll be more likely to engage with you. The algorithm is designed so your posts are more likely to appear in the feeds of those who interact with you most (and vice versa – those you interact with will show up more in your own feed). Additionally, within your own posts and comments, be sure to “tag” any individuals and companies referenced.

Consider LinkedIn Premium

Active individuals who are using LinkedIn to drive new business may benefit from LinkedIn Premium, which gives you the ability to see who’s viewed your profile and send InMail (direct messages) to people outside your network. Costs vary between ~$50 to ~$100 monthly.

Optimize Your Business LinkedIn Presence

Increasing your personal brand is great, but using your personal brand to increase your company’s exposure is even better. Here’s how:

Invite Your Personal Connections to Follow Your Company Page

We find this to be among the most underutilized LinkedIn features. All page admins are granted credits monthly to invite their personal connections to “like” the company page. Your connections won’t see your company news feed if they are only connected to you personally. To invite them, go to the admin view of your company page. In the right column you’ll see a box that says, “Grow your followers” with a button to “Invite connections.”

Engage on Your Company Posts Via Reactions, Comments & Tagging

To react to a post, LinkedIn provides the following button options: like, celebrate, support, love, insightful and laugh. Mix it up. Reactions boost your company post in the algorithm and expose it to all your connections. This should be the minimum effort, as you should strive to complete the engagement trifecta: React, comment and tag someone or something.

Tag the Company Page in Your Personal Posts 

Those who are following the company’s page will see this tagged post on their feed. More page mentions can lead to more exposure, which can lead to more engagement, which can lead to more followers.

Share Your Company’s Post to Your Personal Page

Post shares are great, both for the algorithm and to ensure more people see the post. When sharing a company post, add a custom caption rather than sharing without a caption. To repost, simply go to your company page feed, scroll to the post you want to share, and click “Repost” in the right corner.

Leverage LinkedIn Better

Ready to make the most out of all LinkedIn offers for growing your thought leadership and business presence? Learn more about our social media services and set up a 1:1 call with an Aker Ink expert.