LinkedIn is more than your digital resume – it’s a social network. Whether you’re using LinkedIn in your job search or as a social selling tool, it’s crucial to take your activity on the platform seriously. You are one of almost 500 million users on LinkedIn. Put yourself out there and get back to the basics of what social media is all about – being social. If you don’t do it or haven’t done it in a while, here’s what you need to know about getting active on LinkedIn.

Post an Update.
Take the opportunity to share your updates, and when you do, select sharing to the public or just your connections. The option you choose will depend on the content you’re sharing. And while we’re on the topic of sharing, avoid the temptation of the sharing to “Public + Twitter” option. Twitter and LinkedIn are quite different and the way you share your content to the platforms should be, too.

Write an article.
Here’s where you can publish a blog or article you’ve written in its entirety. Why do this and not just share a link? Simply put, to have your publications on display permanently. Newsfeed updates come and go, this is how you make your original content as visible and easy to access as possible.

Comment, Like, Share!
The best way to get people to engage with you on LinkedIn is by engaging with them. If you see something you like, react to it with one of LinkedIn’s options: Like, Celebrate, Love, Insightful, Curious. Show your connections that you see what they’re reading and posting and appreciate their effort in sharing it. They’ll be more likely to reciprocate when you share your next post.

#Hashtags.
Hashtags made their way to LinkedIn and they’re a great tool for searching trending topics, industry news or jobs. Use them to find content that interests you and get noticed on the platform, but just remember, LinkedIn isn’t Twitter, so use hashtags sparingly.

If it’s been a while since you got social – we hope this helps you get active on LinkedIn. It takes time to get the engagement you want on this platform, so don’t be discouraged if you’re not seeing activity on your posts right away. If you’re doing it right, you’ll see an uptick in no time!

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