As a social media agency, we manage and create content on all the major social media platforms, but as specialists on LinkedIn, we are often approached with similar questions relating to the platform and its importance as part of a social media strategy.

So, we decided to collate all the questions into one newsletter, and hopefully if you had any questions about LinkedIn, we will answer it here –

1. Where do I start?

Your profile page should be your starting point, making the headline text (the bit below your name), your focal point. You should imagine it as your store front – the more interesting it looks, the more likely people are to engage with you. Explain here what you actually do – don’t fall into the trap of just listing your job title here. It’s uninspiring and doesn’t actually tell your network what you actually do for a living.

2. What do I post about?

Consider the most common questions you are already asked by your clients/customers and answer those. If you need inspiration, look back at emails, or other social media messaging platforms. Also check out our 30 Days Content Prompts free download on our website – packed full of ideas to help your content inspiration flow! 

3. Should I post personal stuff?

This is a bit of personal choice, but the key to remember here is that LinkedIn is a professional platform, so if your personal posts are relevant to your business life, then go ahead! The key here is to strike the perfect balance. Don’t listen to the ‘this isn’t Facebook’ mob – it’s your profile, your choice. If you want to post a short video of your commute to work or a mirror selfie of your office get-up or a photo of your dog, it’s absolutely your choice and the only opinion that matters is that of your ideal clients. Will they resonate with it and make you appear more human to them? If so, post away!

4. How do I approach people?

LinkedIn has a fantastic search tool where you can filter people by location, industry, keyword, hashtags and more! Find people who are active on their page, write relevant content, and find a way to support and engage with them. From there, send a personalised message/invitation and build a professional relationship. 

5. Should I have LinkedIn Premium?

In short, most people won’t need a Premium account The key is to use all the features available to you on a free plan, and only once you feel you have maxed them out, should you consider switching to a paid account. But it is definitely not necessary to thrive on the platform. 

6. Should I switch to creator mode?

We recommend that you shouldn’t switch to creator mode until you are regularly posting on the platform, and you have at least 1000 connections. In the early stages, it is important to build 1st-level connections with people and outside of creator mode, you have an easy access Connect button for people to easily connect with you.

7. How do I increase my Social Selling Index (SSI)?

Your SSI score ranks between 0 and 100 of how LinkedIn ranks your profile page and strengthens your presence on the platform. A score above 70 is deemed excellent, but don’t get too caught up in the figure; it doesn’t correlate to your business success!

8. Should I put links in posts?

This has changed over the years, but if you are able to include all the relevant information in the post, without the need for an external link, then that is best practice. Links to outside of the platform can sometimes damage reach, and posting a first comment on your own post can also affect reach so keep them to a minimum if you can. Direct users to your website utilising the bio URL feature underneath your headline if possible, otherwise a simple ‘contact me for more information’ will often suffice as a call to action.

9. Do I need a company page?

100% yes. They’re incredibly easy to set up, and allow you to display all your company information at the top of your profile page as well. There is very little barrier to entry here, and there’s definitely some added prestige for your LinkedIn account to be associated with a company page.

10. How do I get more engagement and visibility?

Remember, this isn’t an overnight job! It should become routine to engage with your audience, commenting on relevant posts. In turn, with your own content, try and start a conversation, so ask a question and get your followers engaging with you. It’s a bit chicken and egg; you need to post regularly for people to start seeing you and then slowly your engagement and visibility improves, but before that happens, a lot of people become disheartened as the engagement isn’t happening, and so they reduce the amount they post, which means in turn your visibility is reduced….phew! Basically, what we’re trying to say is stay strong and keep going!

We hope these have helped to answer some of your questions, but if you have any others, feel free to get in touch and ask us any other questions you may have.