With more and more professionals shifting to a work-from-home arrangement in the last couple of years LinkedIn has seen immense growth in users, sessions, and engagement. Now boasting over 740 million global users, LinkedIn is one of the most underrated social media platforms for marketing and generating leads.

Research from the Content Marketing Institute named LinkedIn as the top paid and organic social media channel for B2B businesses with 82% of B2B marketers realizing greater success on LinkedIn compared to other social media platforms. So, if you have not been able to capitalize on the connections and opportunities LinkedIn marketing has to offer, the best time to start is now.

How should a beginner use LinkedIn?

Building a strong LinkedIn profile may seem daunting for a beginner, but following these simple steps is enough to create a solid foundation for either yourself or your business:

• When creating your profile pay special attention to the topmost area which includes your profile picture, banner, or cover image and professional headline. This is the first thing others see when viewing your profile and is, therefore, the most crucial element in keeping their attention. Keep your chosen image and headline on-brand as well as professional.

• Customize your public profile URL to make it easier to find and easier to share. There is a bonus of a customized URL looking more professional than one with random numbers at the end.

• Keep your summary section as engaging and interesting as possible. Avoid long-winded sentences or paragraphs, utilize bullet points and multi-media, and include industry keywords to improve your search ranking. Make sure your contact details are there as well!

• Find, connect, and engage with others on LinkedIn. You can even import or sync contacts from your address book, email, and the like to grow your audience. Using your connections drives traffic to your site and increases your base of customers.

• Regularly post on LinkedIn to keep the attention of your connections and grow engagement. Your content can be anything from information about you or your brand to relevant articles concerning your field. You can even share your own blog articles!

• Join LinkedIn groups to make new connections with others in your field or industry. Through this, you will be able to share content, engage in discussions, and promote your brand to an audience you may not have otherwise been able to reach.

While there is much more to learn and pick up along the way to fully take advantage of LinkedIn’s usership for your brand, these quick tips are sure to set you up for success.

How do I succeed on LinkedIn?

After getting past the initial hurdle of setting up an attractive LinkedIn profile your focus should move on to developing your LinkedIn marketing strategy to find success on the platform. Here are some recommendations to achieve just that:

• Maintain the quality of your profile and posts. Ensure your profile is updated and inclusive of your industry’s most relevant keywords. The content shared on your page should always be relevant, interesting, or value-adding. Posting just to post may turn off your audience or lower your credibility in their eyes.

• Write recommendations. It may not be as easy to secure recommendations for yourself, if only because it is not exactly something you can ask for outright. Should that be the case, take the initiative and write recommendations for key clients or contacts you have worked with before. Aside from your recommendation showing up on other profiles, it increases the visibility of your brand by displaying to your network who you have worked with. Additionally, they may end up writing a recommendation or referral for you in return.

• Utilized paid products and advertisements to reach a bigger audience. Sponsored content is a powerful tool as it exposes your brand to a targeted audience that has yet to follow or connect with you. LinkedIn even offers different kinds of advertisement – standard sponsored content and direct sponsored content. LinkedIn marketing services can also help find highly targeted customers and connections.

How often should you post on LinkedIn?

Some of the most important questions for brands and professionals on LinkedIn concerns content – what and when should you be sharing posts? This is crucial because the quality and quantity of your posts can increase your engagement and generate more leads for your brand. Here are the answers:

• Update regularly. It is recommended for LinkedIn users to post at least once a week while sticking to a schedule to keep things consistent. Analysts suggest traffic is highest before office hours begin in the morning, at lunchtime, or the end of the workday.

• Diversify forms of content. According to LinkedIn Marketing Solutions, posts with photos have 2x engagement, videos have 5x engagement, and live videos have 24x engagement. Including links, hashtags, and tags on your posts will improve engagement as well.

• Pay attention to your wording. Create attention-catching titles or headlines to stand out. Within the post itself, remember to utilize SEO by adding relevant keywords but be careful not to overdo it!

What is new for LinkedIn in 2021?

LinkedIn continues to develop more and more tools for its ever-growing usership. These are the top 2021 LinkedIn updates you can benefit from:

• LinkedIn Page Changes – General engagement controls that allow users more proactive management of their page. This includes changes such as allowing users to dictate who can see or comment on posts, applying different levels for admins on your page, and curated additions to your content section.

• LinkedIn Stories – Stories is a mobile-only feature that allows you to post temporary content like the stories function on Instagram and Facebook. It even has the “swipe-up” feature that leads viewers to another site or page designated by you.

• LinkedIn’s Creator Mode – This is a new setting that can be activated on any profile. It is for “members who regularly share content with their professional community” as it aims to display your content more prominently and help you reach a wider audience.

• LinkedIn Service Pages – These are landing pages that work to showcase your listed businesses and services. They are discoverable through your profile and are accessible through the search function, making it easier for potential customers to reach you.

• Event Advertising – Businesses are now able to promote their upcoming virtual events to a targeted audience.