Is it better to like, share or comment?
What’s the difference between hashtag & mentions & when to use them?
In this article I wanted to cover some LinkedIn basics that seem to cause the most questions and confusion to those less familiar with using it. But before that, let me set the scene.
Why use LinkedIn?
If you or your business aren’t currently on LinkedIn, or not using it effectively, now might be the time to revisit your social media strategy and consider what LinkedIn can do for you.
Recent research by Hubspot found that LinkedIn is 277% more effective at generating leads than Facebook and Twitter. Not only can LinkedIn help you find new clients, it can
- Enhance relationships with existing clients
- Be a platform for you and your company
- Enable you to exchange knowledge, ideas, and opportunities with a broader network of professionals
- Help you with job hunting & recruitment
(Before you rush off to sign up – be warned, LinkedIn isn’t right for every business – see which social media platform to use here).
If you think it could be the right fit, make sure you’ve got the basics in place:
Sort out your profile (see these great articles by Lesley Hussell Linkedin profile lessons and Improve your LinkedIn company page)
Get to grips with sharing and posting – see my previous article here: Beginners guide to social media for business
But sharing your own company stuff or pushing out posts is just one aspect of LinkedIn. To make it work well, you need to be listening as well as talking. Make it interactive and engage in conversations. Don’t hide behind your corporate identity. We all like to deal with real people with real names with real feelings, instead of a logo and employees acting like a robot.
If you are struggling to get your head round how to interact with others, or what to say, here’s a simple LinkedIn lowdown to help you along.
Is it better to like, share or comment?
Most people think that using LinkedIn’s share button is a good way to spread the word about posts they like or find useful. But LinkedIn have sophisticated algorithms in place which determine what users see on their home feeds.
Liking and commenting is much better for LinkedIn engagement, than simply sharing someone’s post without a comment. This signals to the LinkedIn algorithm that there’s something interesting to see, and the post stands a better chance of being shown to others.
What makes a good LinkedIn comment?
Here are some characteristics of a good LinkedIn comment:
- Add your opinion: mention relevant experiences and facts.
- Keep the discussion on topic: don’t derail the conversation for your own benefit.
- Break up the comment: make paragraphs at most 2 sentences long.
- Use images or add a helpful screenshot if relevant.
- Tag 1 or 2 people: bring relevant people into the discussion (use sparingly).
What is a hashtag and when should I use them?
LinkedIn hashtags were introduced in 2018. Hashtags on LinkedIn work in a similar way to Twitter and Instagram – to categorise content.
Hashtags help users find content on a specific topic.
Using hashtags on LinkedIn will make your content more discoverable and help you connect with members that may be interested in you or your company. If you add hashtags to your content, they’ll help you get discovered by other users, including those not connected to you.
What’s more, you can follow hashtags on LinkedIn, meaning that posts containing your chosen hashtags will appear on your feed.
You can also add hashtags when you comment on a post or an article. It’s another way of reinforcing your topic and making it discoverable:
How to use hashtags
Hashtags can be placed after copy, or embedded within copy—so long as it makes sense to do so. As a best practice, write your copy and then see if certain keywords can be made into hashtags. #Do #not #hashtag #every #word.
And don’t overdo it. Whilst there are no limits to the number of hashtags you can use in a post on LinkedIn, its not Instagram. I would recommend a maximum of five hashtags.
Hashtags can be niche, industry specific, location, linkedin suggested, event based, campaign or a company hashtag.
What’s a mention and when should I use that?
If you want to reference an individual or a company then use the @mention functionality rather than a hashtag.
A mention or a tag is where you type the @ symbol followed by a name or company so they are tagged in the post. (Note – use spaces when typing out names and you will see the autofill responses as you type). That will then link to their profile and they will be notified that you mentioned them in your post, hopefully prompting engagement from them.
Don’t use a hashtag where it may be better to @ mention. If you’re trying to tag a company or person, tagging them with the @ symbol followed by their name is a better way to get their attention.
LinkedIn takes time and effort but it does yield good results if you persist. If you would like a LinkedIn training session for you or your staff, please get in touch with me.