Are you looking for some effective ways to engage with people on LinkedIn? Perhaps you already know that LinkedIn is more than a “resume on steroids.” Yet, you are mystified about how to actually engage with people on this business-oriented social media site.

The point of LinkedIn is to help people in the business world connect with each other. So, spend at least some of your LinkedIn time reacting to, commenting on and sharing the information that others post.

It’s important to find a good balance between sharing valuable information posted by others and sharing your own posts.

 

React to, Comment on and Share the Activity of Others on LinkedIn

  • At least a couple of times a week, skim your LinkedIn newsfeed looking for pieces that you believe would be of interest to your LinkedIn connections.
  • Rather than simply clicking “like,” select one of the other reaction options, such as celebrate, support, love, insightful, or curious. Doing that will mean more to the person than simply liking the post.
  • Then comment on their activity. Share your opinions or perspectives, or add value to the reader in some other way. Please note that commenting on a post will lead to more people seeing the post than just reacting to the post.
  • Another option is to share the piece that the person has written themselves or perhaps has shared from another source. To do this, click on the word “Share.” Provide some introductory remarks about why you think this piece would be of interest to your connections. Tag the person by typing the @ symbol before their name. Click on the box that comes up with their photo and name in it. Then, click on “Share.”
  • One of the benefits of sharing information in this way is that your LinkedIn connection is honored that you noticed this item and took the time to share it. Another benefit is that you didn’t have to come up with something to share when you might be having writer’s block.
  • Please note that you don’t have to be connected with someone to react to, comment on or share their activity. Depending on their settings, you often can tag these people even if you aren’t their connection.

Some Other Ways to Engage with Your LinkedIn Connections

  • Use LinkedIn’s notifications feature to help you engage with your connections. For example, it’s where you will see when a LinkedIn connection gets a new job or has a work anniversary. You can congratulate them in two ways. The first way is publicly – by clicking on the notification and commenting on their good news. The second way is to write a private note via LinkedIn messaging by clicking on the “Say congrats” button.
  • Write a recommendation for one of your connections. To do this, go to their LinkedIn profile and click on the “More” button. Select “Recommend” and then complete the template. It’s advisable to write the person an email alerting them that you’ve written the recommendation. Tell them they will find it in their LinkedIn messages.

 

About Joyce

Joyce Feustel helps people, especially those ages 55 and older, to become more comfortable using social media, especially Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

She works with business owners, business development professionals, leaders of nonprofit organizations, job seekers, consultants, and many others. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com.