Happy Monday!
Today I’m here to answer a question that was raised by a number of coaching clients recently as they wanted to know: how can I make the most of LinkedIn? But Eva, I don’t want to write any posts!
If that’s something you’re curious about, keep reading.
A large majority of LinkedIn users don’t ever post their own content, so by doing so you can seriously improve your own visibility. Understandably, some people don’t feel comfortable writing posts on their profile, because they fear it would be frowned upon by their employer. Others think they have nothing meaningful to say. And there are plenty more reasons.
Deciding whether to post or not is your personal choice and even your employer can’t really stop you. It’s your profile – you choose.
Today, however, let’s focus on what you can do if you don’t want to post but still want to use LinkedIn effectively. I’ve got some short, sharp tips for you that you can try as soon as you finish reading this.
Engage with the posts of other people
Look for what others post and engage by posting a comment. Be selective (otherwise you may end up wasting your time scrolling instead of finding interesting posts) and choose a few people you already follow or pick a topic that interests you.
Write genuine comments, don’t use the pre-written AI answers (they add zero value). Use the comments section to also find people you’d like to connect with. If you’re commenting on the same topic and you see they have an interesting perspective, it’s worth checking out their profile and sending a connection request so you can grow your network.
You can also look at who engages with the posts (e.g. vis “likes”) and who shares it, as a way of finding interesting people to connect with.
Read and connect with people
LinkedIn’s News section gives you a set of topics with selected authors who have written comments on them. This can be another way of finding posts worth reading.
While LinkedIn has changed a fair bit over the last few years, you can still find great content that’s a joy to read. You can’t easily select what shows up in your feed, but you can use notifications to see when specific people have posted or you can set a bunch of bookmarks in the search to give you the latest posts from a selected list of people.
Try different approaches and see who you can connect with along the way. LinkedIn is there for those professional connections and this is another way to make them happen.
Follow topics and companies
Using the search you can look for specific topics and companies, which comes in handy during a job search and when you’re looking for subject matter experts and thought leaders.
Again, engaging with the content is a good idea, but even if you don’t, you can find your particular corner of LinkedIn and seek out the right people without having to write daily posts yourself.
Those are my three simple tips for making better use of LinkedIn when you don’t want to write posts. It’s a place where you can form great connections that form part of your professional career for years to come.
Ready to start? Give it a whirl by connecting with me and clicking the notifications bell if you want to read more of my content.
Have a great week!
Eva