And so the LinkedIn saga continues! Make sure to read the first blog LinkedIn or Left Out Part 1: Users Just Wanna Have Fun!
Last time we talked about the misconception that LinkedIn is boring, some different ways you can amp up both your profile and some of your content. This week we want to talk about other users’ content and how it affects you and your LinkedIn profile.
You wouldn’t buy a lawnmower, never use it , and wonder why your grass doesn’t look amazing…would you? Of course not! However, it’s surprising how many people use LinkedIn this way. Andrew Selepak, Ph.D., director of the graduate program in social media at University of Florida says, “most people have an account because they’ve been told they should or need to have one—then they never use it.”
Interacting on LinkedIn is different from interacting on Facebook or Instagram, but it isn’t any less important. Let’s get into how interacting on LinkedIn can change both the way you feel about the platform and the way you use it.
Emoticons
On LinkedIn there are 6 emoticons you can use to interact with a post on your feed.
These emoticons are called “reactions”, and are labeled as such: like, celebrate, support, love, insightful, curious.
LinkedIn Reactions are a set of expressions that offer members a way to easily participate in conversations and communicate with their connections.
When you see something that makes you stop and think on your feed, you could click the light bulb to let them know you think it is insightful. If someone gets promoted, you can celebrate them with the tiny green hands applauding! There are plenty of other ways to use these reactions, but why?
Why react:
- It’s the easiest way to interact
- You encourage the author of the post to keep posting content that you like
- You boost the post to those in your network for them to see
- You prove that there’s a real human behind your profile picture (why this is important)
It takes less than a second to react to someone’s LinkedIn post and the output is greater than the input.
According to a recent research from coSchedule most marketers say it takes between one and six hours to create a piece of content. If you spent this kind of time crafting a post to go on your LinkedIn, wouldn’t you want someone to relate to it or engage with it? It plays directly into the aspect of community that LinkedIn brings when you react.
If you’ve ever seen this on your LinkedIn feed,
you are probably seeing content from a 2nd connection–someone you aren’t directly connected with. Basically, whenever you publicly interact with someone on LinkedIn the LinkedIn algorithm promotes what you engaged with to your network. Ideally you connect with certain people who are likely to share relevant content or provide some value by being in your network.
Anyone can have a profile on LinkedIn, but not everyone will get the same value out of it. You get more out than you put in, so even a little bit goes a long way. The more you engage with content on your feed, the stronger your brand will become on LinkedIn.
Comments
When LinkedIn reactions aren’t enough to convey your interest in a post, head to the comment section. The comment section on a post is not only a great way to engage with a creator, but to engage with other commenters! You can see what other people are feeling about a certain topic and use the emoticons to react to their comments.
Comments like “lol,” “cool,” and “this is great,” aren’t going to cut it. When it comes to comments, you want them to be professional but also engaging. “When you leave a comment, your goal should be to give thoughtful feedback or ask an honest question to understand the post better.” Before you comment, consider questions you could ask about the post or reasons why it inspired you and write about that!
According to The LinkedIn Algorithm Research 2020, comments boost a post to your network twice as much as likes do. It is a professional social network after all, so use it for insightful discussion.
Looking for an easy way to test all of LinkedIn’s interaction features? Visit our company page, and while you’re there like and comment on our posts! We share company updates, employee achievements, and blog content every week. We’re constantly creating content so there is always something new to look through. Looking for a place to start? Check out our What We Do and Jobs tabs.
