Profiling yourself smartly on Linkedin

Linkedin is the ideal platform for profiling yourself professionally. So if you build your Linkedin network step by step now, you can (soon) make easier steps in your career. Earlier we gave tips to optimize your LinkedIn profile to be easily found by recruiters. But how do you outsmart the algorithm? So that your contributions are actually seen by many people? In this article we tell you all the ins & outs of getting noticed on LinkedIn.

Let’s start with the basics. Because as it is in real life, you only get one chance on LinkedIn to make a good first impression. For the most important tips, read our previous article. Did you know that the more complete your profile, the greater your reach?

Evidence
Support your first impression by showing evidence on your profile. You can add projects and in our previous article we also talked about the importance of at least 3 personal recommendations (endorsements).

But you can also add a “Featured” section to your profile, which is then displayed under the “Info” section. Here you can add an achievement that you are proud of, such as a previously shared contribution, an article, links or media (pdf, photo, presentation). Instead of telling this information, make it visual. An attractive predictor of your qualities.

Your network can offer you great (job) opportunities in the future. Quality is more important than quantity. Think carefully about who could be valuable to your career in the long term. Because in addition to adding acquaintances from your (old) school or current job, for example, it offers a lot of added value if you make connections outside of your familiar surroundings. Who do you want to reach and who do you want to be noticed by? Then search for these people, based on job title or headline.

Suppose you want to get noticed by HR managers in the healthcare sector in the region of The Hague/Amsterdam. Through the search function of LinkedIn you can set filters to find interesting people. When you want to add them, we advise you to add a personal message to your invitation. Tell them why you are adding them and mention something relevant or common.

It is always a good idea to follow interesting people or companies, so people also get an insight into your concerns. Need inspiration? Check out the network of your existing, relevant connections.

Don’t forget to actually connect with your network. Join the conversation and leave a comment or reaction (like). This way you will also be visible in others’ timelines.

If your basics are in order, it’s time to share your added value on LinkedIn in a contribution. For example, you had an inspiring afternoon at a conference, obtained a diploma or another business achievement to tell about. Or even better: you want to share content about current events. Great, but what do you need to consider to ensure that your shared content flies through the roof? It’s all in the careful drafting and writing of your contribution, but there are also tricks to outsmart the algorithm. We share them both with you.

How to make a catchy LinkedIn post
People are impatient, so it is important to describe the core of your message in the first two sentences. Put yourself in your target audience’s shoes: why is your content interesting to them? You have 210 characters until your message is ‘broken off’ and the reader has to click ‘view more’.

Make sure you have written flawless English and communicate neatly. Add emoticons to give your post more feeling. But don’t overdo it, this can quickly come across as unprofessional. In addition, it is smart to make use of white space. This makes your text easier to read, which ensures that the reader reads your entire message.

The moment of posting also plays a role in how much you stand out. Research by Coosto shows that it is best to share your contribution on Wednesday at 16:00, Thursday between 18:00 and 20:00 and Friday at 10:00. This is an average, which means that this time of day may vary somewhat for your network.

And how often should you post something? Once a week or two weeks is a good starting point. Is your previously posted post still getting responses? Then wait to post new content.

Finally, make use of relevant hashtags. And know, the amount of hashtags also affects the algorithm, more on this later.

LinkedIn is fully committed to people interacting, since that’s what they want to encourage with the platform. So the more interaction that takes place on your post, the greater the reach and your visibility. Below we share some smart ways to increase this.

Less than 3 or more than 10 hashtags will result in 20-40% less reach than posts with 3-9 hashtags. The ideal number is 5. The location of the # does not matter.

Keeping the reader’s attention with your post is important. You can do this by:

• Writing longer text of at least 1200 characters. Posts with less than 3 lines of text result in 20% less reach!
• A post with only text or with images results in 25 to 50% more reach.
  Add a video (of less than 1 minute), this increases 20 to 40% of your reach. Or add a document, which results in an increase of 40 to 60% in reach.
• Be careful with tagging: if the tagged persons or companies do not respond, your reach decreases by 20 to 30%. A minimum of 50% of those tagged should respond to realize more reach.
• Adding link(s)? Add them after posting by editing your contribution.
• Does your contribution get likes or comments within the first two hours after posting? Then this has a positive effect on the reach.
• Do you receive a comment? Then your message gets twice as much visibility as a like!
• Do you respond within 24 hours to a received comment? That also ensures more reach. Do you even respond within two hours? Then your message will be shown longer in the timeline.

Note: Polls, YouTube videos, pre-selected options that you can choose when creating a contribution and blog posts on LinkedIn all result in a decrease in reach!

By combining a good profile and a strong network with content strong contributions with the LinkedIn algorithm in mind, you can’t help but become a real Pro on LinkedIn!

Remember, everything takes time and the algorithm changes every year. But with the recommendations above, you can be sure that your visibility will grow fast on LinkedIn.

Want to read more about beating the algorithms on Linkedin? We were informed by these sources among others:

• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/9-kick-ass-tips-voor-studenten-jobseekers-om-een-job-te-erendiz-ates/?originalSubdomain=nl
• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/nieuwsbrief-2-10-hacks-om-het-linkedin-algoritme-te-masja-slootweg-1f/?originalSubdomain=nl
• https://www.brandfirm.nl/linkedin-marketing/
• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/wat-2022-het-beste-moment-om-iets-op-linkedin-te-eline-terpstra-smp-/?trk=pulse-article_more-articles_related-content-card&originalSubdomain=nl

What will you work on first? Good luck!