Whether you consider yourself a social media expert or prefer to keep your life offline, there’s no denying the power of LinkedIn. Since its launch in 2002, the platform has quickly become a professional necessity. It’s the place where we make professional connections, find new jobs, learn about the latest industry trends and, of course, network. Love it or hate it, LinkedIn has become a staple of our professional lives.

If you’re new to LinkedIn or you simply never quite cracked it, the platform can feel intimidating. What profile picture should you use? What should you put in your bio? What should you post? It’s a minefield.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by LinkedIn, we spoke to Amy Kean, CEO of communication learning practice Good Shout and a LinkedIn Top Voice, about how she’s found success on the platform. She has given us her top eight tips on using LinkedIn efficiently and effectively, no matter where you are in your LinkedIn journey.

Amy’s top 8 tips on mastering LinkedIn

Decide who you are

Before you start building a profile or posting to LinkedIn, have a clear vision about who you are professionally and how you want people to see you.

“This is probably the hardest part to master, but you have to decide early on what you want to be known for – and make it unique,” she says. “The first thing people will see about you is the description underneath your name.” 

Have a clear vision of who you are as an individual and make sure your bio reflects that.

“Do you solve complex problems? Are you a legendary copywriter? Do you produce award-winning ad campaigns?” says Amy. “My favourite LinkedIn user, Cindy Gallop, describes herself as ‘the Michael Bay of business!’ Personally, I’ve started to describe myself as a ‘tycoon’ just to stand out and add a bit of humour to my profile. The word ‘tycoon’ is so underrated.”

Always ask yourself, “Why would they care? Why would they share?”

Make your LinkedIn content interesting and shareable. According to Kean, this means letting your personality and passion shine through.

“Have you ever seen a press release that’s obviously been through so many stakeholders that the content is dry and the entire soul has been sucked out of it in the pursuit of ‘approval’?” she says. “And then you see a bunch of that company’s employees copy and paste the press release onto their LinkedIn pages, like dutiful robots.” 

Instead of simply reposting your company’s dry copy, try to make your posts personal and thoughtful. “Every time you post, you have to think: why would somebody care about this? If you can’t answer the question, don’t post,” she says.

Make sure no word is wasted

Amy recommends reframing how you think about LinkedIn. “Just because it’s social media, it doesn’t mean that we should be flippant or lazy with what we write,” she says. “I always spend a long time drafting and editing my posts.” 

It pays off to spend some time making sure your posts are well-written and instantly engaging. This means choosing your words carefully.

“With posts on LinkedIn, I want to be punchy; I make sure that every single word I use is working hard, and there’s no filler or unnecessary fluff,” she says. “Are you getting straight to the point, and will people instantly understand what you’re trying to say?”

Remember, the headline is everything

The most important part of a post? The headline. After all, it’s your first and often only chance to stand out.

“Writing a great headline is an art form,” she says. “You normally have about two seconds while they’re scrolling through your feed to grab someone’s attention. Be provocative, surprising or honest and people will want to read more.”

Avoid cliches and jargon

According to Amy, it can be easy to pick up the common jargon that tends to make the rounds on LinkedIn. 

“Every social platform has its own jargon and meaningless cliches that start to become painfully cringe over time,” she says. “One is when people announce, ‘I AM DELIGHTED!’ at a piece of business news. Are you? Are you delighted? Or are you proud, chuffed or relieved?” 

Think about the words you use and consider whether or not they are simply regurgitated jargon you’ve seen elsewhere on the platform. 

Don’t lurk, comment

While it might be tempting to simply observe others on LinkedIn, try to get involved.

“The best way to grow your following is to comment on people’s posts, respectfully, and start conversations,” she recommends. “LinkedIn is such a community-led platform, and the tone is often super-positive, so get involved. It’s the least intense and probably most rewarding way to start to build a network, and chances are you’ll learn a few things, too.”

Don’t be afraid of visuals

Although LinkedIn may seem like a predominantly text-based platform, sharing an image or video can have a big impact.

“It’s OK to post selfies,” she says. “It’s OK to share an image of your dog from time to time. It’s OK to upload a picture of that workshop you ran. LinkedIn is a really visual platform.” 

You can also try including infographics and quotes into your feed to add some visual dimension.

“Be colourful and unique: business doesn’t have to be boring.”

Be OK with the tumbleweed

Even after you make changes to the way you use LinkedIn, don’t expect to see instant changes in how people respond to you.

“At Good Shout we work with so many people who are terrified of posting on social media because they’re worried about people disagreeing with them and no one commenting or liking at all,” says Amy. “All the best LinkedIn creators had no engagement to begin with. You need to spend some time experimenting and seeing what people respond to and optimising your content to see what generates most discussion.”

About Amy

Amy Kean is the CEO at Good Shout. She is also a creativity coach, author and activist. You may have come across her online before as she has over 25,000 followers on Linkedin. She was recently awarded the title of being a LinkedIn Top Voice, which is an accolade based on data, such as reach and engagement on the platform. 

As a communication expert, Amy takes a uniquely thoughtful approach to using LinkedIn.

“At Good Shout, we help people make a really important transition from thinking about what they want to say, to how they want to be heard, and remembered,” she tells us. “This is a huge and game-changing evolution in how you communicate, because you start being more mindful and intentional with your words, and on a platform like LinkedIn, which is the primary place to build your professional reputation, you really need to think about how people consume you, and your content.”

Follow Amy on LinkedIn here.

Images: Getty; Amy Kean/LinkedIn