Remember These 5 Things Before Posting to LinkedIn

We're here to talk about LinkedIn as a platform and as a social media. While Twitter, Google +, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest have a special niche carved out in the digital and social information superhighway, LinkedIn remains the elephant in the room for business to business results and for establishing yourself within your professional industry. It is the place where people and businesses put on their best, most professional face. It is the marketplace that sits a few rungs above the goofiness of other social media. But how should you use it? Before you post to LinkedIn, here are 5 important LinkedIn post tips for businesses.

1. Timing is (nearly) everything - Understanding the right time to post something is vital to your connection with your audience and to the effectiveness of your LinkedIn posts. Keep in mind the schedules of your demographics, as well as time zones. Weekends can be great times to post as well, so don't exclusively think work week. Use your analytics data to monitor sourcing from LinkedIn and develop a strategy for posting at the right time, all the time.
2. Engage Your Audience - Post things that your target audience will find compelling and engaging, things that the greatest number of LinkedIn users with forward on to their contacts and communities.
3. Get the Most out of Post Headers - Good LinkedIn post headers are vital. Think of them as first impressions. Most users determine whether or not they'll click on something in the first split-second of seeing the header of the post. You should always title your LinkedIn posts in engaging and inviting ways. If you're posting a link to your most recent blog post, or even a press release or job announcement, don't reveal everything in the header. If you do this, you'll generate no clicks and leave valuable we traffic on the table, so to speak. Employ a quick teaser for the header, something that will pique curiosity and provoke clicks.
4. Actions speak louder than words - Calls to action are integral to getting your LinkedIn audience to engage with your activity. Instead of just hoping, you should ask them to like, share, or comment on your posts. This is standard best-practice and it informs your audience as to how you'd like for them to interact with your business or organization online. It also lets them know that you care about this sort of thing and that a person (not something automated) is on the other side of the LinkedIn post.
5. Photos are worth a thousand words - Rather than only posting a link or text, photos work wonders for building reach. Choose a picture that your communities will be curious about. Infographics can be great for you LinkedIn posts as well, particularly graphs that are relevant to your target audience.