LinkedIn is a powerful social media platform that allows you to build your professional network and share content. One of the key features of LinkedIn is the ability to share posts and updates with your connections. This allows you to get your message and content in front of a wider audience and increase your reach and visibility. But how exactly do you share a LinkedIn post with your network?
Posting an Update
The first step is creating a post or update to share. You can do this by going to the LinkedIn homepage and clicking on “Post an article” in the top navigation bar. This will open up the posting interface where you can enter text, add images or videos, mention connections, and more.
Write your update as you normally would – provide value, be thoughtful, and make it relevant to your audience. You can write about industry news, share an interesting article, provide tips, or highlight achievements. The ideal length is 1-2 paragraphs or around 250 words. More text often leads to lower engagement. Once you’re happy with your post, click “Post” to publish it to your profile.
Sharing Your Post
After you’ve posted your update, you can then share it with your network. There are a few different ways to do this:
Share to Your Connections
The easiest way to share a post is to click the share icon (it looks like an arrow pointing to the right) at the top of your post. This will pull up a share window – from here you can share to your LinkedIn connections.
Simply click “Share now” and your post will be visible on the homepage feeds of all your 1st-degree connections. This lets you get your post in front of your direct professional network and maximize visibility.
Share to Groups
Another great way to extend your reach is to share your post to relevant LinkedIn Groups. Groups allow you to connect with professionals in your industry or with similar interests.
To do this, click the share icon on your post and choose “Share to a group.” You will then see a list of your joined groups – choose which groups make sense based on the content of your post. Sharing to groups allows you to position yourself as an industry thought leader.
Share Via Direct Message
You can also share a post with individual connections by sending them a direct message. Click the share icon and choose “Send directly.” This will let you select connections to privately share your post with.
Sending direct shares is a great way to share relevant opportunities with close connections or reach out to get targeted feedback.
Share to Other Social Media
Finally, you can extend your LinkedIn post reach by sharing it to other social platforms. Click the share icon and choose “Share to social networks” to share your post on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, or Reddit.
Cross-posting allows you to reach both your social followers and your professional network for greater visibility. Just make sure your post content aligns with each platform.
Best Practices for Sharing
Here are some top tips to make the most of sharing your LinkedIn posts:
- Add a compelling headline – A catchy, informative headline will grab attention and encourage shares.
- Include visuals – Posts with images/video tend to get more engagement, so use visuals to make your post stand out.
- Share at optimal times – Morning and lunch hours on weekdays tend to see high LinkedIn usage and engagement.
- Engage with your post – Comment on and react to comments from others to keep the conversation going.
- Follow up with connections – Send personalized messages if you want to get specific people to see your post.
- Analyze results – Use LinkedIn Analytics to see your post reach and engagement to refine your sharing strategy.
LinkedIn Post Visibility Settings
When you share a post on LinkedIn, you have control over the visibility settings. This determines who exactly can see your post:
Public
A public post can be seen by all LinkedIn members both on and off the platform. Public is the default setting and gives your post the maximum possible reach.
Connections Only
This limits visibility to just your 1st-degree connections. It won’t be discoverable by the wider LinkedIn community or appear in search results.
Selected Group(s)
You can narrow visibility to only members of the specific LinkedIn Groups you share your post to. Your connections who aren’t in those groups won’t see it.
Visibility | Who Can See Post |
---|---|
Public | All LinkedIn members on and off platform |
Connections Only | Your 1st-degree connections |
Selected Groups | Only members of the groups you share to |
Choosing the right visibility depends on your goals. Public extends reach, while narrowing to connections/groups gives you more control and relevance. Test different settings and see which works best for your needs.
Measuring Post Performance
It’s important to track the performance of your LinkedIn posts so you can see what content resonates most with your audience. There are a few key metrics to follow:
- Impressions – The number of times your post was displayed, indicating total reach.
- Reactions – How many likes, comments, and shares the post received, measuring engagement.
- Click-through rate – Clicks on your post divided by impressions, showing content relevance.
- Comments – Valuable for qualitative feedback on what posts resonate.
- Shares – How many times the post was shared, indicating viral potential.
- Follows – Any new followers as a result of the post are a great sign.
Analyze these metrics over time to see how your posts are performing and what content your audience responds to best. This can help you refine your LinkedIn strategy to maximize impact.
Conclusion
Posting and sharing on LinkedIn is a highly effective way to engage your professional network and expand your reach. Make your posts stand out, share them strategically, and analyze results to optimize your efforts. With the right approach, you can build thought leadership and position yourself as an industry authority using LinkedIn posting.