Posting LinkedIn Updates Is an Easy, Fast Way to Stay Proactive on LinkedIn

When I’m speaking with executive job seekers about the importance of using LinkedIn, one of their biggest concerns is finding the time.

Most of them are employed, while job hunting under cover.

They know job search takes effort. But with holding down a full time job and investing time in job search networking, how are they going to fit LinkedIn proactivity into their schedule?

My advice – Create a realistic schedule (say, a few hours a week) to focus on posting LinkedIn updates.

There are many other ways to be proactive on LinkedIn with networking and keeping your brand top-of-mind. For instance, publishing articles, “cold” networking one-on-one, LinkedIn Group activities, etc.

But, if your time is limited, posting updates may be the single best LinkedIn thing to focus on.

Posting LinkedIn Updates vs. Updating Your LinkedIn Profile

First, a brief explanation of the distinction between posting LinkedIn updates and updating your LinkedIn profile. They’re not the same thing.

Posting LinkedIn updates

“Posting an update” means sharing something of interest about you or others in your LinkedIn updates feed.

Your update feed is visible in the center column of your profile, each time you log into your LinkedIn account. As of this writing, you post an update by clicking on the content in the block that appears at the very top of the center column. This action is also called “sharing an update”, “an activity update” and “updating your status”, among other things.

Updating your LinkedIn profile

“Updating your LinkedIn profile” means editing or changing the content in the various sections of your LinkedIn profile – Headline, Summary, Experience, Education, etc.

Why Posting LinkedIn Updates is Such a Good Thing for Job Search

Posting updates regularly and meaningfully helps you:

• Stay top of mind with people who can help you meet your career goals
• Promote your personal brand
• Demonstrate your subject matter expertise
• Showcase your industry knowledge
• Increase visibility to your profile (and therefore to you)
• Demonstrate that you’re social media savvy, an important trait these days.

Your LinkedIn Updates Strategy Should Have a 2-Pronged Approach

LinkedIn updates can be approached in several ways, as seen below. A personal branding and networking communications plan can be built to incorporate the two prongs of LinkedIn updates.

[For all of my suggestions in the 2 prongs, use relevant hashtags and tag people before you post the update, whenever applicable.]

Use updates in these two ways:

1) React to other people’s updates with comments, shares, likes and other reactions.

Share other people’s relevant updates

First, follow people whose radar you want to be on, and those who work at your target companies. After that, view their updates in your LinkedIn stream. Share the ones that will be relevant to your network and/or the people you want to be visible to.

Comment on other people’s relevant updates

Similarly, when you see a relevant update by someone else, take a few moments to leave a meaningful comment. Write a comment that positions your subject matter expertise. You want something more than “Great article”.

Like or otherwise react to other people’s relevant updates

This is the simplest and most time-saving LinkedIn update tactic. On relevant updates of others, simply click on “like” and/or one of the other “reactions”.

Along with “likes”, LinkedIn (at this writing) is slowly rolling out the ability to click on one of the following “reactions” to posts:

• Celebrate
• Love
• Insightful
• Curious

Read more about reactions on LinkedIn Help.

2) Post your own updates using Hannah Morgan’s suggestions in the robust list of 25 below.

Hannah is a LinkedIn and social media for job search expert I turn to often for advice on best practices.

She’s compiled 25 creative and powerful ideas for LinkedIn updates that are guaranteed to get attention. Some may be obvious, often-used strategies. However there are some here I’m sure you never would have thought could even be an update.

Try posting a new one of these every day for 25 days, which is about a month.

Hop over to Hannah’s post for details and screenshots of actual updates people in her network posted, representing each of her 25 suggestions for LinkedIn updates.

The mix of updates she recommends is one-quarter of each of the following:

• industry/occupation news
• company-specific news
• promoting you
• promoting people in your network

POSTS WITH MEDIA

1. Share a Video
2. Add Photos
3. Add Documents
4. Share Infographics (check out Visme’s How to Make an Infographic)
5. Share Stats

MENTION OTHER PEOPLE

6. Give LinkedIn’s Kudos
7. Give a Shoutout To A Colleague
8. Share A Colleague’s Work

TAP YOUR NETWORK FOR ADVICE

9. Ask A Question
10. CrowdSource

BE A THOUGHT LEADER

11. Share an Interesting Article
12. Share Tips
13. Share Company News
14. Share Industry News
15. Invite People To An Event
16. Share Your Reading List
17. Share Tools or Resources
18. Explain Something In A How-To Video
19. Share Jobs

INSPIRE

20. Quotes
21. Be Motivational

YOU’VE EARNED THE RIGHT TO SELF PROMOTE

22. Self Promotional Job Search
23. Celebrate Your Achievement
24. Share a Published Article or Article You’re Quoted In
25. Write an Article on LinkedIn and Share it in an Update

More About LinkedIn and Executive Job Search

Essential Checklist to Optimize LinkedIn For Executive Job Search

THE Executive Personal Branding Worksheet

A Clever LinkedIn Personal Branding Tip to Accelerate Your Executive Job Search

LinkedIn FAQs for Executive Job Search