"What should I be doing on LinkedIn?"
It's one of the questions I hear most often from clients. They're nonprofit leaders, social entrepreneurs, and consultants doing meaningful work. Most are busy professionals, not social media power users, and "building a LinkedIn presence" feels like one more heavy task on an already full plate.
I understand. But here's what I've seen in my own business and with clients: when someone wants to learn more about you, LinkedIn is often the first place they look. Prospective partners, funders, board members, clients, and recruiters all check it. I've found clients, speaking opportunities, and job prospects there myself.
The good news is that a strong presence doesn't take hours a day. It takes a solid profile, a few easy habits, and a clear sense of what LinkedIn is for. This guide pulls together the advice I've shared in Marketing That Matters into one place.
First, know what LinkedIn can (and can't) do
Not long ago, I met the publisher of an environmental e-zine who was deciding which social platforms to use. When I told him that only a fraction of his followers would see any given post, his mouth fell open.
It's true. Each platform's algorithm decides who sees your content and when. Recent benchmarks suggest LinkedIn company pages reach only about 2–5% of their followers per post. Personal profiles do better, but a typical post from an account with under 1,000 followers still reaches only about a third of that network.
Two lessons follow. First, post from your personal profile, not just your organization's page. People connect with people.
Second, treat LinkedIn as a place to build awareness and credibility, not as home base. Your website and email list are the platforms you own. LinkedIn's job is to introduce you to new people, keep you top of mind, and invite them back to those places.
Step 1: Make your profile worth the click
When your post or comment catches someone's eye, the next thing they do is click your name. Your profile needs to reward that click.
Your headline. Go beyond your job title. Use this line to say who you help and how, with the keywords people in your field would search for. "Executive Director at Green Roots" tells me where you work. "Helping rural families access fresh food | Executive Director at Green Roots" tells me why you matter.
Your banner. The image behind your photo is prime real estate that many people leave blank. Add a short tagline, your organization's branding, or a photo of your work in action.
Your About section. I can't tell you how many About sections make me want to reach through the screen and ask, "You're so smart and accomplished. Why is your About section such a snooze?"
Your About section should hook your reader. Ask yourself: Why would someone find me interesting? Why would they want to talk with me? What makes me different? Then cover four essentials:
Who you are and what drives you
Successful, relevant examples of your work
Your areas of expertise
How to reach you
You have up to 2,600 characters, but LinkedIn shows only the first few lines before "see more," so make them count. Use line breaks and white space for readability.
If you're building a following, write conversationally and let your personality come through. Skip the dry run-on sentences and laundry list of achievements. If you're job searching, weave in the keywords recruiters look for, and use those first lines to summarize who you are and the role you want.
One more tip: links typed into your About section aren't clickable. Put your website, newsletter, or booking link in your Featured section instead.
Step 2: Keep a few easy post ideas on hand
The question of what to post is where most people stall. You don't need to produce original thought leadership every week. Keep a few go-to categories in your back pocket, and posting gets much easier. Seasoned users may find this list obvious. It's meant for everyone who wants less dread and friction.
Celebrate someone. When a colleague, partner, volunteer, or funder reaches a milestone, share the news and tag them. Add a line about how you know them and why they've earned it.
Share a career update. New job, promotion, or a leap into your own business? Announce it, and add a sentence about what you're excited for next.
Post an article that made you think. Share the link with a few of your own thoughts up front.
Repost with commentary. Resharing carries the original post to your network. Add your own take on why it matters, and you both benefit.
Share a behind-the-scenes moment. A photo from a site visit, a program day, or a messy whiteboard session humanizes your work far more than a polished announcement.
A few formatting habits help any post travel further. Open with a strong first line, since readers see only a couple of lines before "see more." Use short paragraphs and line breaks. Add a photo when you can. And end with a specific question rather than a generic "What do you think?"
Step 3: Show up in the comments
Some of your best visibility won't come from your own posts at all. It comes from the comment sections.
An emoji reaction is nice, but a genuine comment of two or three sentences is better. The author will appreciate it, and their followers will see your name and headline. Some of them will click through and follow you.
Try this: before you publish your own post, spend ten minutes leaving thoughtful comments on posts from people in your field. Then, when people comment on your posts, reply to them. LinkedIn is a conversation, and the people who talk back are the ones who get remembered.
Step 4: Point people home, and set a realistic rhythm
Remember, LinkedIn is the introduction, not the destination.
Include a call to action. When it fits, end a post by inviting readers to take a next step on a platform you own: read the full blog post, sign up for your newsletter, or download a free guide. Drop the link in the first comment rather than the body of the post. LinkedIn tends to limit reach for posts that send people off the platform.
Choose one platform and go deep. If your audience is on LinkedIn, focus your energy there rather than spreading yourself thin across several channels. Original, high-quality content wins the day.
Set a rhythm one step up from where you are. If you rarely post now, aim for once a month and build from there. Pick a regular day, like Mondays or Wednesdays, so it becomes a habit. Posting steadily twice a month beats posting daily for two weeks and then disappearing.
Start small this week
LinkedIn doesn't have to be a heavy lift. This week, pick one thing: refresh your headline, rewrite the first three lines of your About section, or leave three thoughtful comments. Next week, pick another.
Small, steady steps add up to a presence that works for you, even when you're too busy changing the world to think about marketing.
Want more practical tips like these? Subscribe to Marketing That Matters. And if you'd like help sharpening your message so your profile, website, and posts all work together, let's talk.
