Right out of the box, my advice:

Do not expect LinkedIn to catapult your sales, reputation, image, popularity, thought leadership, or industry impact…unless you spend the time and feed the beast, nowing you will have to do it over a prolonged period.

This is a strategic selfbranding marketing tool, not a hit and run tactical weapon.

And in an order of time to spend on making a difference, short-to-long efforts, my thoughts:

  • Let’s stop with the emojis, the world’s shortest and least energetic comment. It does not give the receiver the why behind your emoji, just a what. That is elementary. You are not. Be advanced and use words.
  • Use words thoughfully, strong power verbs and complete, well-constructed prose, to show you can synthesize facts and experience to the reader’s needs and desires. Or slog along and go nowhere because you cannot express yourself, if you must. The only good news in slogging like this is that you get better with practice and with the learned knowledge of what your prospects find stimulating enough to comment to you, engage with you, buy from you, return to buy from you.
  • Comment on others’ comments and make the electrons dance on the screen into a conversation that educates, enlightens, informs, and helps others.
  • Write posts that show the reader you are a giving and sincere thought leader:
    • what you now know from reading or discussion that you want the reader to know
    • what you feel that you want to convey, to add to our respective emotional worlds
    • what you believe that you learned and can help others use, as a means of propelling your profession and industry forward
    • what you want the reader to do, share, or comment back, or disagree professionally, to add their POV to the budding conversation.
  • Have a lot to say? Consider an article in your LinkedIn  Newsletter if you have added Creator Mode to your profile. Ther you can wax rhetorically and rhapsodically on a topic that demands the reader spend some time. It’s yours to use, open to all on LinkedIn, and a great way to make an impression.

OK, so that wraps up the 4 best ways to spend your, and your reader’s, time on LinkedIn, making an impression. Expect to make this a habit for a few months or years to glean its best benefits.

Spend the time, inject the quality, and buff to a high shine. Be amazing-er.