There is no doubt about it; LinkedIn is a different animal in the social world. Facebook may be ideal for accessing more prospects and generate brand awareness (because they have way more active users), but LinkedIn is the leader when it comes to generating tangible leads.

You may use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for different things (as well as a plethora of other platforms). But when it comes to engaging on LinkedIn, there are a few little known secrets (several I’ve learned from LinkedIn expert, Jennifer Darling) that have been tested and proven to help you increase visibility, engagement, and ultimately, build relationships.

1. Check your Social Selling Index to see what needs improvement and how you rank against others in your industry and your network. If you have the free version of LinkedIn, you probably won’t rank higher than 85. Check out yours at www.linkedin.com/sales/ssi.
2. Don’t sell when you’re connecting. The last thing you should do is push your services/products when you’re inviting someone to connect or if they’ve just accepted your connection. You wouldn’t do it in person, so don’t think it works online.
3. Turn articles into flipbooks or ebooks and post as a Document. This made a dramatic increase in views for me when I tested it out. Here’s an example of one I designed in Canva: 28 Tips to Cure Unresponsive Marketing Content. Compared to posting the same content in an article format, which generated less than 50 views, my flipbook had close to 500 views over the same timeframe and more engagement.
4. Create a text-only short story post. Write up to 1300 characters. Start each sentence on a new line. No links. No images. I tested this myself using and the same content without including a link or image. The text-only post received more than four times the number of views! If you want to share a link, add it into a comment below your original post.
5. Video – Don’t share your YouTube video link on LinkedIn. You’ll get more visibility when you upload your video directly to LinkedIn. Keep them under 3 minutes, preferably under 90 seconds in length.
6. Complete all areas of your profile. Share your story so others know exactly what you do and how you can help them. Include keywords so others can find you. Ask for recommendations, and give recommendations.
7. Your photo. Yes, it is vital that you include a photo – of you! Not your cat and not your child. You want a professional headshot that looks influential. To make sure others think so, test it out at https://www.photofeeler.com.
8. Get rid of the blue background header! When you leave this generic background, people know you aren’t serious about LinkedIn. Create an attractive, branded header with a concise message. This is your opportunity to let others know, at a glance, what you do.
9. Be consistent. Engage regularly (at least 4 to 5 times per week) by posting new articles, sharing ideas, commenting on other posts using a minimum of 5 words, and connecting with your followers.