November 4, 2025 - 12:38am - by

LinkedIn remains the most consistently popular social network for professionals, and for anyone looking for networking or B2B opportunities, it’s a no-brainer.

A whopping 97% of B2B marketers use the platform for content marketing, while 89% use it for lead generation. On a platform where 4 out of 5 members are making some kind of business decisions for their companies, it pays to invest your time on LinkedIn.

Beyond B2B, the platform also remains hugely popular for networking, hiring and job seeking, with 11,000 members applying for jobs every minute.

So, whether you’re looking for a new opportunity, building your network, or trying to find new clients for your business, let’s look at some tried-and-true strategies for personal branding and business growth on LinkedIn.

Your personal profile

Think of your profile page on LinkedIn as a digital version of your elevator pitch and business card – you get just one short line of text to pitch yourself, along with space for your name, title, and photo.

Chances are, if someone is seeing your profile for the first time, they came from one of three places: a post of yours that showed up in their feed, a recommendation from the algorithm of who to follow, or from a search. In all of these cases, someone was curious enough to click on your profile, but may know little to nothing about you. So it’s time for an introduction.

Arguably the most important part of your profile is your “headline,” the one open-ended line of text you get to add which isn’t tied directly to some specific piece of information or formatting. The headline has a character limit of 220, allowing for about two short sentences, but best practice is to keep it significantly shorter than that, since in some places it may be cut short.

The headline is a place to summarize or “pitch” what you offer – both professionally and as someone to follow on LinkedIn, if possible. Remember that your actual job title and work experience will follow underneath, this is just an introductory hook. If you are a freelancer or small business owner, this may double as a pitch for your business and work, but should still clearly be about you as an individual; there are other places to get deeper into your business.

Beyond your headline, my advice on LinkedIn profiles is to keep things professional, with just a bit of personality. It’s a professional networking platform after all, so this isn’t the place for overly whimsical profile and cover photos (unless that really is your personal brand). That said, showing some personality – without compromising professionalism – will help make your profile more memorable. 

Your content

Like any other social media platform or blog, it helps to have a content strategy and plan. Two things LinkedIn rewards in terms of content are quality and consistency – so plan for a posting schedule that feels realistic and attainable, and also allows you to deliver quality content every time.

As for what to post, that’s something you’ll have to decide for yourself – but we can help you narrow it down.

Many of the most successful thought leaders and power users on LinkedIn, regardless of their industry or role, have leaned into a niche and a fairly narrow set of topics. Find the thing you’re best at within your industry, or the aspect of your perspective that is most rare and unique to you, and have that be the focal point of most of your content. 

This might feel limiting at first, but with a well-developed content strategy and plan, you can find many different ways to talk about the same subject and share the same expertise. For example, LinkedIn marketer Gus Bhandal created a “content album” strategy which takes inspiration from musical albums, where all the songs sound different, despite being played with the same instruments and by the same artist in the same genre. He created numerous types of post styles to help inspire and frame different types of content, knowing they will all remain cohesive due to his specific perspective and personal brand.

Building and engaging with your network

Quality content and a strong profile is a great place to start on LinkedIn, but building a network and growing your following requires you to engage with other users.

Start by connecting with people you actually know, people you’ve worked with, and other people in your industry or related industries whose content genuinely interests you. LinkedIn is not the place to be picky about privacy and who sees your posts – you can follow strangers, and let strangers follow you. 

Next, start engaging everywhere that it feels natural. Leave comments on posts you like, and reply to comments on your own posts. Be authentic, but also don’t be afraid to push yourself outside your comfort zone and engage with strangers. It can help to pretend that you’re at a large party or event where everyone’s been invited but most don’t know each other – you won’t offend anyone by leaving comments, especially if they’re supportive or asking relevant questions. And make sure to reward others for doing the same on your posts by replying promptly and warmly.

LinkedIn for business

So far, we’ve largely talked about personal profiles and personal branding – which certainly crosses over into business if you’re a freelancer or small business owner whose name is synonymous with their business. However, if you run a business with its own LinkedIn page, there are additional things to consider, and additional opportunities for growth.

One of the first things to do is ensure your page is fully complete. Many business pages lack some key pieces and are therefore less likely to be found in search. Make sure your page is filled out and includes plenty of keywords that interested users might be searching when looking for a service, a job, or businesses in their industry to follow. 

Next, just like your personal page, make a content strategy and plan. Similar rules apply here, although most businesses can get away with a slightly broader range of content. We also recommend implementing video and photo content as much as possible for businesses, as these types of posts tend to get far more reach and engagement.

If your business has employees, utilize them to expand your reach. Tag them whenever it’s relevant, and ask them to share your posts where appropriate. Showing the human faces behind your business always helps too.

Finally, use LinkedIn to post jobs. Job postings are one of the most popular features of the platform, tend to get more shares, help build credibility, and give more people a reason to follow you. Even if you use some other platform for hiring, just posting about your job openings on the platform can get you most of these benefits.

Getting outside help

Did you know that Starling Social manages corporate LinkedIn pages? Our team has a lot of experience with LinkedIn for a variety of businesses and nonprofits, and a proven track record of building audiences and engagement on the platform.  Get in touch today to book a discovery call!

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