How to Allow People to Tag You on LinkedIn

Wondering why you’re not showing up in relevant LinkedIn conversations, even when your colleagues swear they mentioned you? It’s likely a simple settings issue blocking your professional shine. This guide will walk you through exactly how to adjust your LinkedIn privacy settings to allow others to tag you, explain why this small tweak is a game-changer for your visibility, and cover best practices for encouraging valuable mentions.

Why LinkedIn Tagging Matters (More Than You Think)

Allowing people to tag you on LinkedIn isn't just about getting notifications. It's a fundamental part of building an active, engaged professional brand. When someone tags your profile in a post, comment, or image, they're creating a direct, clickable link to your profile. This simple action has a powerful ripple effect.

Here’s what you gain when your tagging settings are enabled:

• Massively Increased Reach and Visibility: When you're tagged in a post, that post doesn't just appear in the author's network - it also gets shown to a portion of your network. One tag instantly doubles the potential audience. If multiple people are tagged in a high-engagement post, the reach can expand exponentially, putting your profile in front of thousands of professionals who might not have discovered you otherwise.
• Powerful Social Proof: Being tagged is a public endorsement. When a respected peer, a client, or a collaborator mentions you in a positive context, they're vouching for your expertise. It signals to others that you are a go-to person in your field, a valuable contributor to projects, and an active member of your professional community. This is social proof in its most organic form.
• Effortless Networking Opportunities: Tags pull you directly into relevant conversations. Maybe a colleague is discussing a project you worked on, or someone is asking for an expert recommendation in your niche. A tag is your invitation to join the discussion, share your insights, and connect with new people who are already interested in what you do.
• Enhanced Brand Consistency: Consistently appearing in industry conversations strengthens your personal or company brand. It reinforces your connection to certain topics, skills, and professional circles. Over time, these tags create a digital footprint that clearly positions you as a key player in your industry.

Simply put, blocking tags is like telling your community not to include you in their public discussions. By enabling them, you open the door to passive marketing and genuine connection, letting your network become your best advocate.

How to Allow People to Tag You on LinkedIn: A Step-by-Step Guide

By default, LinkedIn usually has this setting enabled, but it can sometimes be restricted to "Connections only" or might have been turned off accidentally. Checking and updating this setting takes less than a minute. Here’s how to do it on both desktop and mobile.

On a Desktop Browser:

1. Access Your Profile Settings: Log in to your LinkedIn account. In the top-right corner of the navigation bar, click on the Me icon (which shows your profile picture).
2. Open Settings & Privacy: A dropdown menu will appear. Select Settings & Privacy from the list.
3. Navigate to Visibility: On the left-hand sidebar of the Settings page, click on the Visibility tab.
4. Find the Mentions Setting: Scroll down to the “Visibility of your profile & network” section. Click on the option that says Mentions or tags. It will expand to show you more details.
5. Enable Tagging: You'll see a toggle switch labeled “Allow others to mention or tag you.” Make sure this toggle is switched to Yes (it will be green). This change saves automatically, and you're all set!

On the LinkedIn Mobile App (iOS and Android):

1. Go to Your Profile: Open the LinkedIn app and tap on your profile picture in the top-left corner to open the sidebar menu.
2. Open Settings: Tap on Settings at the bottom of the sidebar.
3. Select the Visibility Tab: In the Settings menu, tap on the Visibility tab.
4. Find the Mentions Setting: Scroll down and tap on Mentions or tags.
5. Turn on Tagging: You'll find a toggle switch for “Allow others to mention or tag you.” Ensure this is switched to the On position. The app will automatically save your preference.

That's it! Once enabled, anyone on LinkedIn can now tag you by typing "@" followed by your name. They'll see your profile appear in a dropdown list, and upon selecting it, you'll be successfully mentioned.

What Happens When Someone Tags You?

Once you’ve enabled tagging, what happens next? Understanding the process helps you leverage every mention effectively.

• You Get a Notification: LinkedIn will immediately let you know you've been mentioned in a post or comment via your Notifications tab. This allows you to jump into the conversation right away.
• The Post Is Shared with Your Network: The original post where you were tagged now has a chance to appear in the feeds of your first-degree connections, dramatically boosting its visibility.
• It Creates a Link to Your Profile: Your name becomes a clickable link in the post or comment, making it easy for people to visit your profile and learn more about you.

The best course of action is almost always to engage with the post. A simple "like" is good, but a thoughtful comment is even better. It acknowledges the tag, adds value to the conversation, and further boosts the post's visibility through the LinkedIn algorithm.

Troubleshooting Common Tagging Issues

Even with your settings enabled, you or your colleagues might run into an occasional snag. Here are a few common issues and their solutions.

"Someone says they still can't tag me!"

If your settings are correct, the problem usually lies elsewhere. Here's a quick checklist:

• Check the Spelling: The most common issue is a simple typo. Ask them to double-check that they are spelling your name exactly as it appears on your LinkedIn profile. Sometimes variations (e.g., "Jon" vs. "Jonathan") can cause the wrong profile to appear.
• Look for Profile Uniqueness: If you have a common name, the person tagging you might be seeing several options. Ask them to confirm they've selected the correct profile by looking at your profile picture and headline.
• Confirm You Haven't Blocked Them: This is less common, but you cannot tag (or be tagged by) a person you have blocked on LinkedIn. You can manage your block list under Settings & Privacy > Visibility > Blocking.

"I was tagged in something inappropriate or irrelevant. How do I remove it?"

Maintaining control over your professional image is important. If you're tagged in a post or photo you don't want to be associated with, you can easily remove the tag.

• To remove a tag from a post or comment: Click the three dots (...) in the top-right corner of the post or comment. Select Remove tag from the dropdown menu. A confirmation window will appear. Click Remove, and the link to your profile will be gone.
• To remove a tag from a photo: Click on the photo where you are tagged. Click the three dots (...) and select Remove tag.

Removing a tag doesn't delete the post, but it does remove the active link to your profile and stops the post from being associated with you. This ensures you have full control over where your digital professional-self appears.

Proactive Strategies for Getting Tagged

Simply allowing tags is just step one. To truly leverage this feature, you should actively create a presence worth mentioning. Here are a few strategies to encourage your network to tag you organically.

• Publish High-Value, Sharable Content: When you post insightful articles, helpful data, or thoughtful perspectives, you become a go-to source. People will naturally tag you when they reference your work or share your content with a question or comment.
• Collaborate with Others: Working on projects, webinars, or content pieces with others is a perfect catalyst for tags. When you post about the collaboration, tag your partners. They will likely reciprocate when they post, cross-promoting everyone involved to their respective networks.
• Engage Thoughtfully on Others' Posts: Don't just "like" content. Leave insightful comments that add to the conversation. When people see you as a consistently valuable contributor, they're more likely to tag you in related discussions to get your input.
• Give Tags to Get Tags: Acknowledge and credit others generously. When you're sharing an interesting article, tag the author. When you're praising a team accomplishment, tag the teammates involved. This creates a culture of mutual recognition, and people are far more likely to return the favor.

Final Thoughts

Enabling tags on LinkedIn is a simple setting change that unlocks significant opportunities for network growth, visibility, and social proof. By opening yourself up to mentions, you empower your network to act as your brand ambassadors, pulling you into conversations that solidify your expertise.

As these valuable tags and mentions start increasing your engagement, managing replies and comments across LinkedIn - not to mention your other platforms - can become a daily challenge. That’s why we built Postbase with a unified social inbox. We wanted to see all our comments and messages from Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and more in one clean feed, making it easy to reply without constantly switching between apps. It keeps conversations organized so nothing important ever gets missed.