How to Get Noticed on LinkedIn

Trying to stand out on a platform with over a billion members can feel like shouting into the void. The good news is, most people on LinkedIn are passive users, creating a massive opportunity for anyone willing to consistently show up and provide value. This guide breaks down the four key pillars you need to not just participate on LinkedIn, but to actually get noticed, build your brand, and connect with people who can change your career.

Perfect Your Profile: Your Digital Handshake

Before you write a single post, your profile needs to be ready for visitors. Think of it as your personal landing page. When people discover you through a comment or post, your profile is the first thing they'll check to decide if you're worth following. A compelling, clear profile makes that decision an easy "yes."

Optimize Your "Above the Fold" Real Estate

The top section of your profile - your photo, banner, and headline - is what everyone sees first, even without clicking. Make it count.

• Your Profile Photo: Use a high-quality, professional headshot where you look friendly and approachable. No vacation photos, no blurry crops from a group picture. Your face should be clearly visible. This simple step builds instant trust.
• Your Banner Image: This is a billboard for your brand. Don't leave it blank. Use this space to showcase what you do, who you help, or your core message. You can include your website, a tagline, or visuals that represent your industry. Tools like Canva have pre-sized LinkedIn banner templates to make this easy.
• Your Headline: This is the single most important piece of real estate on your profile. Your job title is a starting point, but it's not enough. Your headline is searchable, so it needs to clearly state what you do, who you help, and the results you deliver. Use keywords a potential client or recruiter would search for.

Weak headline: "Marketing Manager at ABC Company"

Strong headline: "B2B SaaS Content Marketer | Helping Tech Brands Drive Demand & Grow Revenue | SEO & Content Strategy"

Craft a Compelling "About" Section

Don't just list your accomplishments, tell a story. Your "About" section is your chance to connect with readers on a human level. Write it in the first person ("I help...") to feel more direct and personal. Structure it for easy reading:

• Hook: Start with a strong opening line that grabs attention and outlines the main problem you solve.
• Body: Talk about who you help, the transformation you provide, and your professional background. Use short paragraphs and bullet points to break up the text.
• Call to Action: End by telling people what you want them to do next. Do you want them to connect with you, visit your website, or book a call? Make it clear.

Create Engaging Content: Be the Signal, Not the Noise

Your content is how you move from being a passive observer to an active voice in your industry. The goal isn't just to post, it's to create content that serves your audience and starts conversations. Forget about going viral and focus on being consistently valuable.

Find Your Content Pillars

You don't need to be an expert on everything. Choose 2-4 core topics or "pillars" that you can consistently talk about. These should be at the intersection of what you're skilled in, what you're passionate about, and what your target audience cares about.

For example, a freelance writer's pillars might be:

• Copywriting frameworks
• Client acquisition strategies
• Freelance business mindset
• Personal stories about the writing journey

Having content pillars takes the guesswork out of what to post. Whenever you're stuck for ideas, you can go back to your pillars for inspiration.

Master a Few Key Post Formats

Varying your content format keeps your feed interesting and appeals to different parts of the algorithm. Here are a few formats that consistently perform well:

1. Text-Only Posts

Simple and surprisingly effective. Short, punchy text posts with a strong opening line are great for sharing personal anecdotes, quick tips, or asking thought-provoking questions. The key is to make them easy to read.

• Use a strong hook: The first one or two lines are all people see before clicking "See more." Make them curious.
• Break up the text: Use short sentences, single-line paragraphs, and plenty of white space. No one wants to read a giant wall of text.
• Tell a story: People connect with stories. Share a lesson learned from a failure, a surprising success, or an observation from your day-to-day work.

2. Carousels (PDF Documents)

Carousels are a fantastic way to package valuable information into a digestible format. You can create a slide deck in Canva or Google Slides, save it as a PDF, and upload it as a document to LinkedIn. The platform turns it into a swipeable carousel.

Carousel ideas:

• Turn a blog post into a 10-slide summary.
• Create a "How-To" guide for a specific task.
• Share a checklist or framework.
• Debunk common industry myths.

3. Polls

Polls are one of the easiest ways to generate quick engagement. They are low-effort for your audience to participate in and give you valuable insights into what they're thinking. After the poll ends, consider creating a follow-up post to discuss the results. This turns one piece of content into two.

Pro tip: Avoid simple "Yes/No" polls. Instead, use the options to frame a nuanced discussion. For example, instead of "Do you use AI?", try a poll like, "What's the biggest barrier to adopting AI on your team?" with options like "Cost," "Lack of Training," or "Security Concerns."

Engage Authentically: Build Relationships, Not Just a Follower Count

LinkedIn is a social network, which means you need to be social. If you only log on to post and then leave, you're missing the single biggest opportunity for growth. Genuine engagement builds relationships and puts your profile in front of new audiences.

Leave Thoughtful Comments

Your comments are mini-billboards for your expertise and personality. Don't just post "Great thought!" or "Agree." Instead, aim to add to the conversation. Treat every comment as a mini-post.

A good comment formula:

1. Acknowledge a specific point the author made.
2. Add your own perspective or experience related to that point.
3. Ask a follow-up question to encourage further discussion.

Set a goal to leave 5-10 thoughtful comments on other people's posts every day. When you consistently add value to other conversations, people will naturally start checking out your profile and following you.

Engage with Your Community

When people take the time to comment on your posts, acknowledge them. Reply to as many comments as you can, especially in the first few hours after posting. This does two important things:

1. It signals to the algorithm that your post is popular, which gives it more reach.
2. It tells your community you're listening and value their input, making them more likely to engage in the future.

Be Consistent: The Slow-Burn Path to Success

Getting noticed on LinkedIn isn't about one viral post, it's about showing up consistently over a long period. Consistency builds trust with your audience and the algorithm. You become a reliable source of information, and the platform learns to reward you with more visibility.

Find a Sustainable Cadence

You don't need to post every day. A good starting goal is to post 3-5 times per week. The best frequency is the one you can stick with for months, not just for a week. Quality and consistency are far more important than quantity.

Plan Your Content in Advance

The biggest enemy of consistency is feeling like you have to come up with a brilliant idea on the spot every single day. The solution is to plan ahead. Block off a couple of hours one day a week or every other week to brainstorm ideas and write out your posts. This removes the daily pressure and frees you up to focus on engagement the rest of the week.

Creating a simple content calendar helps you visualize your plan, spot any gaps, and ensure you're covering a good mix of your content pillars and formats.

Final Thoughts

Building a strong presence on LinkedIn comes down to four habits: optimizing your profile to be discoverable, creating genuinely helpful content, engaging in meaningful conversations, and doing it all consistently. Instead of chasing vanity metrics, focus on providing value and building real relationships, and you'll find that getting noticed is a natural outcome.

We know that planning your content and staying consistent are often the hardest parts, especially when you're managing multiple social platforms. That’s why we built Postbase. Our visual calendar lets you plan and see all your LinkedIn content alongside your posts for other platforms, making it simple to map out your strategy weeks or months in advance. You can schedule everything in one session, making it much easier to stick to that 3-5x per week cadence without the daily stress.