How to Tag People and Companies in a LinkedIn Post

Tagging people or companies on LinkedIn is more than just a notification - it's a digital handshake that amplifies your message, gives credit where it's due, and builds meaningful relationships. Done right, a simple @mention can transform a good post into a great one by pulling key players into the conversation. This guide will walk you through exactly how to tag on LinkedIn, the strategies behind effective tagging, and the common pitfalls to steer clear of.

Why Bother Tagging on LinkedIn? The Strategic Advantage

Before getting into the "how," it's worth understanding the "why." A well-placed tag is one of the most powerful organic tools on the platform. It's not about gaming the algorithm, it's about making your content more human and interactive.

• Increased Reach and Visibility: When you tag someone, their network is more likely to see your post. If they engage with it - by liking, commenting, or resharing - their entire network gets a notification. This instantly expands your potential audience beyond your own connections.
• Relationship Building: Tagging is a form of public appreciation. It shows you're paying attention to others' work, celebrating their wins, or valuing their insights. It’s a simple way to strengthen professional connections and keep your network warm.
• Credit and Collaboration: Giving credit for an idea, a quote, or a contribution is just good professional etiquette. Tagging the source adds authority to your post and properly acknowledges the people and companies who deserve recognition.
• Sparking Genuine Conversation: A tag is an invitation. By mentioning someone and asking for their perspective, you can turn a monologue into a dialogue, generating thoughtful comments and adding more value for everyone reading.

How to Tag People and Companies: The Step-by-Step Guide

The technical process of tagging on LinkedIn is straightforward, whether you're on a desktop or the mobile app. The function works the same way in new posts, comments, or even in LinkedIn Articles.

Tagging an Individual Person

Tagging a person links their name directly to their profile, notifying them that you've mentioned them. This is perfect for shouting out a colleague, quoting an expert, or congratulating a connection.

1. Start your post or comment. Click "Start a post" at the top of your feed or click on the comment field of an existing post.
2. Type the "@" symbol. As soon as you type the "@" symbol, a dropdown menu will start to populate.
3. Begin typing the person's name. You don't need a space after the "@". For example, type @janesmith.
4. Select the correct person from the list. A list of suggestions will appear based on your connections and people you've recently interacted with. Scroll or continue typing until you find the right person, then click on their name.
5. Confirm the tag. Once selected, the person's name will appear in bold blue text in the post composer. This confirms the tag is active.

Pro-Tip: To keep your post looking clean and conversational, you can often remove a tagged person's last name. After selecting the full name (e.g., @Jane Doe), place your cursor right after the first name and press backspace. In many cases, the tag will remain active but will only display as @Jane.

Tagging a Company Page

Tagging a company is almost identical to tagging a person. It's a great way to talk about your employer, a client, a tool you love, or a brand whose content you're sharing.

1. Start your post or comment.
2. Type the "@" symbol.
3. Begin typing the company's full name. For example, type @LinkedInMarketingSolutions.
4. Select the company page from the list. Be sure to choose the official company page, which is usually identifiable by the logo and follower count. Avoid employee showcase pages or unofficial group pages.
5. Confirm the tag. The company's name will also turn into a bold blue link, confirming it's been tagged correctly.

The Art of the Tag: Best Practices for Maximum Impact

Knowing how to tag is easy. Knowing when and why to tag is what separates social media pros from novices. Spurious tagging can make you seem spammy and can even hurt your reputation. Here’s how to do it right.

Relevance is Everything

The golden rule of tagging: only tag people and companies that are directly relevant to your content. A tag without context is just noise. People can remove tags, and if you continually tag people irrelevantly, they'll start to ignore your content altogether.

• Good Example (Person): "Just left the #MarketingInnovations summit. My biggest takeaway came from @JaneDoe’s session on community-building. Her point about consistent engagement completely reframed my strategy for Q4." (Cites a specific, valuable contribution.)
• Bad Example (Person): "Excited for the #MarketingInnovations summit! Tagging some people I hope to see there: @JaneDoe, @JohnSmith, @SarahJones…" (This feels like you're trying to force them to see your post.)
• Good Example (Company): "Our team just completed a massive data migration project, and we couldn't have done it without the incredible platform from @Salesforce. The seamless integration saved us hundreds of hours." (Shows genuine appreciation and provides good social proof for the company.)

Give Context and Add Value

Don’t just drop a tag in a post and move on. Explain why you are tagging them. Frame the mention in a way that provides value to your audience. Instead of just networking with the tagged person, you're clueing your audience into why that person or company matters.

For instance, rather than saying "Check out this article by @HubSpot," try something more engaging: "Struggling with your email open rates? This guide from @HubSpot has some actionable tips on subject lines that I'm putting into practice this week. Tip #3 was a real eye-opener."

Tag to Celebrate and Acknowledge Others

One of the best uses for tagging is public appreciation. This builds goodwill and strengthens your professional network in a genuine, non-transactional way.

• Team Members: Celebrate a successful project and tag the colleagues who made it happen. ("A huge congrats to @JohnSmith on launching the new feature! His dedication over the past six months was the driving force behind this win.")
• Clients & Partners: With their permission, celebrate a shared success. ("So proud to have partnered with @AwesomeOrg on their annual fundraising campaign. We're thrilled to announce we exceeded our goal!")
• Industry Peers: When sharing someone's work, always tag them. You give them a signal boost, and you introduce your network to another valuable resource.

Limit Your Tags for Greater Impact

LinkedIn allows you to tag up to 30 people or pages in a single post, but you should aim for far fewer. A post with a novel-length list of tags at the end looks desperate and significantly dilutes the impact of each mention. One to three highly relevant tags is often far more effective than ten "maybe-they’ll-see-it" tags.

Troubleshooting: When Tagging Goes Wrong

Even with a simple feature, things can sometimes go sideways. Here are a few common issues and how to fix them.

Problem: I Can't Find the Person or Company I Want to Tag

If the dropdown menu isn't showing who you're looking for, try these fixes:

• Check Your Spelling: The search is quite literal. Make sure you have the name exactly right, especially for companies with unique spelling or punctuation.
• Are You Connected? You can tag anyone on LinkedIn (unless their privacy settings prevent it), but your first-degree connections will show up most readily. If it's a 2nd or 3rd-degree connection, you might need to type their full name precisely as it appears on their profile.
• The Company Page Name: Some companies operate under a different name than their public brand name. Double-check their official LinkedIn Page for the correct name to use after the "@" symbol.

Problem: I Need to Remove a Tag

It’s easy to remove a tag, whether it’s from your own post or a post someone else has tagged you in.

• Removing a tag from your own post: Simply click the three-dot menu on your post, select "Edit post," and delete the blue, hyperlinked name. You can then re-type it to add a new tag or just save the edited post.
• Removing yourself from someone else's post: If you've been tagged in a post or photo and don't want to be associated with it, click the three-dot menu on that post and choose "Remove tag." This breaks the link to your profile.

Final Thoughts

Mastering the humble @-tag is a small skill with an outsized impact on your LinkedIn presence. It transforms static content into a conversation, expands your organic reach, and strengthens the professional relationships that truly matter. When used with purpose and clear context, tagging is an authentic way to build community and show that you're an active, engaged member of your industry.

We know that managing all these details across multiple platforms - from planning content to having meaningful conversations with people who comment - can become a lot to handle. That’s why we built Postbase from the ground up to simplify these exact workflows. With our powerful scheduling, centralized inbox for all your comments and DMs, and clear analytics, you can spend less time juggling tabs and more time building your brand effectively.