Have you created your own unique hashtag for use on LinkedIn?

Although the hashtags/communities feature is still being rolled out, you should consider adding your own, unique hashtag to all your posts, articles and updates on LinkedIn (including on Company pages).

In some rare cases, other LinkedIn users will be given the option to follow and pin your hashtag - but even if that option is not given to people, users can still find your tag through the search box. Users may well also click on your tag in your posts out of curiosity, and will then see all your other posts that include that tag.

Another thing you can/should do, is to tell your connections and clients that you have your own hashtag.

Perhaps add a note to your Summary section to search for your hashtags; also add it to your business cards, add it to your email signature, slides at presentations, website, blog etc. i.e. shout it out and encourage people to search/visit it on LinkedIn.

Bear in mind that tags such as #Leadership #Sales etc have already been set up and you should use these too where appropriate. What I'm suggesting is that you also create something unique to you and use it and promote it. That way people who know your hashtag can see EVERYTHING that you post, rather than your posts being at the whim of the LinkedIn algorithm.

It's a good idea to also check your hashtag for uniqueness. For example if I was to use #LinkedInSpeaker, whilst that sounds fairly unique, I know that other people will also use it. I will still use that tag, but I'll also include my own unique tag too.

But if nothing else, add your chosen hashtag to every post you make on LinkedIn.

Bear in mind that LinkedIn is still tweaking and rolling this out. If you have access to it, you'll already see suggested tags for you on the left side of your home page. If you have the feature, you can also access it here https://www.linkedin.com/feed/follow-hashtags/

SECRET BONUS TIP: Hashtags added to the summary section of your LinkedIn profile will also appear in search results. Hashtag searches default to show Content results (posts, articles etc), but if you change it to People results - boom - up come the profiles that include that hashtag.

So in your profile, add (say) #Leadership, #CustomerService or whatever your main area of expertise is. I've added them to the bottom of my Summary section.

Hardly anyone knows about this, so make the most of it as it could make the difference between being found and being invisible on LinkedIn...

Play around and experiment with this and let me know how you get on.