How to Effectively Tag a Company on LinkedIn to Expand Your Network
LinkedIn has become an invaluable platform for professionals to build connections, showcase expertise, and access career opportunities. With over 810 million members worldwide, LinkedIn dominates the social media landscape when it comes to professional networking.
One of the most useful but often overlooked features on LinkedIn is the ability to tag other companies and professionals in your posts and comments. Proper tagging can significantly expand your reach and allow you to engage with key decision makers.
In this comprehensive guide, we will walk through everything you need to know about tagging companies on LinkedIn, including:
- The benefits of tagging companies
- How to properly tag companies in posts and comments
- Tips to use tags effectively
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Advanced tagging strategies to boost engagement
Why Tag Companies on LinkedIn?
Tagging relevant companies serves multiple strategic purposes:
Gain Exposure
When you tag a company in a post or comment, it will appear on that company’s LinkedIn page under the “Posts” sections. Anyone who follows that company will now see your content in their feed. This tremendously expands the reach of your post.
It’s a quick and easy way to get your content, opinions, and personal brand in front of an entirely new audience composed of your target contacts.
Start Conversations
Tagging serves as a public endorsement and virtual introduction between you and the company. It signals that you are familiar with the company and invites them to engage with your content.
This sparks reciprocal interest and lays the foundation for starting conversations with key decision makers at that organization. Comments and likes on your posts indicate they are paying attention.
Share Expertise
Tagging companies related to your industry allows you to weigh in with insights, opinions, and expertise about the latest trends. This positions you as a thought leader, which can lead to speaking, writing, and consulting opportunities.
When companies take notice of your knowledgeability through tagging, you may get invited to share that expertise directly with their organization.
How to Properly Tag Companies on LinkedIn
Tagging companies on LinkedIn is easy. But doing it properly ensures that your tags are actually seen and engaged with, which is the end goal.
Tagging Companies in Posts
You can tag companies in any post that you create by using the “@” symbol.
When writing a new post, type “@” followed immediately by the name of the company.
A dropdown menu will appear listing companies that match what you have typed thus far. Select the appropriate company from the choices.
The company’s name will now appear as a hyperlink in your post text. The company will receive a notification that they have been tagged.
Mention companies that are specifically relevant to the topic of the post to provide helpful context for your readers.
There are no hard limits on how many companies you can tag in a single post. But be judicious with tags to avoid seeming spammy.
Tagging Companies in Comments
You can also tag companies in the comments you leave on other posts using the exact same process:
In the comment field, type “@” followed by the company name and select them from the dropdown that appears.
The company name will become a hyperlink in your comment. They will receive a notification of being tagged.
As always when commenting, ensure your remarks are constructive, professional and on-topic for the post. Tag companies contextually where they enrich the conversation.
Now that you know how to execute tags, let’s go over some best practices to employ them effectively.
Tips for Using LinkedIn Tags Strategically
Applying these tips will make your company tags more impactful:
Vary the Organizations You Tag
Don’t just tag the same few companies repeatedly. Branch out and tag a diverse mix of organizations over time. This introduces your brand to a wider range of audiences and expands your overall visibility.
Tag Companies You Admire
In addition to tagging companies related to a post’s content, consider tagging companies you genuinely admire. This sends them positive reinforcement and constructs
Personalize With Context
Personalized messages using the company’s context tend to perform best. Research the organization beforehand so you can tailor relevant talking points that resonate with their priorities.
Show that you understand their business, challenges and objectives. This degree of personalization makes them more inclined to respond.
Follow Up After Tagging
After tagging a company, it’s good etiquette to follow up directly with key individuals who work there. Reference your tag post as context in your personalized outreach. Offer to discuss the post topic in more detail or meet for a virtual coffee.
This gives tagged companies an easy next step to continue the conversation. Even if they don’t respond right away, you’ve made a strong, memorable impression.
Common Tagging Mistakes to Avoid
While tagging companies can yield fantastic benefits if done properly, there are a few common mistakes that can undermine your efforts:
Tagging Too Many Companies
Excessive tagging looks thirsty and damages your credibility. For most posts, you should tag no more than three companies max. The exceptions are list-format posts that cite many companies. Even then, be prudent with tags.
Tagging Competitor Companies
Think twice before tagging your direct competitors. The gesture could be interpreted as odd or even hostile unless you have an established friendly relationship. And take extra care not to share sensitive information.
Tagging Without Introduction
Tagging a company you have zero relationship with can come across as presumptuous. At least establish a digital rapport by liking and commenting on their content first. Then their familiarity with you will make your first tag better received.
Tagging Irrelevant Companies
Tagging companies loosely or questionably related to your content risks appearing spammy. Make sure any organizations you tag are clearly relevant. Their purpose needs to enrich the post somehow, not just promote you.
By avoiding these common missteps with your tags, you’ll boost credibility and foster authentic engagement.
Advanced Techniques for Company Tagging
Once you’ve mastered the fundamentals of tagging companies properly, you can deploy some advanced techniques to increase visibility and engagement even further.
Engage First, Then Tag
Rather than tagging a company right away, engage with their content for a little while first through likes, comments, shares and follows. Once you’ve established even a minor digital rapport, they’ll be more open to your tags. Lead with value instead of asking for attention.
Tag Company Executives
In addition to tagging the company itself, also tag relevant executives who work there, like founders, directors and team leaders. This puts your content directly in front of decision-maker eyeballs which can expedite relationship building.
Reciprocity Through Tagging
If certain companies frequently engage with your content through likes, comments and shares, return the favor by tagging them in your future posts. This reciprocity deepens social bonds and cements mutual commitment to amplifying reach.
Schedule Posting Around Company Events
Check company pages for upcoming product launches, conferences, milestones, etc. Try to publish relevant tag posts close to these events. The timing alignment will make your content more pertinent during periods of increased company activity.
Measuring Tag Performance
Continually evaluate your tagging strategy to determine which companies and tactics work best. Gauge tag performance using these metrics:
Post Engagement Rate
Calculate separate engagement rates (likes + comments / reach) for posts where you tag companies vs posts with no tags. Compare to see if tagging boosts engagement.
Company Engagement Frequency
Track engagement behavior over time from the specific companies you tag. Do certain ones engage more consistently than others in response to your tags? Identify the best partners to continue tagging.
Exec Response Rate
Monitor which executives from the companies you tag subsequently follow you or comment on your content. Higher level engagements indicate you’re grabbing VIP attention.
Key Takeaways
Tagging companies strategically provides a low friction way to vastly expand your network and amplify content reach. To recap:
Tag companies contextually related to your posts using the “@” symbol and dropdown menu.
Tag a diverse mix of companies instead of just one or two repeatedly.
Personalize content for each company you tag by referencing specifics related to their business.
Avoid tagging blunders like excess volume and irrelevant companies.
Use advanced techniques like executive tagging and event timing to boost visibility.
Continuously measure tag performance and refine your approach accordingly.
Now that you’re equipped with insider tips to master company tagging, it’s time to put this high impact capability into practice! Simply incorporating a few well-targeted tags into your regular content mix can work wonders for extending your professional network.
