LinkedIn can feel like a mysterious place—some posts take off, while others barely get noticed. Daniel Usera, a faculty member in the Department of Marketing at The University of Texas at Arlington, has been studying what makes certain posts succeed. Dr. Usera looked at what exactly increases engagement on LinkedIn through a random sample of 991 posts, which revealed that tags and hashtags significantly increase the expected number of reactions, with tags also substantially increasing comments. His latest research uncovers patterns anyone can use to boost engagement and get noticed, without coming across as self-promotional or "cringey."
Recently, Usera shared tips and advice to make your LinkedIn page really click.
Let's start simple: What actually makes a LinkedIn post "click" with people?
Usera: Posting about other people, their achievements and showing gratitude. Those kind of posts tend to do better than those that self-promote.
Hashtags are everywhere on LinkedIn. Are they really worth using?
Usera: Yes, but in moderation. Hashtags mostly help you get quick reactions, which are easy for people to give. The sweet spot is two to three hashtags. Once you pile on more, the benefits drop off quickly.
What's the secret weapon most people overlook?
Usera: Tagging other people. It's far more powerful than hashtags when it comes to both reactions and comments. When you tag someone, you're pulling them into the conversation, and their network can see it, too. That ripple effect drives more activity.
Many people say LinkedIn is for self-promotion. Is that wrong?
Usera: The posts that truly shine usually aren't about you. Recognizing a colleague, celebrating a company's success or spotlighting someone else's work often outperforms "I got promoted" updates. My upcoming study on post topics confirms that the most engaging posts tend to focus outward, not inward.
Why do you think celebrating others works well?
Usera: Partly because of tagging, but also because it stands out. Most people default to self-promotion, so when you see something generous, collaborative or outward-looking, it feels refreshing—and people want to engage with it.
Do I need thousands of connections or followers to get noticed?
Usera: Not at all. While having more followers gives you a slight advantage, the impact is small. Smaller accounts can still do extremely well with the right content and strategy.
What if I don't have a promotion, award or big news to share?
Usera: You can still make an impact. Share industry articles with your own insights, comment on trending topics, highlight interesting moves by companies you admire, or celebrate someone else's win. These show you're engaged and knowledgeable without screaming "hire me!"
Can LinkedIn really help me land a job?
Usera: Definitely. Recruiters live on LinkedIn, and I've seen people get interviews simply by posting that they're looking for work. Sometimes those opportunities come from the comments section, where connections step up to offer help. Your network is your best unemployment insurance.
In the age of AI, how can people leverage it on LinkedIn?
Usera: There are many ways to use AI with LinkedIn, but I'll focus on one. With your profile, you can have AI help you craft compelling content for each section. While you want to avoid copying/pasting your resume into your profile, you can have a chatbot convert it into a tone more suitable for LinkedIn. You can also provide the chatbot some example profiles from key people in your industry and any job postings you are targeting so it can optimize your profile for keywords. Remember that LinkedIn is technically a database, so you want to optimize it for keyword searches. AI is good at that.
You mentioned another study coming soon—what can we expect?
Usera: In the next few weeks, I'll be releasing a study that breaks LinkedIn posts into 16 topic categories and ranks them by engagement. The idea is to give people more inspiration for topics to post about so that LinkedIn becomes a place for genuine networking and conversation, not just recycled self-promotion.
