Why You Shouldn’t Put “Social Media” as a Skill on LinkedIn If You Don’t Know How to Leverage Social Media for Business

By Lolly Spindler

I’m all for endorsing people for skills on LinkedIn, especially since I either personally know the people I’m endorsing have such skills or they use them on a daily basis in their profession. However, there is one particular skill I have trouble endorsing people for—a skill that everyone seems to have.

It seems that everyone who has a Facebook page puts “Social Media” as a professional skill on LinkedIn. While a majority of these people do indeed know how to set up and operate social media pages—be it Facebook, Twitter, or, of course, LinkedIn—“social media” should not be listed as a skill if you don’t know how to leverage social media for business.

There is a big gap between knowing how to set up and operate a social media page and how to leverage that page to brand a company as well as inform and acquire new customers.

That being said, for those whom already have “Social Media” listed as a skill on LinkedIn or plan to add it to their profile, here is a list of five things you should know about this form of media.

1. Know What to Post

It’s surprising, but a lot of people don’t know what type of content to share on specific social media platforms. Make sure you know your audience on each platform and what that audience wants to see. Not only should your content be different on each platform, so should the format. Tweets should be between 71 and 100 characters long, Google+ headlines less than 60, and Facebook posts less than 40 characters.

2. Know When to Post

It’s important to know the best times to post on each platform to get the maximum exposure possible. According to Digital Trends, here are the best posting times for each social media site (in both EST and PST):

Facebook: Monday through Friday between 1pm and 4pm EST (10am to 1pm PST). Best time to post: Wednesday at 3pm EST (12 noon PST).

Twitter: Monday through Thursday between 1pm and 3pm EST (10am and 12 noon PST).

LinkedIn: Monday through Friday from 7am to 9am and 5pm to 6pm EST (4am to 6am and 2pm to 3pm PST).

Pinterest: Monday through Friday from 2pm to 4pm or 8pm to 1am EST (11am to 1pm or 5pm to 10pm PST). Best time to post: Saturday morning.

Tumblr: Any day after 4pm EST (1pm PST). Best time to post: Friday after 7pm EST (4pm PST).

Google+: Monday through Friday between 9am and 11am EST (6am and 8am PST).

3. Know How Often to Post

Frequency is essential to a successful social media experience. You don’t want your followers to wonder where you’ve gone or, on the other hand, be completely overwhelmed and justify an “unfollow.” Just like the type and length of content, the frequency with which you post it also platform-dependent. Here’s how often you should be posting according to Constant Contact:

Facebook: Post three to 10 times a week.

Twitter: Post at least five times a day.

LinkedIn: Post two to five times per week.

Pinterest: Pin five to 10 times a day.

Google+: Post three to 10 times per week.

4. Know How to Use Social Media Management Systems

Since you can’t always be around to post at the ideal time everyday (or you tend to be forgetful), it’s important you know how to use social media management systems like Buffer and Hootsuite. Not only do both services offer free plans, they help you schedule out posts on multiple platforms in advance and suggest content for your audience. For a few shillings more, you can collaborate with team members, view and share content from your favorite websites’ feeds, and view analytics.

5. Know How to Use Analytics

Speaking of analytics, it’s important you know how to access and understand this oh-so-crucial element. You can use the analytics features from the forenamed Buffer and Hootsuite, or set up Google Analytics for free. This is probably the most important aspect of truly knowing social media, as analytics can tell you what content is converting, and what’s just taking up space. Furthermore, you can find out when your audience is most engaged and what type of content they want to see more.

Ultimately, if you have the aforementioned know-how and are able to analyze and tweak your social media efforts based on performance, then yes, “Social Media” should be listed as a skill on your LinkedIn profile.