How to make the most of LinkedIn as a journalist

As Twitter crumbles, engagement is rising on the social media business app

There was a time when I wouldn’t have been seen dead on LinkedIn. The business networking platform - founded long before Twitter or Facebook came along - used to be full of corporate folk selling their wares and marvelling at their job promotions.

Admittedly I eventually fell foul of morbid curiosity and reluctantly joined LinkedIn. I instantly regretted it. I was inundated with invitations from people working in public relations. They wanted to tout their clients to me and send me irrelevant press releases. What is the point of this? I might as well be in my email inbox, I thought to myself.

But fast-forward a decade and LinkedIn is unrecognisable. It is no longer just a corporate marketplace, in fact since the rapid demise of Twitter it has become a viable alternative.

For freelance journalists, it can be a valuable tool to showcase work, connect with editors, find case studies and expert sources, and win new commissions. But like any platform, it only works if you use it strategically.

So today we give our recommendations for making the most of LinkedIn as a journalist.