Connecting your LinkedIn profile
I can post to LinkedIn for your business from your own LinkedIn profile, so posts show up under your name, where your connections and followers see them. Connecting is a one-time step: you sign in to LinkedIn and approve access, and that's it.
Social posting is turned on one business at a time. If you don't see Social in the menu, it isn't switched on for your business yet, and I'll let you know when it is.
Before you connect
All you need is your own LinkedIn account. There's nothing to set up first and no page to choose, because I post as you.
I can't post to a LinkedIn Company Page. If your business has one, you can still share or repost what I publish from your profile to the page yourself.
How connecting works
- In Settings → Connections, find the LinkedIn card and choose Connect LinkedIn. I show you that posts will go out under your own name, you tick the box to confirm, and I open a LinkedIn sign-in page in a new tab. You can also ask me to connect it in chat.
- You sign in to LinkedIn and approve the permissions on LinkedIn's own screen, not on a form I show you.
- LinkedIn sends you back, and I finish the connection behind the scenes. That's when I learn which LinkedIn profile is yours. Back on the Connections page, the card changes to connected when you return to that tab.
If something goes wrong on LinkedIn's side while I'm finishing up, nothing is saved. Start the connection again and it picks up cleanly.
Posting directly vs. posting it yourself
Every LinkedIn post I draft for you tells you up front how it will go out. With your profile connected, the card gives you two choices:
- Post: I line the post up and show it to you one more time, exactly as it will appear, with its image if it has one. Once you approve it, I publish it straight to your LinkedIn profile. If you decline, nothing goes out and the card stays as it was. Adding an image is covered in Adding an image to Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn posts.
- I'll post it myself: I copy the text for you and open LinkedIn, and you press post yourself. This is how to put a post on a Company Page, since I can only post to your own profile.
Before your profile is connected, or while your connection needs renewing, the card offers only the copy-and-open option, so nothing is ever stuck waiting on a connection.
I never post anything you haven't approved, and a post you chose to post yourself is never switched to posting directly behind your back. Approving the same post twice doesn't post it twice, and pressing Post twice lines it up only once. If I can't find the draft you pressed Post on, say a card from much earlier in our chat, I'll tell you and line nothing up; just ask me to draft it again. If LinkedIn hasn't given me permission to post for you yet, pressing Post won't publish anything; I'll hand the post back for you to paste in instead, and the card will say so.
When your connection expires
LinkedIn connections last about 60 days. When yours expires, I'll tell you plainly that it needs reconnecting. Until you reconnect, I'll give you each LinkedIn post to paste in yourself, so nothing fails without you knowing. Reconnecting is the same few steps as connecting the first time: the LinkedIn card on Settings → Connections shows expired or needs reconnecting, with a Reconnect LinkedIn button.
Disconnecting
You can disconnect your LinkedIn profile at any time, from Settings → Connections. I'll ask LinkedIn to remove my access and delete it on my side, so I can't post for you until you connect again. Anything I've already posted stays on your profile, because it's yours. Disconnecting and connecting again is also how you switch to a different LinkedIn account.
Keeping your access safe
The access LinkedIn gives me is stored encrypted and is never kept in plain text. LinkedIn's permission lets an app post on your behalf, and I only ever use it to publish posts you've approved. From your profile I only read the ID that tells me which account is yours. I can't see your private messages or your connections, and I can't change your profile.