Between Facebook posts, tweets, Pinterest boards, and everything else on your social media plate, you probably don't spend much time thinking about how to craft the perfect LinkedIn status update.

Luckily, SalesForce has a handy guide that can help you get the job done.

To make sure your update is informative, engaging, and seen by the right audience, consider these steps:

1. Think about the information you're about to post. Share breaking news, industry trends, and sneak peeks. And keep your update short—limiting your post to 50 characters could increase engagement by 28 percent.

2. Include a call-to-action. Add a link to your update to drive people to a blog post, website—anywhere you like.

3. Make sure the right people see your update. Narrow your audience by industry, location, role, or company size.

But your work isn't done once you click "share." Read people's comments, and jump into the conversation. And don't forget to see how successful your post was. Track shares and engagement, and remember what works for the next time you post.

For more details, check out the infographic (which unfortunately has a couple of spelling errors, although the information remains valid): 

(View a larger image.)



Kristin Piombino is an editorial assistant for Ragan.com.