LinkedIn Glossary

Carousel Post

A LinkedIn post format that contains multiple images or document pages (often a PDF) presented as a single, swipeable sequence within the feed.

Connection Request

A LinkedIn invitation sent to another user to join your professional network, often accompanied by an optional short note to introduce yourself or explain the reason for connecting.

Creator Mode

A LinkedIn profile setting that shifts a member’s profile toward content creation by promoting a Follow call-to-action, surfacing creator tools, and signaling topical focus to visitors.

Dwell Time

The average amount of time a viewer spends reading or viewing a LinkedIn post, article, or profile before moving on; an attention metric that complements clicks and impressions.

Engagement Pod

An engagement pod is a private group of creators who agree to like, comment on, or share each other's posts to boost early engagement and make content more visible on a social platform.

Featured Section

The Featured Section is a LinkedIn profile area where users pin and showcase selected posts, articles, links, media, or documents to highlight key work and resources for profile visitors.

Inmail

Inmail is LinkedIn's paid messaging feature that lets users send private messages to members outside their first-degree connections, typically available to users with certain LinkedIn subscriptions.

LinkedIn Algorithm

The LinkedIn Algorithm is the set of automated rules and machine learning models LinkedIn uses to decide which posts to show to which members and in what order, based on signals like relevance, engagement, and relationships.

LinkedIn Headline

The short line under a LinkedIn user's name that summarizes their role, expertise, or value proposition; it appears on profiles, in search results, and next to posts.

LinkedIn Live

LinkedIn Live is LinkedIn's live-video feature that lets members broadcast real-time video to their network and event attendees, enabling live comments, reactions, and immediate audience interaction.

LinkedIn Newsletter

A LinkedIn Newsletter is a subscription-based series of articles published on LinkedIn; subscribers receive notifications when new issues are published, creating a recurring, opt-in touchpoint between a creator and their audience.

Open To Work

A LinkedIn profile setting and optional green photo frame that signals to others that a member is actively open to new job opportunities; visibility can be limited to recruiters or shown publicly.

Personal Brand

An individual's public professional identity and reputation as conveyed through their LinkedIn profile, posts, visuals, and interactions.

SSI Score

SSI Score is LinkedIn’s Social Selling Index, a numerical measure of how effectively a member builds their professional brand, finds the right people, engages with insights, and builds relationships on the platform.

Social Selling Index

A LinkedIn metric that summarizes how effectively an account uses the platform to build a professional brand, find the right people, engage with insights, and grow relationships; presented as a composite score across these activity areas.