To tag someone on LinkedIn, type @ in a post or comment, start typing their name, and pick them from the list that appears. Their name turns into a link and they usually get a notification. Tag people who are actually part of the post: someone you quote, credit, or worked with. Tagging a crowd to borrow their reach reads as spam and tends to backfire.
Tagging someone on LinkedIn works the same way in a post and in a comment: type @, start typing the person's or company's name, and choose the right match from the dropdown. The name becomes a clickable link, and the person or page gets notified that you mentioned them.
That's the whole mechanic. The rest of this page is about the part that decides whether the tag helps you: who deserves a tag, why a tag sometimes won't work, and why some of the best hooks I've written open with a well-known name and no tag at all.
How to tag someone in a LinkedIn post (step by step)
On desktop or in the mobile app, the steps are the same:
- Start a post (or open the comment box under a post).
- Type the @ symbol.
- Start typing the person's name, or the company page name.
- Pick the right match from the list that appears. Check the headline or photo if the name is common.
- The name turns into a link (blue on most displays). Keep writing and publish.
A few details that save time:
- You can shorten the name after tagging. In my experience, if you backspace over the last name once the tag is in place, LinkedIn keeps the tag on the first name. It reads more naturally in a sentence.
- Company pages tag the same way. Type @ and the company's name. Pick the official page, since there are often lookalikes and old pages.
- Tags work in comments too. Mentioning someone in a comment is often better than tagging them in the post, because it brings them into a specific conversation where their input actually matters.
- Photos can carry tags as well. When you upload an image, LinkedIn offers an option to tag people in it, separate from mentions in the text.
Why a LinkedIn tag sometimes doesn't work
A common frustration: you type @ and the name never shows up. Usually it's one of these:
| Problem | Likely reason | What to try |
|---|---|---|
| The name doesn't appear in the list | The person limits who can mention them in their privacy settings, or LinkedIn is showing only close matches | Type more of the full name, or mention them by name without a tag |
| The wrong person comes up | Common name | Keep typing, and check the photo and headline before selecting |
| The tag turned back into plain text | You edited inside the tagged name | Delete it and tag again |
| The company page isn't found | You're typing a shortened or old brand name | Search for the page first to see its exact name |
LinkedIn changes these behaviors from time to time, so if something here doesn't match what you see, the LinkedIn Help Center is the source of truth for the current mechanics.
When to tag people on LinkedIn, and when not to
Here's my rule: tag someone when they are genuinely part of the post. If you quote them, credit their idea, share something you built together, or thank them for something specific, tag them. They'll want to know, and their reaction adds a real voice to the thread.
Don't tag people to borrow their audience. You've seen these posts: a generic opinion with fifteen names stacked at the bottom, "curious what you think." Everyone tagged gets a notification about something that has nothing to do with them. Some ignore it. Some remove the tag. Very few engage in a way that helps. And the people who read the post can see exactly what's going on.
A quick test before you tag anyone:
- Would this person be glad to know they were mentioned?
- Could you explain in one sentence why they're in the post?
- If they commented, would they have something to add?
If the answer to any of these is no, leave the tag off. The same logic applies to company pages. Tag a company when the post is about something you did with them or something they did, and skip it when you're just hoping their followers wander over.
For a sense of how LinkedIn treats the reactions and comments that tags produce, I've written up how the LinkedIn algorithm works in 2026. What counts is real conversation from the right people, which is why a relevant tag helps and a crowd of irrelevant ones doesn't.
Name-dropping as a hook: the name does the work
This is the part most tagging guides skip, and it's the one I care about most.
When I was iterating on hooks with my AI, I noticed something that felt counterintuitive for a founder building a personal brand. Some of my strongest openings weren't about me at all. They opened with a valuable insight or framework from someone well known, like Dan Martell or another big creator.
The reason is simple. If a known figure has a framework, it's genuinely interesting, because a lot of people want to be like them. The hook can be about someone else entirely. People care about getting value for themselves, and a recognizable name attached to a useful idea is a strong hook on its own.
Compare two openings:
Here's what I learned about content.
One of the biggest personal brands online uses the same 3-letter formula for everything.
The first asks the reader to care about me before they know why. The second gives them a reason to keep reading in one line: someone they've heard of, a specific promise, and a gap to close. My value comes in the analysis that follows, where I explain the idea, test it against my own experience, and say where I think it breaks. I don't have to be the origin of the idea to add something to it.
In this case, you usually don't need to tag at all. A creator with a huge following is not going to join your comment section because you tagged them, and a tag on a post that analyzes their work can feel like you're asking for attention. The name is the hook. Mention it plainly, credit the idea properly, and let the analysis carry the post. If the person is someone you actually know, or the post would genuinely interest them, tag away.
A few rules I follow when name-dropping:
- Credit clearly. Say whose idea it is. Passing off someone's framework as your own is the fastest way to lose trust.
- Add something real. Your take, a disagreement, a story of trying it. Without that, you're a summary account.
- Pick names your audience knows. A famous name in a different industry means nothing to your buyers. For a B2B founder, the right name is someone your ICP follows.
- Keep the name in the first line. The name is the hook, so put it where people decide whether to keep reading.
If you're working on openings in general, the hook glossary entry covers the basics, and the hook generator will give you drafts to react to.
Tagging as warm outreach (done carefully)
There's one more use of tagging worth knowing about, because it sits right on the line between useful and spammy.
When I was planning go-to-market experiments for a done-for-you content service, one idea was to write a "perfect post" for a specific B2B company, publish it as an example, and tag that company. The company would see it, the people who follow the topic would see it, and a few days later a personalized note from us would land warm in their inbox instead of completely cold.
That idea works when the post has real value for the company tagged. An honest analysis, a genuinely good example they could use, something they'd be happy to share. It fails the moment the tag is just a hook for a pitch. The difference is whether the company would be glad they were tagged, which is the same test as above.
The broader version of this is simpler and more reliable: comment thoughtfully on the posts of people you want to know, and let them see your name a few times before you ever reach out. I wrote about that in why commenting is the highest-leverage, lowest-status thing you can do. A tag is a tap on the shoulder. It works much better when the person already knows your face.
Tagging etiquette, in one list
If you only remember a few things from this page:
- Tag people who are in the post. Quoted, credited, thanked, or collaborated with.
- Don't tag crowds. A block of names at the bottom of a post is tag-spam, and readers know it.
- Name-drop without tagging when you're analyzing a well-known person's public ideas.
- Tag in comments when you want someone's input on a specific thread.
- Tag companies sparingly, when the post is really about them.
- Ask yourself if they'd be glad. If not, skip the tag.