How to Add Interests in LinkedIn — Step-by-Step 2026

Learning how to add interests in LinkedIn is a small profile change that pays dividends: it helps recruiters, peers, and LinkedIn's algorithm understand who you are, what you follow, and which communities you belong to. In this guide you'll get a clear, step-by-step walkthrough for desktop and mobile, best practices to choose meaningful interests, and smart ways to use interests as part of your personal brand and content strategy.

Why LinkedIn Interests Matter for Your Personal Brand

Interests are a lightweight signal LinkedIn uses to personalize feeds, suggest groups and people to follow, and display related content to your connections. While not as prominent as your headline or experience, interests influence:

• Discoverability — People searching for communities, topics, or thought leaders can find you more easily.
• Feed relevance — LinkedIn tailors content shown to you and from you based on interest affinities.
• Networking — Shared interests are natural conversation starters and engagement hooks.

Quick stat: LinkedIn reports consistent increases in content engagement when posts align with audience interests — aligning your profile signals with the content you share increases contextual relevance and reach (source: LinkedIn Help). For a broader view on social content impact, see HubSpot's research on social media engagement trends (HubSpot).

Where to Find Interests on LinkedIn (Desktop & Mobile)

Before you edit, know where interests appear on your profile and account:

• Desktop: Scroll to the bottom of your profile; Interests appear in a section labeled "Interests" listing organizations, influencers, and companies you follow.
• Mobile app: Open your profile, tap "View profile," then scroll to the bottom to see Interests.

Note about privacy and data

Your followed interests are public in that visitors can view which companies, influencers, and groups you follow. This can be an advantage—use it intentionally to reinforce your brand.

Step-by-Step: How to Add Interests in LinkedIn (Desktop)

1. Open LinkedIn and go to your home page. On desktop, use the top search bar to find topics, companies, influencers, or hashtags you care about.
2. Follow a Company, Influencer, or Topic:
   • Search the name (for example, "Product-Led Growth").
   • From the search results, click the Page or Topic.
   • Click the blue Follow button on that Page or Topic.
3. Add Hashtags to Your Feed: Follow content hashtags (e.g., #personalbranding, #SaaS) to signal topical interests. Click "Follow" on the hashtag page.
4. Verify in Your Profile: Go to your profile and scroll to the bottom — newly followed items appear in the Interests section within 5–15 minutes.

Pro tip: Follow industry associations, credible publications, and 3–5 top influencers that reflect your strategic positioning — not every trendy account.

Step-by-Step: How to Add Interests in LinkedIn (Mobile)

1. Open the LinkedIn app. Tap the search icon and type the entity or topic.
2. Tap the topic/company/influencer result. On the entity page, tap Follow.
3. Check your profile by viewing your profile page and scrolling to the Interests block.

If an interest doesn’t immediately appear in the Interests list, give LinkedIn some time to index the change. Refreshing or logging out/in usually helps.

Best Practices: What Interests to Add (and What to Avoid)

Choosing interests should be strategic — they should support your personal brand and the content you post.

• Be purposeful: Ask: Does this interest reinforce my role, industry, or the audience I want to attract?
• Prioritize relevance over popularity: Following a niche association relevant to your expertise is often more valuable than following a broad but noisy page.
• Limit quantity: Start with 10–30 interests. Too many signals can dilute your profile positioning.
• Mix categories: Include companies, publications, hashtags, and influencers — this creates a richer context for your profile.
• Audit quarterly: Remove interests that no longer match your goals (e.g., outdated technologies or irrelevant influencers).

Common mistakes

• Adding random or viral accounts just to appear trendy.
• Following competitors indiscriminately — unless strategic for industry visibility.
• Ignoring hashtags — they directly shape the content surfaces LinkedIn shows you.

How Interests Support Your LinkedIn Content Strategy

Interests are more than profile decoration — they help align your signals across three areas:

1. Content alignment: If you regularly post about product strategy and follow #productmanagement, your content is more likely to reach engaged product audiences.
2. Engagement opportunities: Shared interests make it easier to join relevant conversations and comment on timely posts from influencers you follow.
3. Network building: Recruiters and potential partners scan interests to assess cultural fit and industry focus.

Use interests intentionally to inform your monthly content calendar — for example, if you follow 5 SaaS thought leaders, include weekly insights or reactions to their posts. If you're short on time, automation tools like Linkesy can generate content aligned with the topics and interests you follow and schedule a 30-day content calendar in minutes.

Practical Examples & Use Cases

• Founder positioning: A SaaS founder follows venture firms, product leaders, and growth marketing hashtags — then shares weekly lessons and commentary, building credibility.
• Freelancer discovery: A UX designer follows design systems pages and #uxresearch to appear in recruiter searches and get relevant job posts.
• Sales professional: A B2B seller follows prospect companies, industry publications, and sales influencers to surface insights and personalize outreach.

"Choosing the right interests is like curating a professional bookshelf — each item signals what you read, who you learn from, and what conversations you belong to." — Linkesy Content Team

Interests vs Skills vs Headline: Where to Invest Your Time

Interests are a supporting profile signal; they don’t replace the impact of a strong headline, summary, or skill endorsements. Use the table below to prioritize:

Automate Interest-Driven Content with Linkesy (Save 5–10+ Hours/Week)

If your goal is to consistently post content that aligns with your followed interests but you don’t have time to draft and schedule, consider automation:

• Linkesy reads your profile tone and topics, then generates posts in your voice related to the interests and hashtags you follow.
• Built-in AI image generation produces visuals that match each post topic — no external design tools required.
• Set 'Autopilot' and get a full 30-day content calendar scheduled in minutes, freeing 5–10+ hours per week for higher-impact work.

Try Linkesy's free trial to test topic-aligned posts crafted for the interests on your profile: Try Linkesy free. Learn more about pricing and plans at See our plans / Get started.

Quick Checklist: Update Your Interests in 5 Minutes

1. Audit current interests — remove irrelevant items.
2. Search and follow 10–30 strategic topics, influencers, and companies.
3. Follow 5–10 relevant hashtags for content alignment.
4. Adjust your content calendar to match the interests you follow.
5. Revisit quarterly and refine based on goals and results.

Internal Resources & Further Reading

• Pillar: LinkedIn Growth and Personal Branding — core strategies for profile optimization and audience growth.
• How to Write LinkedIn Posts That Convert — post templates and voice tips.
• Create a LinkedIn Content Calendar in 30 Minutes — step-by-step planning and batching tactics.
• AI for LinkedIn: Tools & Use Cases — ways to automate content without sounding robotic.

FAQ

How do I add interests to my LinkedIn profile?

Follow topics, companies, influencers, and hashtags from LinkedIn search or entity pages. Items you follow automatically populate the Interests section near the bottom of your profile within minutes.

Can others see the interests I follow?

Yes. The Interests section is visible to people viewing your profile and helps them understand your topical focus and networks.

How many interests should I follow?

A practical range is 10–30 targeted interests. Focus on relevance and diversity (companies, influencers, publications, hashtags) rather than volume.

Do interests affect my LinkedIn feed?

Yes. Interests help LinkedIn tailor content suggestions and the feed you see, improving the relevance of posts you encounter and are suggested to share.

Will updating interests improve my profile views?

Indirectly. Updated interests improve contextual signals and feed alignment; combined with optimized headline and content, they can increase profile views and engagement.

Conclusion — Small Change, Measurable Impact

Adding and curating your interests on LinkedIn is an easy, strategic move that supports discoverability, content relevance, and networking. It takes just a few minutes to follow targeted topics and influencers, and when combined with consistent, interest-aligned content, it contributes to meaningful profile growth.

Want to turn those interests into a full month of authentic posts in your voice? Try Linkesy free to generate and schedule 30 days of LinkedIn content that reflects the interests you follow — or schedule a demo to see Linkesy in action.