How to customize the LinkedIn message your credentials share
When a recipient shares their POK credential as a LinkedIn post, POK pre-fills the text of that post. "Custom LinkedIn message," under Branding, is where you write that text, so every graduate who shares posts your institution's own wording instead of POK's generic default.
Custom LinkedIn message is a premium feature, enabled per organization. To turn it on, talk to your account executive or write to contact@pok.tech.
Open it from Branding
You need an administrator or operator role.
- In the left sidebar, click "Branding."
- Find the row titled "Custom LinkedIn message" and click "Customize."
- The editor opens at "Custom LinkedIn message." A back arrow next to the title returns you to Branding.
The two versions of the message, and why both exist
Some of your credentials carry a title, a course or program name, and some don't. "Message details" loads a separate message for each case, in two tabs, so switch between them and write both:
- "Text only": used for a credential that has no title. Its suggested default reads "Happy to receive my credential awarded by [Institution name]! 🎉🎓"
- "Text and attributes": used for a credential that has one. Its suggested default reads "Happy to receive my credential as [Issued title] from [Institution name]! 🎉🎓"
At share time, POK checks the credential being shared: if it has a title, it loads "Text and attributes"; if it doesn't, or if you never wrote a "Text and attributes" version, it falls back to "Text only." Whatever text sits in a tab is what gets used, suggested default included, so review both before you save even when you only mean to change one.
Attributes
Under "Post text," each tab is a plain text box you can type into directly. On "Text and attributes," an "Attributes" list below it offers "[Issued title]" and "[Institution name]": click the copy icon next to either to insert it, and each shows "Active" or "Inactive" depending on whether your current text already uses it. At share time, "[Issued title]" resolves to that credential's own title and "[Institution name]" to the issuing institution's name. Use the copy icon rather than retyping the brackets by hand: a hand-edited or retyped bracket stops being recognized and posts as literal text instead (see below).
What other data a credential can carry, beyond a title and an institution name, comes from how its design was built. See Additional information if you want to add more.
Mentions
Under "Mentions," two tags are listed:
- The POK mention is always included and locked. "The @POK mention is required," so there is nothing to click: it cannot be removed from the message.
- "@Institution name" tags your own institution's LinkedIn page instead of just naming it in plain text. It needs your organization's LinkedIn Organization ID connected first, through "Connect LinkedIn"; until then the chip stays locked and the editor explains why. Once connected, click the chip to open "Add Institution mention" and enter your institution's exact LinkedIn page name. See Connect your LinkedIn page to your POK credentials for how to find that Organization ID (POK also has a separate flow to verify your LinkedIn account for your organization's page).
The panel on the right previews roughly how the post will look on LinkedIn. It is a mockup, not a real credential, so "[Issued title]" and "[Institution name]" show as-is there rather than filled in with real values.
Writing a good message
The recipient is the one posting it, in their own voice, so write it in the first person, the way the defaults do ("Happy to receive my credential..."). Keep it short: this is a LinkedIn post, not an announcement from your institution. A line or two, the credential's title and institution, and the mandatory POK mention are enough.
Save it, and where to see the result
Click "Save." You are returned to Branding.
To see the real result, share an actual credential to LinkedIn (see How to share my credential): the post text box that opens is pre-filled with whichever version matches that credential, and the recipient can still edit it before posting. You can track how much of that reach turns into shares, profile additions and career outcomes in Employability.
Troubleshooting
The default message still shows up
- Check both tabs before saving, not just the one you meant to change. Opening the editor pre-fills both with the suggested default text, and "Save" stores both, so a tab you never opened is saved with its default too.
- The credential was imported, not issued with POK. Only a genuine POK-issued credential loads your custom message; an externally added credential always uses POK's own built-in default instead.
- The feature is not enabled for your organization yet. Custom LinkedIn message is a premium feature, enabled per organization; talk to your account executive or write to contact@pok.tech to turn it on.
A placeholder like "[Institution name]" shows up literally in the post
This means the text stopped being recognized as a live attribute, usually because it was retyped instead of inserted with the copy icon, or the brackets were edited afterward. Delete it and click the copy icon under "Attributes" again rather than typing the brackets by hand.