“Content is king.”
If you’ve published anything online, you know how true these words are, and you know that the platform matters. So why do over 1 million people choose to publish on LinkedIn? Well, LinkedIn’s network is a huge potential audience that is available for any other LinkedIn member. And this audience really does engage — after all, you are reading this post right now!
But more than that, LinkedIn Publishing can be a powerful tool for any business owner looking to build their network and promote their company. Here are the top 3 ways you can leverage LinkedIn posts to grow your business:
1. Build your professional brand with thought leadership content.
By writing about topics you have expertise in, you establish yourself as a thought leader in your field and build credibility for your business. The posts you publish are also displayed on your Profile, which helps build your professional brand. Rich media and examples of your work help your Profile stand out from the competition and also keep readers on your profile page longer — making it more likely that they will reach out to connect with you.
You can also share your published posts to LinkedIn Groups to better reach your target audience. I’ve talked in the past about how being actively involved in Groups can help you build your business (see my post: Top 3 Tips for Using LinkedIn Groups Effectively), and sharing your posts is a great way to contribute to discussions and promote your brand at the same time.
2. Reach more people by leveraging LinkedIn’s high search ranking.
Did you know that Google’s search algorithm loves LinkedIn? It’s true – LinkedIn is one of the top 5 sites that Google indexes (along with YouTube, Wikipedia, Facebook, and Twitter). As a result, publishing on LinkedIn can help you drive traffic to your Profile, Company Page, or Company Website.
If your your company website already has a blog, you can further leverage that content by re-posting it on LinkedIn and adding a note at the end that says, “This post was originally published on AbrahamGlobal.com” (substitute your own company website and make sure to turn it into a link!).
You can take this search strategy a step further by using keywords and phrases in your posts as a form of simple search engine optimization (SEO). Take advantage of Google’s Keyword Planner tool to quickly research which relevant keywords are searched more frequently. You can even filter results by geographic location to see which words and phrases are popular with your specific target audience.
3. Build your Lead Generation Machine.
Speaking of reaching your target audience, posting evergreen content on LinkedIn can help you build your business over time. When optimized for search, LinkedIn posts function as the start of your marketing lead funnel, introducing people to your business and driving traffic from LinkedIn or Google search to your Company Page, Profile, or website.
The people who engage with your posts are also crucial to building your network. Take note of who regularly comments or shares your posts, and reach out to them to say thanks and invite them to connect. By being active in the comments section of your published posts, you can begin building valuable relationships with your target audience. The LinkedIn post analytics feature lets you understand your audience in even greater detail; we’ll be sharing tips for how to use this tool next month.
Publishing thought leadership content on Pulse is one of the best ways to reach your audience, generate leads, and build your network, and LinkedIn provides the amazing opportunity to reach the largest network of professionals online and position yourself as an expert in your industry…
All you have to do is start publishing.
For any questions about publishing on LinkedIn, you are welcome to connect with me on LinkedIn or email me at: [email protected]