A Powerful Tool To Publish – LinkedIn Publishing

If you’re looking to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry, having a blog is essential. You probably already have one being a business leader. But have you ever thought about moving your blog to LinkedIn?

I am a very practical person and if I see something that works I do it.

I’ve been working with LinkedIn for years, but it wasn’t until LinkedIn added Publishing that I truly understood what a powerful platform LinkedIn could be for blogging.  

 

Why Use LinkedIn Publishing?

To have the 467+ million strong member base of LinkedIn at your fingertips is an incredible asset.

Having your blog accessible to ALL the members of the most professional, affluent and well educated social network is great for promoting brand awareness and generating new leads. LinkedIn Publishing is even searchable through Google.

How can we leverage this new publishing opportunity to improve our businesses? I will show you how to begin using LinkedIn as a new channel for your lead generation.
 

Before You Use Publishing

One of the first things you’ll want to optimize for LinkedIn before you start using Publishing is your profile headline. Make sure it’s compelling and provides a clear call to action guiding people to take the next step with you, e.g. go to your website, sign up for a call, etc.

This will be important for Publishing, since your profile headline will show up whenever you post and comment. It’ll be key to receiving leads.

Don’t forget to have an attractive profile picture for your ideal clients too.
 

Setting Up A Post On LinkedIn

You can either create content for LinkedIn specifically, or you can simply copy and paste your old blogs on to the platform. By doing so you’ll be exposing your old content to new readers on the professional network.

LinkedIn Hack: do link to the original post, so Google knows it’s not a duplicate.

The type of content you use should be based off what you feel is appealing to your target audience. Assuming you already have great content, I will focus on attributes of the LinkedIn Publishing interface that have the largest impact on successful lead generation.

First, you want to have a great title that will attract your ideal client. Good titles fulfil on two criteria: They should be easy to read in format, and they must be targeted toward your ideal audience.

LinkedIn Hack: Write with your best client in mind.

If you have trouble figuring all this out, use the words and phrases your best clients do and model success with those who also engage your ideal clients. That’s what I do, and it works!

The second thing that will really make your blog stand out is a compelling picture. Copyright is not as much as an issue as it was in the past with regards to finding the right photo.  
LinkedIn has an attribution function for giving credit to artists or photographers, putting you at less risk of using a photo without permission.

The other option is using photos from stock photo websites that are free to use. Find the way that works best for you.

As far as the content of the photos, it is important to maintain a visual consistency between posts. When I want to appeal to a certain type of audience, I try to use colors or content that would appeal to that ideal customer.

By using LinkedIn Publishing you’ll open your business to a new channel that targets the most educated social media network in the world. You’ll start getting high quality leads in no time. Now get out there and start writing!

 

Action Steps

    1. Make sure your profile picture and headline compel people to take the next step with you, e.g. go to your website, etc. It will show up wherever you post. Think of it as an ever present call to action.
    2. Write blog content that appeals to your target audience. Let them create your content. Feel free to add previously written content from your other channels.
    3. Use titles and blog photos that are consistent with your brand and will appeal to your target persona.

LinkedIn Hack: The current algorithm penalizes links. At the end of your article, direct readers to the first comment for any links.

 

Result You Will Achieve

Better articles on LinkedIn Publishing that will be effective in generating new leads for your business.

Mentor: Christine Hueber

CEO of Christine Hueber. Christine is a LinkedIn expert, social media coach, author and speaker with one of the top one percent most viewed profiles on LinkedIn.

 
This article is based on an EHQ interview with the mentor.