When it comes to publishing your content (#31DaysOfLinkedIn, much?) or just sharing information on LinkedIn, there are a couple of ways to go about it. Some will be more successful for you than others.
5 ways to distribute your content on LinkedIn
Updates through your personal profile: Starting with the easiest form of communicating on the platform, you can just make a post (called an update on LI) from your home page or profile. This functions exactly like making a post on Facebook and allows you to add links, #’s, and thumbnail images. These posts are seen in the timelines of your connections (possibly) and will be published in the updates emailed to some of your connections. Unlike Facebook, these posts are not collected on your personal profile but do have an extended shelf life of a couple days based on the activity of your connections.
Updates through your business page: This option requires you to take the extra effort and create a LinkedIn business page. You will be starting this from scratch with zero followers and zero content on Day One. You will have to earn followers through your connections and your content, which is where this post comes in. The basics of your LinkedIn business page is very similar to your Facebook business page in management and function. Posts do live longer on this page but the reach is much smaller.
Posting links to content in relevant LinkedIn Groups: We’ve talked about LinkedIn Groups before during these 31 Days and by now you are hopefully participating in them in greater levels, even if it is just reading others content. Before you start just dumping links into the Groups you are a member of, be sure you are an active participant of the group and have a sense of what is going on there. Is your content something others have recently posted? Is your content to the high or low level of quality others are posting to the group? Be sure your content will be accepted and interacted with before going all willy-nilly by dumping links into the group. Your success rate here will be high if you are offering value through your content. If you are being promotional, then success rate may vary.
Publishing your content on LinkedIn Pulse: Pulse, Publisher, the blog tool, whatever you call it, this is a great way to get your longer form content in front of your connections. When you publish here, all of your connections get a notification that you have done so. These notifications are in the little red flag icon in the top bar of LinkedIn. Your readers then have options to interact with your content through Likes, comments, and shares (sound familiar?). Chances are you will get more views from likely profitable connections through publishing on LinkedIn than on your own website. This doesn’t mean you give up your website, it means you utilize the additional channel of LinkedIn to drive audiences back to your website, your email signup, and your phone number to respond to your even greater calls to action. These updates may also be included in LinkedIn’s proactive Pulse email updates for your connections, and others, to see again.
Paying for LinkedIn sponsored updates: Of course, you can always pay to play. LinkedIn has a very powerful and highly targetable advertising platform, just like all the other Big 6 of social media. The difference here is the cost and the audience. LinkedIn is by far the most expensive social media platform to advertise on. I have placed ads here in the past with similar goals of a similar concurrent Facebook campaign, LinkedIn cost almost $10 to every $1 spent on Facebook. Additionally, with the overwhelmingly lurking audiences on LinkedIn, you have to be really good to catch the eyes of users who are there for their own surfing experience.
TL; DR: You should be using some or all of the above publishing options to share your content to your current and future connections on LinkedIn. Be prepared for some frustration and possible cost.
Thanks for reading this far down the page. How are you liking the #31DaysOfLinkedIn so far? We’ve got plans to finish out these next twelve or so posts with in-depth looks at groups, advertising, and audience actions. If you have any LinkedIn questions or obstacles, send them on over and lets work through them together!
Talk soon,
The #31DaysOfLinkedIn Posts from @RocketGroup
#31DaysOfLinkedIn – Introduction and Recap
A Look at LinkedIn Endorsements and Recommendations
Add Project Details to Your LinkedIn
Building Relationships on LinkedIn
Comparing LinkedIn Audiences to Other Social Platforms through @GaryVee
Educate, Inform, and Entertain Yourself with LinkedIn Groups
Kids, LinkedIn is for Professional Stuff
LinkedIn Premium: How Do They Work?
LinkedIn: Connect with the Right People, the Right Way
Manage Your LinkedIn Activities
Optimize Your LinkedIn Headline
Professionally Mingling on LinkedIn
Recruiting and Hiring on LinkedIn
Say No to the Default on LinkedIn
Setting a Schedule for LinkedIn Activity
Share (Professional) Stuff on LinkedIn
Sharing and Getting Shared on LinkedIn
Sharing Content on LinkedIn Effectively
Spread Out Your LinkedIn Posts
Taking LinkedIn to the Real World
To Pay or Not to Pay for LinkedIn
Want to Get Found on LinkedIn?
What We Learned During #31DaysOfLinkedIn
