Linkedin Publishing is Great... But So Is Your Own Website!

Writing insightful articles takes time and energy, and you want to get the most out of what you've written. After you spend time researching your topic, writing down your thoughts, editing and proofing, you want to share it with the world—or at least share it with your 500+ LinkedIn contacts and the public. So you may decide to share your thoughts with your LinkedIn network by making a LinkedIn published post… Awesome… You get a few likes and a few shares, and all is good in life. 

Sound familiar? If you are publishing using the LinkedIn long form post format, this might be similar to what you have been doing and hopefully getting some results from. LinkedIn long form posts are a great platform for “blogging” and communicating your ideas and thoughts to those within your network as well as your extended network on LinkedIn.  However, if you are only publishing to LinkedIn and doing nothing else, are you really getting the most out of LinkedIn long-form posts? I say “no”... and here’s why.

How to Take LinkedIn Publishing to the Next Level

If you are already publishing long form content on LinkedIn, let me first congratulate you… good job. You are one of the few that are actually using the full capabilities and not just growing your network and job prospects on LinkedIn, but are also establishing yourself as a thought leader within your industry.  

Now for what you can do better… If you are publishing your posts on LinkedIn but are not taking this extra step, you are missing out on incorporating another powerful publishing platform into your marketing mix: own blog / website. After all, LinkedIn posts are great, but most of the clicks and likes stay on LinkedIn and don’t really do anything for your primary platform—your website.  

Here is What I Recommend Doing

1. Write a great post on LinkedIn
2. Write a short excerpt about your LinkedIn post and publish that to your own blog / website with a link to the full LinkedIn post.  

This does 3 important things:

1. Gives your website / blog another post about a topic of interest to those in your industry and those looking for your specific expertise
2. Drives traffic from your blog / website to your Linkedin post so you increase readership, therefore increasing likes and shares and establishing  yourself as a thought leader
3. Increases the chances of your new post being seen

Example:
Linkedin Post

Blog Post

Here are a few additional tips for getting started on Linkedin Publishing:

• Long-Form Posts on LinkedIn - Overview
• How to Publish on LinkedIn Pulse: A Beginner's Guide
• No Time to Maintain a Business Blog? Use LinkedIn Instead

If you need more tips and tricks for branding yourself online, you should consider The Center for Sales Strategy's online course Brand & Connect. This online course helps sales professionals learn how to effectively use social media platforms like LinkedIn to successfully prospect and obtain new clients.