If you’re a business owner and using LinkedIn – which you really should be – then it’s time to start writing articles. A lot of people don’t bother with LinkedIn articles, but with 80% of B2B leads coming from LinkedIn, you can’t afford not to make your profile as visible as possible.
While time-consuming to write compared to posts, having articles on your LinkedIn will push you one step closer to achieving your goals. Let’s explore what articles on LinkedIn can do for you, and how you should structure them for maximum potential.
Profile Visibility
LinkedIn loves a completed profile, and it also loves accounts that are active and consistent. By writing and posting articles on LinkedIn, not only are you showing the algorithm how engaged you are, but you’re also showing that you want to build a strong and professional network.
The more you post, and the more articles you specifically post, LinkedIn is far more likely to show your profile to people in the same industry as you. This boost in visibility paired with your consistency will allow you to share industry insights that will actually be seen, and position and establish you as a leader in your field.
Increased Reach
The more articles you post, and the more consistent these posts are, the more likely you will be seen, which in turn will increase your reach. You’ll first be seen by your connections, and then by those who follow the topics you’re talking about.
Bear this increased reach in mind, however. Make sure what you’re saying in your LinkedIn articles is insightful and worthwhile, or no one, including the people you’re already connected with, will want to read your articles if they’re not interesting. Consider giving opinions about development in your field and asking others how they resonate with your ideas.
Networking
This is what LinkedIn is all about: networking. And LinkedIn articles can increase your network tenfold. By posting articles, it will allow you to connect with people who are interested in the same topics as you, which in turn will create deeper connections with anyone in your network, as through your LinkedIn articles, it’ll show your commitment to help others.
We all have something to learn from each other, and advising other professionals is a way to further establish your LinkedIn connections.
Distribution
Making sure your LinkedIn articles are of excellent quality is paramount, because the better they are, the more likely it will be that they’ll be shared on other people’s profiles, or even other social media sites. While it can be time-consuming to spend effort and energy on your articles, considering how many other people you could reach, including a brand new audience, it’s ultimately worthwhile.
Personal Branding
Your LinkedIn articles can truly set you apart from other people in your field, but further than that, they also elevate your personal brand. By giving insight into your industry through these articles, it will shape and strengthen your personal image, show your expertise in your field, and also help to establish your voice.
By sharing your professional experience and anecdotes through your LinkedIn articles and by being in-depth and thoughtful, you’ll become recognised as a thought leader in your field.
Feedback
Posting articles on LinkedIn should garner traffic on your profile, and eventually comments under your articles, and listening to what people have to say is crucial. These comments will tell you what others want to see from your page, and you can also learn from them, too.
Don’t forget to connect with them and engage in meaningful conversations, and check your LinkedIn metrics to see which articles are getting the most impressions. This will tell which topics do well, and which ones will need looking at from a different angle to engage your network.
AI
As they can be so time-consuming, the temptation to use any kind of automation in LinkedIn articles is huge, however: don’t. Automation is banned on LinkedIn, so if you get caught using it, your account could be flagged.
LinkedIn is about being authentic with your network, so using automation will be picked up pretty quickly, and even if the algorithm doesn’t see what you’re doing, other people will, and they’ll quickly disengage.
Structure
We’ve discussed why posting articles on LinkedIn is important, but now let’s talk about how you should structure them.
And the answer is… exactly like this article! When people are confronted with walls of text, they’re immediately turned off by it, and with people’s ever-shortening attention spans, they won’t even bother to try. Consider breaking up the topic of your article into a listicle, or bullet points, and use short paragraphs.
Even if the LinkedIn article’s overall length is long, breaking it up like this will make it easier and faster to read and also more digestible for your network.
Utilising Posts
Many LinkedIn users prefer posts over articles, as posts are far shorter than articles. But writing articles doesn’t mean you stop making regular posts. After posting an article, write a post about it. This lets your network know about the article you’ve just written and will help in increasing its reach, especially if your connections don’t often read articles.
Final Round Up
Posting articles on LinkedIn is a guaranteed way to increase your visibility, establish your brand identity, and connect with other professionals in your industry. Maintaining quality and consistency is key, but it’s okay if you struggle with it. At StraightIn, our team of LinkedIn experts is ready to help you and your brand grow – including our unit of dedicated LinkedIn article writers. Get in touch with us today to find out more about how we can help you. Call 0161 518 4740, or email grow@straight-in.co.uk.
