LinkedIn can often feel very hit and miss for many users. For some, it’s the platform they visit occasionally when they’re hunting for a job. For others, however, it serves as a powerful networking tool that allows them to grow their own personal brand, generate leads and build their business.
Gone are the days when the heads of companies were faceless individuals operating from dark board rooms. Today, people want to know who is running a business and why, their values, and how they achieved their success. Today, entrepreneurs and business people can be just as influential on social media as beauty and travel bloggers.
Entrepreneurs, like you, have seen the opportunities that a strong personal brand can provide, and are investing their time to grow and market themselves just as much as they do with their own businesses. LinkedIn plays a key role in achieving this goal, especially through the use of LinkedIn articles.
But what are they? And why should you be posting them on your LinkedIn profile?
Let’s find out!
What is a LinkedIn Article?
A LinkedIn article is very similar to a blog post, in that is a long-form piece on content that focuses on a topic of your choosing.
It’s different to a post as there is less you can do with a LinkedIn post. A post is limited to 1,300 characters and can only be shared within the LinkedIn platform. Whereas an article can be up to 125,000 characters (much more to work with) and can be shared across other platforms with ease, such as Facebook and Twitter.
This allows you to not only go into more depth on a given topic but to share it with a wider audience easily.
If you’re not sold on the benefits of LinkedIn articles, here are the reasons why you should start posting them on your profile:
Build your Personal Brand
There is an old adage in sales that goes along the lines of ‘people buy from people’, and that is more true today than ever before. Your personal brand will be directly linked to that of your business, so it’s important that you build it as much as possible. Think of some of the most well-known companies or brands you can think of – the owners or founders of these companies have their own brand that is connected to the business, and together they work in Tandem.
LinkedIn articles are a very tool effective for building this brand. Posting regularly will allow you to share your successes, challenges, and ideas about business, creating the perception of you as an Entrepreneur and leading business person.
Establish Your Authority/Expertise
How do you show people you can do something? By doing it. Simple enough right? Not in business. Unless everyone you’d like to promote your business to can follow you around at work every day, how can they grasp your expertise?
By reading your LinkedIn articles! In these articles, you can demonstrate your knowledge of your industry, the expertise that you exercise in your business, and establish yourself as an authority in your field. This will encourage potential clients or investors who pursue their interest in your and your business.
Increase your Connections
The more active you are on LinkedIn, the more visible your profile will be. Plus, like every social platform, LinkedIn wants to push content to users that they are interested in. When you post an article, the algorithm will share your article to others on the platform who have shown an interest in the topic of your content – essentially, LinkedIn finds the relevant audience for you. As people read your articles and see the value you are offering, they wish to connect and interact with you.
Furthermore, every time you post an article, each of your connections is notified. This will help to maintain your existing connections and prompt them to share your articles with their own audience.
Articles are Shareable
As we touched on earlier, articles are widely shareable pieces of content. This means your articles can act as a pseudo blog, without the required time of building a website. Furthermore, your content will be going live where an interested audience is already present. So you can share your articles on LinkedIn, as well as on other social platforms and your personal website.
They’re free!
They say the best things in life are free! LinkedIn articles are free to post and to share, so all you need to do is write and publish your work and the platform will take care of the rest. Creating your own blog is very beneficial, but it can take time and can be costly. Especially when you’re starting out, LinkedIn offers a low-cost option.
Final Thoughts
There are so many benefits to posting articles on your LinkedIn page that it is certainly worth your time! However, not all of us are natural-born writers – having a way with business doesn’t always mean we always have a way with words. Why not let an expert take turn your ideas into eye-catching, engaging pieces of content that will grow your brand and your business?
Contact us at 99social to see what we can do for your LinkedIn brand!