LinkedIn Publishing Platform: User Review, Tips and Some Wishes for its Next Iteration, Part 1
LinkedIn's new publishing platform is in the roll-out stage. It gives LinkedIn members the ability to create long-form posts similar to blog posts. Users create posts like they would a status update on the top of their personal page. High-quality posts can receive thousands of views, plus likes, comments and shares on other social platforms, thus amplifying the message exponentially.
To see if you have the ability to create long-form posts, check your update box and look for the pencil icon (see the image below). If you have the pencil, you're ready to start publishing. If not, see this LinkedIn help article for more information. When I submitted my request in April, I was asked for two writing samples, so make sure to point them to your best content.
My Results to Date
Once approved for LinkedIn's new publishing platform, I published my first post on April 22. I've been very pleased with the results I've seen in the two-and-a-half months I've been using the service.
I've published 14 posts, gained around 200 new followers (followers are different from connections, you don't have to be a connection of mine to follow me) and thousands of shares, likes and comments, as well as some new connections.
My most popular post (which was a rewrite of an article from my column here) has received nearly 5,500 views as of this writing. I was pretty surprised by that, but what I learned is timely and provocative sells! The article was published on Mark Zuckerberg's birthday (May 14) and was titled, Don't Trust Anyone (named Mark Zuckerberg) Over 30," a play on the 1960s motto "don't trust anyone over 30."
My marketing strategy is pretty simple: I find new clients for my consulting business (or they find me, that is) by being a thought leader in my industry. I write prolifically, lecture often and lead the Florida Direct Marketing Association as its president — all in an effort to position myself as a marketing thought leader.
Check back next Wednesday for part two of this multipart series, when I'll discuss the impact LinkedIn's publishing platform has had on my business, as well as offer some tips on how you can make the most of this new online marketing tool.
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Jim Gilbert has had a storied career in direct and digital marketing resulting in a burning desire to tell stories that educate, inform, and inspire marketers to new heights of success.
After years of marketing consulting, Jim decided it was time to “put his money where his mouth was" and build his own e-commerce company, Premo Natural Products, with its flagship product, Premo Guard Bed Bug & Mite Sprays. Premo in its second year is poised to eclipse 100 percent growth.
Jim has been writing for Target Marketing Group since 2006, first on the pages of Catalog Success Magazine, then as the first blogger for its online division. Jim continues to write for Total Retail.
Along the way, Jim has led the Florida Direct Marketing Association as their Marketing Chair and then three-term President, been an Adjunct Professor of Direct and Digital marketing for Miami International University, and created a lecture series, “The 9 Immutable Laws of Social Media Marketing,” which he has presented across the country at conferences and universities.