In part two of this multipart series, I 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.
Without sounding too clumsy, being a thought leader in your industry is a good thing. In online retailing, it's about building a buzz around your brand, products or service. The easiest way to build thought leadership is to generate content for your target market that resonates. Here are some tips to help you get your message read by a wide audience on Linkedin:
1. Publish quality content. No fluff, just publish content that resonates with your target market. Be helpful. Give deep information and background. Provide instructions, how-tos that benefit people. Before you publish anything, ask yourself, "is this shareworthy?" In fact, your objective with posts is to provide such great info that people are compelled to click the sharing buttons (e.g., LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook). Likes and comments are your goal, too (more about that in No. 5 below).
2. Carefully consider your headline. Spend as much time as you can on coming up with the best post headline you can. Headlines grab peoples’ attention and generate readership. Here are some ideas for your headlines: provoke; ask a question; mention a hot topic in your industry; be controversial. When I write headlines, I'm always thinking, "What will get someone to read on?" Its kind of like a subject line in an email, or the copy on the outer envelope of a direct mail piece. You can't spend enough time here. (Note: you can change a headline after the fact on LinkedIn's platform. When you do so, there's a radio button that allows you to inform your following of the change. Make sure you check that button and also tweet the article and share via other social sites.)
The Retailer's Source for Content & Community
LinkedIn Publishing Platform: User Review, Tips and Some Wishes for its Next Iteration, Part 2
In part two of this multipart series, I 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.
Without sounding too clumsy, being a thought leader in your industry is a good thing. In online retailing, it's about building a buzz around your brand, products or service. The easiest way to build thought leadership is to generate content for your target market that resonates. Here are some tips to help you get your message read by a wide audience on Linkedin:
1. Publish quality content. No fluff, just publish content that resonates with your target market. Be helpful. Give deep information and background. Provide instructions, how-tos that benefit people. Before you publish anything, ask yourself, "is this shareworthy?" In fact, your objective with posts is to provide such great info that people are compelled to click the sharing buttons (e.g., LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook). Likes and comments are your goal, too (more about that in No. 5 below).
2. Carefully consider your headline. Spend as much time as you can on coming up with the best post headline you can. Headlines grab peoples’ attention and generate readership. Here are some ideas for your headlines: provoke; ask a question; mention a hot topic in your industry; be controversial. When I write headlines, I'm always thinking, "What will get someone to read on?" Its kind of like a subject line in an email, or the copy on the outer envelope of a direct mail piece. You can't spend enough time here. (Note: you can change a headline after the fact on LinkedIn's platform. When you do so, there's a radio button that allows you to inform your following of the change. Make sure you check that button and also tweet the article and share via other social sites.)
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.