sharing content was a lot tougher in the old days…
For the most part we publish content on LinkedIn looking for one or both of the usual benefits – views, engagement or sales leads. What I want to talk about today are what I call the “Unexpected Benefits” because they are not as obvious but they are there. These are particularly beneficial to small companies and people that work for themselves.
Here are four benefits that I have found from writing and publishing on LinkedIn over the past six years.
1) I learn more about the topic of the day
In my case, I write about using LinkedIn. Writing and wanting to write about some aspect of LinkedIn or using LinkedIn every week (while my LinkedIn Newsletter goes out every two weeks, my email newsletter goes out every week, usually with a couple articles) forces me to explore LinkedIn more than I would otherwise. It takes me beyond – as it did a few weeks ago – simply wondering what use it was having “followers”, and taking that random germ of an idea, exploring it as completely as I could, and then writing about it. Writing has resulted in me finding out a lot about LinkedIn, how it works, and having an idea as to where it is going.
2) I discover hidden gems
About once every six months I will discover something useful or realize that there is a way to use a feature that no one seems to be capitalizing on. These are ideas that I can share with my clients that can give them an edge. I have three of these in play right now, one having to do with LinkedIn Search, another with Profiles and a third with one of the newer content types on LinkedIn. But I would not have come up with these ideas if I had not invested the time in really thinking through these features, how they are used, and especially how they are not being used.
3) A better ability to communicate ideas
Publishing content forces me to be able to lay out my thinking and my arguments in a coherent and rational manner (some readers would no doubt argue as to whether I am accomplishing this goal). If I am going to discuss the ins and outs of posting or newsletters with a client I had better be able to do it coherently in comparison to the standard cheerleading, “They’re good! You should do them! Social selling! Rah rah!” For example, I don’t want to just tell people they should publish newsletters and also post on LinkedIn. I want to be able to tell a client where posts may work, where newsletters may work, how they differ and how they may complement each other. Half my job is telling people what they probably shouldn’t be doing on LinkedIn, and I had better be able to explain why.
4) Credibility, credibility, credibility
Almost as soon as they came out, I started favoring publishing articles over posts on LinkedIn because articles get stored with my LinkedIn profile, and are also indexed by Google. Visitors to my profile can find all my articles, going back to 2016. These articles are a body of work that represent the way I think about LinkedIn which is different from how most people do. There’s nothing wrong with posts on twenty-five factors you should take into account with your LinkedIn profile photo, but lots of people are covering that ground. I am more interested in figuring out things like followers and search and notifications and InMail and how LinkedIn really works. What the odd little quirks – and the larger truths – are on LinkedIn that my clients and connections can use to give themselves an edge. Having all my articles collected and attached to my profile allows prospective clients and connections to be able to see that.
There are obvious or traditional uses for publishing on LinkedIn – views, engagement and sales leads – but given the way LinkedIn publishing is set up, I ignore those three reasons and publish for a fourth, which is valid for me. That makes my publishing a little (well, maybe a lot) less mainstream, but that’s fine.
