Back in 2012, LinkedIn started asking industry leaders to share content. This group of leaders became known as the Influencers. Their content proved popular and relevant in many ways. However, the ability to share content was limited to only that small group. This was a bit of disconnect for people who wanted to share content on LinkedIn but were not able to. On February 19, 2014, LinkedIn changed this by launching its new publishing platform. This feature is now available to all users, marking a major shift in the way LinkedIn users can utilize the professional social networking site. LinkedIn’s updated publishing platform allows members to publish their own long-form content in blog-style format, and share it among their followers.
What Are The Features Of LinkedIn’s Publishing Platform?
The newly available publishing features are extremely beneficial. LinkedIn’s publishing platform:
- Offers users a way to prove expertise. All users have the chance to publish content that shows their expertise in their niche or industry. It provides a visible way to demonstrate their knowledge to potential customers and influencers. This is an invaluable extension of any company's marketing plan.
- Makes it easier to distribute content to your LinkedIn network. Instead of just publishing links to your blog, you can publish real content that people can read on the platform. That will increase readership and influence, simultaneously. It also enhances the influence that LinkedIn has in some industries.
- Presents the chance to expand your audience. LinkedIn will publish selected pieces of content that it feels is of the highest quality and relevance. This opportunity was once only available to their designated Influencers. While Influencers will still have that access, everyone else has a chance to reach that level of influence. It will allow new influencers to arise and show their capabilities.
- Gives essential demographic data about who is clicking on your article. This offers marketing data that has been hard to track before. This will tell you if you have reached your target audience or are reaching an audience you never considered before.
Why Should LinkedIn’s Publishing Platform Matter To My Business?
You have just been handed another powerful platform to build your business or organization’s online following and brand, and widen your customer base. LinkedIn's fanbase is 277 million and counting. Think of all the possible followers you can engage with and fellow professionals you can learn from on this network!
As you develop your LinkedIn content base, you will start gaining followers like you do with Twitter and Facebook. As you share more content, it will widen your potential audience and open your net further. This option is especially critical for B2B companies.
How can you tap into this new platform yourself? All you have to do is open up the "Share an Update" box on your LinkedIn homepage and click the edit button. You will see a writing tool where you write the post, format it, and add images. You can save, preview, and publish it from the same window. You have the option of later editing or deleting it when you want.
There's no denying LinkedIn has been on top of its game lately. It is no doubt on of the major social media networks out there.
One thing to keep in mind about the site's most recent update: the publishing platform option is being rolled out in stages and it may take a bit to get to everyone. However, LinkedIn has committed to making this new feature available as soon as possible to all users. While you wait, take time to think about the potential of this new publishing platform for your business and how you can use it to capture new leads and entice new followers.
Questions and Final Thoughts
How do you see yourself using LinkedIn’s new publishing platform?
