For a while LinkedIn has given users the opportunity to publish long form posts to their profiles. For small businesses it’s a great way to reach out to potential customers and networking partners, establishing that all-important reputation online. When you publish a LinkedIn Long Form post your connections are sent a notification. This benefit makes it all the more surprising that LinkedIn long form posts are one of the least utilised marketing tools on the internet.
What are LinkedIn Long Form Posts?
Sign into your LinkedIn profile and you’ll see a section called ‘Add a section to your profile’ that enables you to write an article, called ‘Posts’. This is different to adding an update that appears on your public wall. Click on ‘Posts’ and it will take you to a standard word processing tool that you can use to post a long form post. You can add links, photos, videos, podcasts and other types of media – in fact all the things you need for a normal blog post.
LinkedIn Long Form Posts reaches more people than you think – you won’t just be reaching out to people and organisations that have chosen to connect with through your Profile. You have the potential to reach anyone using LinkedIn. Your posts can also be found on Google and other search engines and are therefore available to a wide range of potential customers and connections.
With LinkedIn Long Form Posts you have the opportunity to boost your credibility within your industry and demonstrate that you are an expert in your field. Write articles that hit the mark and are relevant to your audience. Give your business a clear voice that people will want to listen to.
These published Posts can attract more potential clients to your profile and organically grow your following – attracting influencers, interested parties and highly engaged potential clients who are more likely to do businesses with you. Over time you will find you attract ‘Followers’ these are individuals who follow your Long Form Posts. Followers are not necessarily your connections, anyone can follow your articles, without being connected to you, which substantially increases your reach beyond your current contact sphere.
How to Make the Most of Your Posts
As with any form of online marketing and self-promotion, posting on LinkedIn requires a well-thought out strategy. Get it right and you can have an impact well beyond your normal connections on the site.
First of all, it helps to have a look around and find out what your competitors and other people in your industry are posting and what kind of reaction they are getting. On LinkedIn you are talking to a specific kind of audience and engaging them can be a more nuanced affair than standard blogging. Checking out how others are using long form posts can give you a good idea what works and what doesn’t. As with all marketing strategies, make sure you have a clear idea of who your target market is and think about what they are likely to find engaging or useful.
Choose your topics wisely: Pick topics that are going to appeal to your audience and be as specific as possible. Posts that ramble from one subject to another without any clear purpose tend to get less response than ones that are focused on one idea. Put yourself in your target market’s shoes… what are likely to read?
Quality beats quantity: It’s not about getting posts out there as often as possible. Go for quality over quantity and only post when you have something important to say. This is not about being prolific; it’s about being useful.
Have a good title: H1 and H2 titles make a difference on LinkedIn long form posts (as they do with other blog entries). When you publish a post your connections get an immediate notification of the title – if you want to catch their attention it needs to be strong and relevant. How to posts and list posts perform well on the site. Question based posts tend to perform less well, however these do work well in groups, so post your burning question there!
Include images: As with social media and general business blogging, adding media like images or videos improves the chance of getting your post noticed and read. According to some research, including up to 8 images can improve your shares on the site.
Publish at the right time: With immediate notifications going out to your connections, when you publish to LinkedIn makes a difference. A lot will depend on your industry so experiment with responses by posting at different times during the week. Thursday is a good place to start as it generally gets the most number of responses. I tend to post over the weekend as I find my articles are read and engaged with on a Sunday morning – With a little experimentation you will quickly find your niche time. As with all marketing, consistency is key. Decide upon a schedule and stick to it and you will soon grow an active following.
Connecting and Further Advice
Looking for inspiration? You can connect with me (Jules White) in the traditional LinkedIn manner or you can Follow my articles, simply search for my profile, or click here to access my LinkedIn Profile and click Follow when you reach my Posts section.
For further advice on LinkedIn Long Form Posts or for advice on any other aspect of social media marketing call The Last Hurdle Social Specialists on 01604 654545 or email sales@thelasthurdle.co.uk