By now I’m sure you’ve seen the constant updates in your LinkedIn news/status feeds from your connections. Where are they coming from and why are they here all of a sudden?
LinkedIn has opened up its publishing platform –also called Long Form—so that you not only get regular content from the people you follow (i.e. Richard Branson, Martha Stewart), but also from your connections. They began with inviting 25,000 members and then slowly opened it up to everyone. If you are wondering how this might work for you and your job search, or how to get started, here are a few tips.
1. Why should you publish on LinkedIn? It’s a way for you to build your executive brand, share insightful content, increase your visibility, and expand on your knowledge, thus making you more credible to your network as an industry thought leader. If you don’t already have a blog or another platform, this is a good place to gather interest.
2. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is complete and current. If you haven’t added your most recent job, do so now. Clean up your profile. Do you have a recent photo? Do you have the professional affiliations, training, projects, etc. on it? Once you publish your first article, people will be looking at your profile, so make sure you look and sound your best.
3. Beef up your contacts. If you haven’t been diligent about making new connections, or connecting with people who reach out to you, get started now. The more connections you have, the wider your reach. Keep in mind that when people “like” or “share” your content, your post will go out to other networks faster.
4. Determine what you want to talk about. What do you excel at? What is your expertise in? What message do you want to give? What do you think your readers would like to read about or know more of? Want to get a conversation started? Writing an engaging blog post is a great way to do that. Does this post solidify your personal brand? If you already have ideas or posts lined up, then you’re ready to go. If you go to the status bar on your home page, you will see a little pencil on the right (by the paperclip), this is what you will click to open up your publishing page.
5. Your expertise won’t just show on LinkedIn but in other forms of social media. Remember that when you publish on LinkedIn, the more keywords, comments, “likes” and “shares” you have, the more traffic you will drive to your post through outside search engines and social media as well. Keep it professional and clear. Drive home your brand.
When a perspective employer is looking at your profile and determining if you are the right fit, displaying your professional expertise by having some thought-provoking posts might be what exactly what they are looking for.