LinkedIn publishing platform - what's it all about?
I've had a couple of emails recently asking me about LinkedIn's new publishing platform (hi Matt and Sandra,) so here's the skinny:
LinkedIn Overview
LinkedIn is the biggest professional network - kind of like Facebook but for work. You're generally connected to someone through a real world relationship and spammy connection building is frowned upon.
Just like Facebook there's a news feed where you see what your connections have been up to.
Publishing on LinkedIn (Old)
Up until recently you could post your blog posts or any other content you create to your LinkedIn profile page. People that were connected to you would see that you had posted something in their news feed and would have the opportunity to check it out
The limitation to this is that they had to be connected to you in order to be aware of your content. There wasn't really a way to know if someone had published unless you had a real world connection.
LinkedIn Influencers
Recognizing this, LinkedIn introduced the idea of Influencers - this is where you could start to "follow" someone who's content you liked but with whom you had no formal relationship. With the success of that program LinkedIn have now opened it up to everybody.
LinkedIn Publishing Platform (New)
So - just like Twitter - you can now "follow" any of LinkedIn's 277 million+ members and their published content will appear in your news feed. And of course - if you're in the content marketing game - they can follow you.
Should you get involved?
Well, as with all this digital marketing stuff you've got to work out if it's a good return on your investment. LinkedIn is a great place to build authority - particularly for the services industries like Attorneys, Consultants and general knowledge workers. If you've been an active user of LinkedIn groups then this is a natural next step.
If however you haven't used LinkedIn and your client base is more B2C than B2B, then it's likely you'll see more bang for your buck elsewhere.
Golden Wedding Anniversary
There will be no It's Friday next week, I'll be celebrating my parents 50th Wedding Anniversary along with the entire family - it's going to be a quite a party. Normal service will resume week commencing the 7th of July.
Written while listening to: Essay Writing Music - music2work2