LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional networking platform, has evolved beyond a mere job search and recruitment platform. It now has a practical built-in writing tool called LinkedIn Articles, allowing you to produce and share valuable content with your followers.
Posting articles on LinkedIn has many advantages, both for the individuals posting them and the businesses they work for. Users can write and publish blog-like content directly on the platform, enabling them to share their expertise, establish themselves as thought leaders, and gain recognition within the LinkedIn community. From a business standpoint, LinkedIn articles present an opportunity to showcase organisational culture, values, and brand identity. This exposure can bring tangible benefits such as increased sales and successful talent acquisition.
In a recent post, we explained how to publish LinkedIn articles and, more importantly, how to write a successful one. While we covered various aspects, some lingering questions still need exploring in greater detail. How effective actually is it? What other features do LinkedIn Articles have? Are you able to link back to your own website? What are the benefits of using LinkedIn for blogging? We will answer these questions today.
Why publish a LinkedIn Article?
Here are six compelling reasons to utilise LinkedIn Articles and maximise your impact on the platform:
Boost your visibility
LinkedIn Articles not only appear in searches within the platform but also show up in Google organic searches. By publishing content on LinkedIn, your articles have a higher chance of ranking well on Google, increasing your online visibility.
Increase dwell time
LinkedIn’s algorithm values dwell time, which measures how much users spend engaging with your content. Longer articles naturally take more time to read, leading to increased dwell time on your company page and signalling higher engagement.
Establish thought leadership
Regular LinkedIn posts are limited to 700 characters, making it challenging to share in-depth insights. Articles, however, offer a platform to showcase your expertise and authority on a specific subject, allowing you to position yourself as a thought leader among your followers and those exploring your profile.
Repurpose and revive content
LinkedIn Articles provide an opportunity to repurpose relevant or evergreen blog content. By publishing on LinkedIn, your articles have the potential to reach a wider audience through Google searches, breathing new life into previously published work and potentially generating new leads.
Reach a fresh audience
To succeed on any social media platform, creating engaging and high-quality content is crucial. LinkedIn Articles enable you to create longer, more comprehensive pieces directly on the platform, making it easier to share and increasing the likelihood of others sharing your content with their networks.
Access a larger audience
While posting content on your website may attract a limited number of monthly visitors, publishing on LinkedIn Articles can potentially expose your work to millions of users. The platform’s expansive reach provides an opportunity to significantly expand your audience and increase your content’s impact.
How effective are LinkedIn articles?
With its status as the world’s largest professional networking platform, LinkedIn offers an ideal space to showcase your expertise, foster business opportunities, and connect with individuals who share similar interests.
LinkedIn reports that articles are shared a staggering 20 times more than regular posts on the platform. Furthermore, companies receive an average of 11 times more website visits from content shared on LinkedIn. This presents a remarkable opportunity for businesses to expand their reach and establish meaningful relationships with their desired audience. To make the most of this platform, companies should prioritise the creation of high-quality content that not only adds value to the reader but is also tailored specifically to their target audience.
LinkedIn’s vast user base and the platform’s emphasis on professional networking position it as an invaluable resource for professionals and businesses seeking to maximise their online presence. By leveraging LinkedIn’s article-sharing capabilities, companies can amplify their brand, engage with a broader audience, and foster connections that lead to valuable business opportunities.
What other features do LinkedIn Articles have?
LinkedIn provides a variety of options for incorporating rich media into your articles – images, videos, slides, and much more.
Images
LinkedIn articles offer more than just plain text. In fact, you have the option to enhance your articles by incorporating images throughout the content. This becomes particularly beneficial when dealing with longer articles, as it helps break up the text and creates a more engaging reading experience for your audience.
When crafting a LinkedIn article, including a compelling cover image is crucial. This image will appear at the top of your article and serve as a thumbnail when it appears in your audience’s feed. Its primary purpose is to catch viewers’ attention as they scroll through their feeds, so it’s important to choose an image that is visually appealing and relevant to the article’s content.
LinkedIn recommends uploading a cover image that measures 1920×1080 pixels to ensure your image is displayed properly and maintains its quality. It’s also important that the cover image accurately represents the article’s topic so as not to mislead your audience.
When selecting images to include in your article, it’s crucial to prioritise high-quality visuals. These images should enhance your content and contribute to the overall message you’re conveying. If you decide to use images created by someone else, it’s vital to obtain permission and properly credit the original source. Respecting copyright and intellectual property rights is essential to maintain ethical practices when sharing visual content.
Videos
In addition to images, LinkedIn articles have the capability to incorporate videos, providing another dynamic element to your content. However, it’s important to note that LinkedIn currently only supports videos from select platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo, and others. Unfortunately, you cannot directly upload videos from your computer onto LinkedIn articles.
To include a video in your LinkedIn article, you will need to embed it from a compatible platform. This means that you’ll first need to upload your video to a supported video hosting platform and then insert the video’s embed code into your article. This process allows you to showcase videos hosted on external platforms within your LinkedIn article.
This improves the visual appeal of your content and provides a more immersive experience for your readers. Whether you’re sharing instructional videos, interviews, webinars, or product demonstrations, embedding videos can help convey information in a dynamic and engaging manner.
Slides
LinkedIn offers the capability to include slides within your articles, allowing you to incorporate PowerPoint presentations seamlessly. Similar to videos, direct uploading of slides from your computer is currently not supported on LinkedIn. However, you can share slides by leveraging platforms like Slideshare, Prezi, and others.
By embedding slides from external platforms, you can break up text-heavy sections in your LinkedIn articles and present information in a visually appealing manner. Slides provide a compelling and engaging way to share information, making your content more interactive and visually stimulating for your readers.
Whether you share informative presentations, showcase key data points, or provide visual summaries of complex concepts, integrating slides into your LinkedIn articles can enhance the overall visual experience and help you effectively communicate your message.
Links
As well as these multimedia elements, LinkedIn articles provide the opportunity to include hyperlinks to external websites, articles, and reports. Incorporating these links is highly recommended as it not only enhances credibility but also contributes to improving SEO ranking.
You can support your claims by including relevant and authoritative links within your LinkedIn articles and providing additional resources for readers to explore. Referencing reputable sources not only adds credibility to your content but also demonstrates your knowledge and expertise in the field.
Including backlinks to your own website can be advantageous. By strategically placing links to your website within your articles, you can drive traffic to your online platform and potentially generate leads or conversions. These backlinks help establish your online presence and provide an opportunity for readers to further engage with your brand or explore your products and services.
It is important to note that while incorporating links can be beneficial, it is crucial to ensure they are relevant and add value to your article. Additionally, when including external links, it’s recommended to use descriptive anchor text that provides context for the linked content. This aids readers in understanding what they can expect when they click on the provided links.
Snippets
LinkedIn articles also provide the option to include snippets. Snippets are quotes or excerpts from books, websites, reports, or other sources that you find relevant and impactful. By including snippets in your LinkedIn articles, you can leverage the wisdom and insights from trusted sources to strengthen your arguments, support your viewpoints, or provide additional context for your readers. These quotes or excerpts can add depth and authority to your content, making it more compelling and credible.
When incorporating snippets, it is important to ensure that proper attribution is given to the original source. This means providing the necessary citations or references to acknowledge the author or the publication from which the snippet is taken. Giving credit to the original source demonstrates ethical practices and helps build trust and credibility with your audience.
Snippets offer a powerful way to leverage the knowledge and expertise of others to enrich your LinkedIn articles. By carefully selecting and incorporating relevant quotes or excerpts, you can enhance the impact and value of your content, making it more engaging and thought-provoking for your readers.
Conclusion
In conclusion, LinkedIn Articles have become a valuable platform for professionals and businesses to thrive, connect, and exchange knowledge. By harnessing the power of this feature, individuals and organisations can unlock a world of opportunities and elevate their online presence within the LinkedIn community.
With the ability to share valuable content, establish thought leadership, and showcase brand identity, LinkedIn Articles empower users to make a lasting impact. The integration of multimedia elements such as images, videos, slides, and snippets further enhances the engagement and effectiveness of these articles.
With LinkedIn Articles, professionals and businesses can propel their careers and organisations to new heights, leveraging the vast networking potential and knowledge-sharing capabilities of the LinkedIn platform.
