Social media platforms are constantly evolving and developing their features to improve how users communicate with each other. LinkedIn has made some changes that we, as content creators, find very exciting…   

The first feature that we’re finding very effective is LinkedIn Articles. If you’re not already familiar with them, they are a piece of long-form content (such as a blog or news article) that LinkedIn hosts natively on the platform.    

LinkedIn Articles are much longer than traditional posts (a LinkedIn Article can be up to 125,000 words as opposed to a post being 3000 words maximum) and provides an opportunity to showcase your expertise and demonstrate your in-depth understanding of your niche.    

But what is the most effective way to use them?    

Of course, writing engaging content specifically for LinkedIn is the best way of ensuring you’re leveraging the feature to its full potential. But if you don’t have the time, resources or budget to facilitate this, there is a workaround…   

We suggest uploading your blogs to LinkedIn as Articles. It’s a fantastic way of repurposing your blogs and maximising your return on your investment. You should always upload blogs to your website in the first instance (to improve SEO, drive people to your website and help build your presence). But by uploading older evergreen blog posts onto the platform as Articles, you can give the content a new lease of life, establish your presence as a thought leader on the platform, and demonstrate your knowledge of your industry.   

LinkedIn Articles are searchable on and off LinkedIn, so if you have a piece of content addressing a frequently asked question, your LinkedIn Article stands a chance of ranking in search engine results. This can drive interested parties (who could be potential clients or customers!) to your LinkedIn profile.    

Another exciting feature of LinkedIn Articles include their placement on your profile. Your Article is displayed in the activity section of your profile, adding a layer of depth to your presence. It will show your profile visitors that you’ve invested in developing your presence and help to build authority.    

LinkedIn also allows you to tag people in Articles AND use hashtags that LinkedIn hyperlinks to other content with the same hashtag (helping to expand your reach and target a wider audience). 

Phew! As if that wasn’t enough, there’s also been ANOTHER major update to LinkedIn that we can’t get enough of… 

Introducing LinkedIn Newsletters. These are a fantastic way of building your relationship with your connections by posting updates about you and your company, insights into your industry and sharing news, developments and your opinion on recent happenings.    

Similar to Articles, creating content specifically for the platform would be the most effective strategy. But if you already invest in email newsletters, it would be a missed opportunity not to repurpose this content and post it to LinkedIn as a LinkedIn Newsletter.   

What makes us so excited about this feature is that LinkedIn notifies ALL of your connections when you launch a Newsletter, making it an excellent opportunity to engage your audience from the moment you publish your first one. To give you an idea of how effective this is, we launched a 10X Newsletter on our director, Talisa’s LinkedIn (you can subscribe by clicking here if you haven’t already!), and in 10 minutes, it got 30 subscribers! What’s more, just from launching it and posting it, the 10X Newsletter has gained over 400 subscribers.  

If that wasn’t enough to engage your audience, every time a new edition is published, subscribers receive a push, in-app and email notification from LinkedIn, informing them that there’s a new instalment of your newsletter for them to read. Helping increase readership and strengthening your relationship with readers whilst ensuring you’re at the forefront of their minds. Can you see why we’re SO excited about these new updates!?    

Should I be publishing LinkedIn Articles and Newsletters? 

So, now you’re caught up on the new features, you’re probably wondering what this means for you… 

Recently, Hootsuite conducted a very interesting experiment that caught our eye. They posted content over time, seeing what performed better – posts with links or posts without links. The results concluded that posts without links got six times more reach than posts with links. Moreover, posts without links received almost four times more reactions and 18 times more comments than the average post with a link. Therefore, it’s evident that users are more receptive to content that tells them everything they need to know in one place.    

We know that the LinkedIn algorithm tests your content by showing it to a portion of your connections. If it gets quality engagement, it’ll then show it to a wider audience. Using this knowledge with the Hootsuite findings, it’s clear the best way to ensure your posts are seen is by delivering valuable content in one place. By giving your audience entertaining, educational or emotive content, they’ll be more inclined to engage, resulting in better performing posts (which helps to drive interest and leads to your business).   

Finally, by consistently posting Articles and Newsletters to LinkedIn, you’ll build credibility and trust by demonstrating your industry knowledge and build a better relationship with your existing clients, prospects and industry partners. These connections will respect you highly and regard you as a thought leader, meaning they’ll be more inclined to choose you over a competitor.      

How can I experience these benefits on LinkedIn?   

Now you know the what and why, next comes the how. If you’re looking to reap the rewards of these new features, we are able to support you. 

We have a wide range of offerings for LinkedIn Articles, depending on your needs. We can create content especially for LinkedIn or repurpose your existing blogs to the platform. To support this, we can create engaging LinkedIn posts that will encourage your connections to read and engage with your Article.    

Similarly, we can work with you to establish your presence utilising LinkedIn Newsletters and ensure you’re reaching your connections and prospects with content that will resonate with them. From creating original content for LinkedIn to repurposing existing email newsletters, we’ll find the solution that works for you and will create supporting posts to ensure you’re always at the front of your audiences’ minds.   

Book a call to discuss these offerings further and find the right strategy for you.