6 Ways to Promote Your Blog on LinkedIn

These days, LinkedIn is the often-forgotten “quiet” social network. It doesn’t get the hype of other social media, but it packs a powerful punch when it comes to reaching your professional network. Unlike Facebook, there’s no weeding through YouTube links or cousin Jenny’s baby pics. LinkedIn delivers your professional peeps in one tidy network.

So use it.

Your business blog is the online hub of your knowledge, expertise and opinions. LinkedIn gives you ways to share your value and promote your blog with the people who actually give a hoot—your colleagues, clients and business connections.

1. Add Your Link – This is a “no brainer” first step to promoting your business blog. Under “Additional Information” in your profile, add a link to your blog.
2. Add Your Blog Feed - Two applications allow you showcase your blog posts automatically. When LinkedIn visitors check out your profile, they’ll also find your latest blog posts.
   • WordPress Application – Whether you have a self-hosted WordPress blog (recommended for business blogging) or a blog through WordPress.com, this application makes featuring your blog simple. Don’t want to share every post with LinkedIn? No problem. You can simply tag specific blog posts with “linked” and choose the relevant filter option during setup.
   • BlogLink Application – If your blog is hosted anywhere other than WordPress, try TypePad’s BlogLink application. Conveniently, this app also allows you to see blogs from members of your network.
3. Submit an Update - Once you finalize your next post, be sure to share it with your network. Include the title of your post and a link. However, don’t stop there. Because you’re sending this to your colleagues and professional contacts, add a note or teaser text. For example, if your article is about strategic interviewing techniques, consider piquing their interest with a question like this:
   “Another bad hire? See 10 Interview Techniques for Landing Your Next Superstar.”
4. Submit an Update–Again. - Huh? Didn’t you just do this? Well, LinkedIn’s newsfeed is getting as busy as Facebook’s these days. This means your status update about your post could get buried “below the fold” in a matter of hours. Try to re-post your status update a few times during the week to ensure everyone gets a glimpse! Don’t go crazy with this as you don’t want to be perceived as a spammer. Mix it in with other updates and post during different dayparts.
5. Provide Answers – Under the “More” section of your LinkedIn navigation, you’ll find the “Answers” tab. This area is GOLD for sharing your knowledge and asking questions. Type in a few keywords related to your post or topic, then choose “unanswered questions.” This will deliver a plethora of discussion threads just ready for you to participate in and share your blog links! As with all social media, this is where your blog proves its value. Provide a helpful tidbit or partial answer, then link to your post for detailed explanation. Again, include your blog links carefully. Do not become one of the many annoying LinkedIn spammers out there. Be authentic and only post a link when it provides value.
6. Join Discussions - If you’ve joined any groups on LinkedIn, check out the discussions tab and join in relevant discussions. Even better, search each group’s discussions, using keywords relating to your post or topic. Although I highly prefer the Answers option listed above, Discussions can provide some good opportunities if you find the right group.

Have you shared your blog content on LinkedIn? How has it helped you in building business relationships?

Tagged as: Blog Content, Blog Promotion, Blogging, Blogging Benefits, blogs, Content, content strategy, Corporate Blogging, linkedin, Social Media