LinkedIn is the largest online resume and professional social network with over 300 million users worldwide. According to Econsultancy, the site is the biggest social referral source for bloggers and corporate websites, sending nearly four times more people to their home pages than Facebook and Twitter, and helping them reach an audience that actually cares about their business. (Click the link for more marketing stats on LinkedIn)
Still, many serious bloggers neglect the potentials that LinkedIn offers for growing their visibility and traffic. It makes no difference if you blog for business full-time, or if you’re a working person who’s blogging in spare time, it really does pay off to be on LinkedIn for increasing your exposure. Here’s how:
Personal Branding and Promotion
In a recent post on branding for bloggers we mentioned having a complete and up-to-date profile on LinkedIn as one of the few most basic steps to help you guide more searchers to your blog pages (click for the rest of the steps).
Your LinkedIn profile is a great way to showcase your professional experience, education, skills and interests, career history and achievements. It allows you to demonstrate your specific expertise, what you know and can do for others, and is an important part of your public image and credibility in the industry.
Include a social button to connect your blog to your LinkedIn profile, but don’t forget to add a link in your email signature also to promote it in front of people with whom you regularly communicate.
Greater Traffic and Authority
Social media is probably the most effective way today for bloggers to promote their content and drive traffic to their blogs. LinkedIn is no different. You can share links with your connections, post blog posts as status updates, point to relevant content when participating in discussions or commenting, show groups you belong to, … just be careful not to start spamming.
Add to your profile interesting and descriptive links to your blog homepage or specific landing page with a special offer, to encourage visitors to click through and learn more about your blog and business. This will also help introduce your blog to new people who might have not found it otherwise.
Building Your Professional Connections and Network
There are people who choose to limit their connections on LinkedIn. But, if your goal is to expand your visibility, this is not something you should do.
Every time you post an update or participate in any other activity on the social site, your connections see that action in their feeds. If they engage with the update, their connections will see your action too. So it’s obvious that you need more connections on your LinkedIn profile. So more people can read what you have to say, potentially engage with your high-quality content, and help expand your visibility exponentially. This will lead to better rankings in search results, more profile views, and eventually greater traffic to your blog.
But, as always, quantity is nothing without quality. You need an interested and engaged following. Start building connections with people you personally know or already have a relationship with – your friends from college, ex-coworkers, and other professional contacts, – not with everyone you can find. You can also introduce two of your connections who may not know each other, but both can benefit in some way.
Participating in Groups, Creating a Community
LinkedIn Groups provide a great opportunity for bloggers to enhance their credibility in the industry they represent and create new valuable connections. Look for groups relevant to your niche, with less than few thousand participants who match the demographic you target, so it will be easier to stand out and maximize your visibility.
The most talked-about updates in the group are the most visible ones, placed on the top of the page. You can share your thoughts in the comments and include a link to a relevant post of your own when appropriate, if you think you can add value to the discussion and help members recognize you as an expert in your field.
Job Opportunities
Having a professional profile on LinkedIn that also promotes your blog is a great way to land new writing jobs and related work opportunities. 89% of all recruiters report having hired someone through this site.
Include important details about your education, industry, previous employment, blog(s), showcase work samples, have a professional photo, and add all your resume keywords and skills to your LinkedIn profile for better results in SERPs.
Do you promote your blog on LinkedIn? Would you recommend the network to other blogger babes and why? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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