My thoughts on trends shaping my industry….
That’s what the invitation I received to start “plogging” on LinkedIn stated (see above). It didn’t say, “Start promoting your events, current promotions, links to content on your website, etc., on LinkedIn today and forget all about adding value or insights when you publish on LinkedIn!”
Noticing a massive influx of these types of posts on LinkedIn prompted me to post this status update this week:
Is it me or are there now way too many folks publishing posts on LinkedIn mainly to promote their events, clients or as straight up link bait? Good grief.
Based on the engagement I received around this update, clearly, I’m not alone! So, as suggested by Laura A. on LinkedIn, here are my top 5 tips for “plogging” (professional blogging) on LinkedIn:
- Follow the 80/20 rule: 80{60023c7b1960a5fb9dae172379ca3153ba00fa4679a2b03978f428523be766b5} of your posts should contain compelling content that adds value to readers and then the other 20{60023c7b1960a5fb9dae172379ca3153ba00fa4679a2b03978f428523be766b5} could be about you/your current events or those of your collaborators or clients.
- Write about your niche or industry: Write posts about things for which you have passion, interest or knowledge. For example, I mainly write about professional networking, LinkedIn and SMB best practices.
- Know who you’re targeting: Determine your ideal audience and write with them in mind.
- Invite discussion at the end of your posts: Ask questions to provoke comments, such as, “What’s your favorite LinkedIn Group and why?”
- Point folks to your other posts: When writing about a specific topic be sure to provide links to your other posts on the same topic (on LinkedIn or even your own site).
Bonus tip: Use status updates to promote your current events, webinars, blog posts elsewhere, etc.
You can also end your post with some info about yourself, your company, book or current offer, but keep it short and sweet and don’t forget to include an image if you have one (say, a book cover).
And if you’d like additional insights on what your blog on LinkedIn could be, check out these two expert “ploggers” publishing posts on LinkedIn today:
If you would like to begin publishing a professional blog on LinkedIn, and want to start off on the right foot, just contact me to get some guidance or check out this page on my site. I’d be happy to help!
