Strategies for Getting Your LinkedIn Blogs Noticed

Last month I wrote about using LinkedIn as a blogging platform, but even though that post covered a lot of ground, one mystery remains: how can you get your blogs seen by others outside of your immediate contacts? While anyone can post a LinkedIn blog, only the most heavily read and commented blogs will be featured in prime spots like LinkedIn Pulse.

Most of those go to Top Influencers – bloggers with thousands of LinkedIn followers. This is something you should absolutely aspire to become. Put simply, being a Top Influencer means that your blog has generated significant engagement (views, likes, comments, etc.) among other LinkedIn members. How much is “significant” is still somewhat of a mystery along the lines of “how do I get my app featured in Apple’s App Store” or “what’s the Colonel’s secret recipe?” – but it has to be a lot on all accounts. There is evidence that the ranking changes weekly beginning Sunday evening and is refreshed every three hours throughout the week to keep things up-to-date.

While there’s no clear-cut way to reach that rarefied air, there are some strategies you can undertake to boost your readership, spur engagement and discussion, and get your posts noticed. All of these are factors in determining your level of influence and where LinkedIn will feature your posts.

Leon Emirali laid out some of these key strategies in a post at 60 Second Marketer. In a nutshell:

• Start with a relevant or timely news hook that’s going to be of interest to folks in your industry. This is a great way to engage your readers, and can position you as a thought leader on hot topics that are relevant to your business.
• Link to other influencers’ posts. It’s courteous and can help elevate your profile and views. There’s a chance that the other influencer will reciprocate and send their readers back to you. Linking can also help support your arguments and lend credence to your posts.
• Comment on other influencers’ posts. Actively seek out others’ posts and comment on them. That helps show that you’re engaged, committed, and thoughtful, and can help elevate you in the eyes of LinkedIn readers.
• Post when you’re most likely to get noticed. I mentioned earlier that the rankings reset over the weekend. As such, try to stay away from posting on Friday afternoons. Post earlier in the week to up your chances of having your content gain views and comments throughout the week.

In addition to users’ home pages and the Pulse homepage, LinkedIn bloggers may also have their posts featured on news channels that cover particular subjects. Users subscribe to these channels to receive information on things that are important to them (i.e., “open source software,” “public relations,” or, if you’re like me, “food and beverages”).

You don’t have to be a Top Influencer to be featured on these channels; you simply need to employ some old-fashioned SEO skills. Like Google, LinkedIn uses an algorithm to identify keywords and tags whether or not posts are suitable for specific channels. So, whenever writing a post, be sure to tag them appropriately and use keywords in the headline and throughout the content as much as possible without overdoing it. You’re not guaranteed to get prime position on the channels, but these tactics can certainly help.

Of course, do your posts a favor by pushing them through other social media channels. Write about them on Facebook and Twitter. Get the word out there and self-promote as much as you want. You’re not going for subtly here; modesty won’t win you any additional readers.

Some recent statistics show there are 414 million LinkedIn members. That’s a lot of potential readers, and represents a great opportunity for bloggers who want to complement their traditional blogging efforts with content on the world’s largest business social media network.

So, if you’re not already using LinkedIn as a blogging platform, you definitely should start. Today’s a great day to take the first step toward being one of the site’s Top Influencers.