The Benefits of Publishing an Article on LinkedIn May Surprise You
When Amanda Natividad, VP of Marketing at SparkToro, published content on LinkedIn and compared the data to Twitter, the results were a lot of “fun.”
Surely us fellow content marketers can have fun too!
What kind of fun did Natividad experience? Well, their LinkedIn publication earned over 913,000 impressions and almost 13,000 engagements in just five days.
That beat Twitter by almost 1,136% and 381%, respectively!
What happened? Is there a discrepancy between follower counts? Well, yes, but not in the obvious direction: over 94,000 on Twitter and less than 9,000 on Linkedin.
Natividad’s observation reinforces what a lot of content marketers have seen: LinkedIn is one of the most-trusted social media platforms for businesses.
With this foundation of trust, LinkedIn’s organic reach is more wide-ranging than other platforms—there’s a big demand for content that users don’t value on Facebook, Twitter, et al.
And articles on LinkedIn are unique as they allow you to write content similar to blog posts to help your business build its brand and establish expertise.
Yet many business owners aren’t aware of the article-publishing features on LinkedIn or how to best use them. Instead, they struggle to reach new customers and grow their audience.
But why should you write articles on LinkedIn? And how can you write a good LinkedIn article?
We’ll cover how to write an article on a LinkedIn page, the benefits of publishing on LinkedIn and tips for writing a good LinkedIn article so your content gets the attention it deserves!
Writing Articles on LinkedIn: An Overview
Before you learn how to write a good LinkedIn article, it’s important to understand the difference between an article and a post (also called a status or update).
LinkedIn posts are short messages that appear directly on LinkedIn feeds.
Articles are longer-form content shared as posts, where the post itself serves as a caption, but the article is available on its own page via LinkedIn’s publishing platform, LinkedIn Pulse.
Which Is Better: LinkedIn Articles or Posts?
Are LinkedIn articles better than posts? It’s a trick question because LinkedIn posts are completely different from LinkedIn articles.
First, the character counts for LinkedIn posts vs. articles differ. LinkedIn caps posts at 1,300 characters—or around 200–300 words on average if you include spaces (LinkedIn does).
In contrast, articles get a max 125,000 characters. That’s more than 17,000 words on average.
We’re definitely not suggesting you use all that space for every article. Most people on LinkedIn don’t have time to binge-read novellas.
But you can definitely convey more—and more complex—information in an article on LinkedIn than you can in a post.
So LinkedIn articles are great in helping you demonstrate expertise and promote brand awareness.
When to Use LinkedIn Posts
- Publish regular content to LinkedIn to increase awareness
- Share links to your own posts or information you find interesting or want to comment on
- Introduce a new staffer, business partnership or product
- Share business news or accomplishments
- Ask for client or consumer feedback
- Highlight your company’s philanthropy or other efforts related to mission or corporate social responsibility
When to Publish LinkedIn Articles
- Share expertise with other LinkedIn members via longer content
- Drive awareness of your brand, services or products by creating content other people are likely to share
- Educate your audience, such as with how-to articles
- Create content likely to drive conversions to demonstrate your expertise or help people better understand the purpose & benefits of your products
What Are the Benefits of Publishing an Article on LinkedIn
Are LinkedIn articles a valuable use of time?
Yes.
LinkedIn articles complement blog posts because they offer another medium to revamp and repurpose your longform content.
You can also use LinkedIn articles as previews of what’s on your website.
Plus, with LinkedIn, you’ll get a great organic reach that isn’t guaranteed on your website.
What about the inherent effort?
It does take more time to write an in-depth article than to publish a short post. Is it really worth the extra effort? Absolutely. Here’s why:
- LinkedIn displays content to users interested in the topics you write about. If readers already perceive your content as relevant to their needs, they’ll more likely read the full article, comment on it and share it with others.
- Many users view LinkedIn articles as thought-leadership content. Publishing LinkedIn articles gives you instant credibility, trust and brand awareness.
LinkedIn articles provide more linking opportunities than LinkedIn posts do. Article links can drive traffic to your website and help you generate high-quality leads to achieve your B2B content marketing goals.
Do LinkedIn Articles Matter?
Articles provide a unique opportunity to establish expertise in your field and cement yourself or your company as a thought leader.
But whether you’re writing an article or a post on LinkedIn, they both appear on people’s feeds for followers—and their followers—to view and engage with the same way.
Articles show up as any other link with the link’s featured image above its Open Graph protocol (e.g., title, description), with the option to add organic text as a caption.
Posts display as organic text, with the option to add an accompanying image.
So LinkedIn articles matter a lot not just because they’re on an additional & reputable platform to complement your blog but also because publishing in general on LinkedIn is beneficial.
What then makes LinkedIn so unique as a publishing platform?
3 Benefits of Publishing an Article on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is one of the fastest-growing social platforms, recently seeing a 30% year-over-year increase in user sessions and a 60% increase in content creation over the same period.
These expanding metrics demonstrate the amazing opportunities available to brand managers and content marketers to scale their reach and attract more leads.
Let’s look at three specific benefits of publishing articles on LinkedIn validated by content-marketing consultant Dickie Bush:
- Insane reach
- Low competition
- Genuinely thoughtful community
1. Insane Reach
There exists no shortage of observational evidence that LinkedIn’s algorithms are very liberal in how they distribute content on the platform.
User feeds are less siloed than on other social platforms. Only a few likes or comments can snowball impressions of and engagement with LinkedIn articles very quickly.
And with consistent increases in user-volume and -session metrics on LinkedIn, that means more eyeballs on LinkedIn articles and more leads.
2. Low Competition
Even though, as hinted above, the higher growth rate of LinkedIn content creation is closing the gap with the volume of user sessions, there remains a huge demand for content.
In other words, there’s still no equilibrium in the supply:demand ratio of the amount of content available on LinkedIn to the amount of content that its users demand.
This mismatch is one reason why LinkedIn’s algorithms are so lax with circulating content.
At least until this gap narrows further, businesses can easily distribute LinkedIn articles without much competition—even if your competitors literally publish LinkedIn articles too!
3. Genuinely Thoughtful Community
LinkedIn might have its fair share of opportunists and people who overestimate the extent to which their ideas qualify as insightful thought leadership.
But there’s no denying that all active users are genuine business professionals there to legitimately network, study new ideas and master industry best practices.
Coupled with its ever-growing user base, LinkedIn is a prime platform to help your articles succeed!
Bonus Tips for Writing Articles on LinkedIn to Make Them Matter
One of the easiest ways to get more readers is to make your LinkedIn profile or company page public and your activity as shareable as possible.
To do this, open “Settings & Privacy” > “Visibility” to optimize visibility settings for your profile, network and activity.
You can also share other people’s articles on LinkedIn and add relevant commentary & hashtags to help more people find them.
The Share button is at the bottom of each article on your feed. Simply click on it and choose to “Repost” or “Share with your thoughts.”
Amplifying other content and engaging with others in general shows LinkedIn you’re active yourself, improving the reach from either your personal profile or your LinkedIn company page.
LinkedIn also enables sharing articles to Facebook and Twitter. Diversifying your reach across platforms grows your brand, showcases your expertise and attracts more leads
Ask others in your company and your network to share your articles from their own profiles too!
Lastly, if you’re thinking about outsourcing content marketing activities, you can scale the production of LinkedIn articles to post more frequently and help with discoverability even further.
Steps to Publishing an Article on LinkedIn
- Sign in to LinkedIn on desktop.
- Click “Write article” near the top of the homepage. If you run a company page, you can publish a LinkedIn article under the page or under your personal profile.
- Add a headline.
- Place your cursor in the “Write here” field to start writing your article. Use bold text, bulleted lists and other formatting elements to break up large text chunks and make it easier for readers to scan your article for key points.
- When you finish writing, proofread carefully. Then hit “Publish” and follow the on-screen instructions.
How to Write an Article on a LinkedIn Company Page: A Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Write an Attention-Getting Headline
The headline must be relevant to readers and let them know what to expect from your article.
Think about what your audience wants to read. Do they need tips on completing a task? Information on a new development in your field?
If you have specific readers in mind, such as executives in the technology industry, tailor your headline accordingly.
For example, say you sell a calendar app and are targeting executives in the tech industry.
Perhaps consider a benefit-driven headline (“Scale Your Productivity 3x With a New Kind of Calendar App”) since tech execs can be drawn in by messaging about growth opportunities.
Listicles and how-to articles do well on LinkedIn, so you may start with “7 Ways to Save Money on Tech Outsourcing” or “How to Increase Your Employee Retention Rate in 3 Easy Steps.”
If you promise something in the headline, follow through on that promise in the article. You don’t want to mislead readers.
Step 2: Create an Interesting Introduction
A good intro draws the reader in so they give your article a closer look.
Depending on the article’s purpose, you may want to open with a question, make a controversial statement or tell a compelling story.
Don’t start an article about credit cards with “We all know paying off debt is hard.”
Instead, unravel Sarah’s journey: “Once 28-year-old journalist Sarah decided to control her debt, she didn’t guess it would lead her on a path towards a global ambassadorship in fintech.”
Step 3: Use Short Paragraphs
Huge blocks of text turn off most readers. They also aren’t scannable and don’t work well for mobile users.
Try to limit most paragraphs to a few short sentences.
The first sentence, also known as the topic sentence, summarizes the main idea of the paragraph. Additional sentences support your main point.
Some paragraphs may just be one sentence. Writing for the internet means your prose shouldn’t exceed a high-school reading level, especially since LinkedIn articles are for top-of-funnel leads.
When you’re ready to share a new idea, move on to the next paragraph.
Step 4: Organize Your Thoughts
Don’t underestimate the importance of outlining so you can fully internalize the delineation of your argument.
It’s vital to use storytelling for articles because stories motivate more engagement from readers, leading to more conversions.
In many cases, writing with a classic “hamburger menu” style of thesis > supporting points > conclusion is a good way to make your point, or rely on rising action > conflict > falling action.
Use these storytelling techniques in blog posts when:
- You’re giving step-by-step instructions to help readers accomplish a task.
- Your article topic relates to historical events, such as the rise of industrial activity or development of new technology.
- You want readers to visualize something in a certain order.
If all else fails, organize your thoughts by importance. This is helpful to rank items or persuade readers to adopt your viewpoint.
If you’re writing a list of the five best software packages for accounting firms, for example, it makes sense to rank them in order of importance because people will want to see the top five.
Step 5: Focus on Formatting
Good writing is only one aspect of creating an appealing article. Also consider how formatting affects the reader’s experience.
Break content up with elements to help readers scan for information. Bulleted or numbered lists, data, images or subheadings make content more digestible and highlight key takeaways.
Give your article plenty of white space, the open space between design elements. White space focuses the reader’s attention and improves comprehension.
There’s less to immediately look at with white space, so people really engage with the content because it’s not intimidating.
Breaking up content and writing short paragraphs is the easiest way to add white space when writing a LinkedIn article for your company page.
Step 6: Cut the Fluff
Make your article exactly as long as it needs to be to get your point across. If you can explain a topic in 900 words, don’t add an extra hundred just to make the article longer.
LinkedIn content caters to executives, business owners and other professionals. They’re busy people with a limited amount of time.
As you proofread, cut out anything inessential to helping them understand what you’re saying.
Also remain vigilant in editing against the passive voice, repetition and run-on sentences, which all detract from succinct writing.
Step 7: Provide Expert Insight
The best way to build credibility and position yourself as an expert is to offer a completely new perspective, show you know your craft and cultivate your reputation.
If your article rehashes what’s out there, it won’t add much to the professional body of knowledge in your industry.
Can’t think of anything to write about? Here are some ideas to get the creative juices flowing:
- Explain how you solved a big problem in your business
- Discuss unusual solutions to common industry challenges
- Highlight how you helped a customer grow their company
- Write a rebuttal to a popular article by an industry colleague
- Read industry publications to find out what people are interested in learning about
Professional content writers can also help you curate topics for your LinkedIn content calendar. For instance, what categories and keyword-research can we take from your blog?
Once you learn how to write unique articles, you’ll distinguish yourself from other professionals in your industry.
Step 8: Speak Directly to Your Audience
Just because you’re writing for a professional audience doesn’t mean you need to be overly formal.
Use second-person pronouns to make it clear that you’re addressing the reader. “If you’ve been struggling…” and “Here are three things you can do…” are examples of this approach.
A second-person point of view makes it easier to connect with the reader and reassure them of your expertise.
Most importantly, leverage brand messaging. If you implement language that speaks to your audience’s anxieties, aspirations, challenges or fears—you’ll never be unpopular on LinkedIn.
Getting Help With LinkedIn Article Writing
Do you see how fun it is now to write LinkedIn articles?
LinkedIn articles empower your company to spread your message, assert your expertise in your field and attract new leads to increase revenue.
With an insane reach, negligible competition and a genuine readership, LinkedIn articles are a no-brainer authority statement for your business.
But if you don’t have a lot of time or still aren’t sure how best to write an article for your company on LinkedIn, then a professional article writing service helps.
Outsourcing article writing means you can establish your company as thought leaders, scale up production and more effectively draw attention to your brand.
(You know, so you don’t have to write every day, which maybe isn’t that fun!)