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Famous in your field tip: be a LinkedIn influencer
I’ve got a way that you can be more like Richard Branson.
Steal a little bit of Mark Cuban’s thunder.
Share the spotlight with Arianna Huffington and New York Times bestselling authors like Gretchen Rubin.
Yep, you. You can be an Influencer.
LinkedIn opened its Influencer platform, giving you the chance to join the 500 or so business celebs already publishing thoughts and advice on its platform. Now, as soon as you see the little pencil icon in your status update box, you can start sharing your own insights with your LinkedIn world.
The upshot? You’ve got a powerful new way to build your professional brand.
Here’s the lowdown on how it works:
As usual, LinkedIn is rolling out its new feature in waves, so if you don’t see the little pencil icon on your Status Update field, be patient. It’s coming your way soon.
Posts that you publish on LinkedIn appear near the top of your profile. This means that anyone who views your profile gets a big dose of your brilliance.
The articles, presentations or blog posts that you publish on the influencer platform also show up on your followers’ LinkedIn feed. (Followers aren’t the same as your LinkedIn connections. They are fellow LinkedIn users who’ve opted to get your LinkedIn updates.)
Why you should publish on LinkedIn
Now, I hear some of the protests: “I already publish a blog post and distribute it to all my social media channels. Why the heck should I publish more articles on LinkedIn’s publisher platform?”
Here are three reasons:
- Actually, how about 259 Million? (Users, that is.)
- 50% of all LinkedIn users are business decision makers. While Twitter is your cocktail party and Facebook is your backyard barbecue, LinkedIn is your grown-up serious business network.
- Influencer posts get a lot of play, too. Listen to Darmesh Shah, founder of $50+M marketing software company Hubspot:
…there’s the sheer power and reach of the platform. When I write on my personal blog (which is reasonably popular) an article will get roughly 5,000-10,000 views. If it turns out to be popular and is widely shared on social media, that number can spike to 50,000+ views.
But let’s compare that to how my content performs on the LinkedIn platform. I’ve posted 30 articles as an Influencer. The average number of views across those articles? 123,000!
Your Fame Boosting Assignment:
Write down five topics for the influencer articles you’re going to write when you see that little pencil icon on your LinkedIn profile. Boom! Now you’re on your way to 123,000, too.