Think ‘LinkedIn’ and the first things that probably spring to mind are recruitment ads and the ‘please add me to your network’ messages that drop intermittently into member mailboxes.
But there’s more to LinkedIn than networking and job hunting. In a bid to establish itself as a content hub for its 300 million users, the social network has been quietly but enthusiastically developing its Pulse content channel, delivering news and blogposts from a community of “influencers”.
And the channel, which has been up and running for about a year, does appear to be gaining traction. So far seven blogs have notched up more than two million views with many more achieving audiences in the hundreds of thousands.
There is undoubtedly an opportunity here. For business-focused bloggers and content creators, Pulse provides a means to address a community that includes some of the world’s most ambitious people.
But here’s the thing. Ambitious successful people also tend to be time poor and hugely selective about what they read. So the question is, how do you catch the attention of the LinkedIn audience? An analysis of the top seven best performing blogs on LinkedIn provides pointers that not only apply to LinkedIn but also to some of the key principles of content strategy.
1 Understand your Audience
LinkedIn’s primary purpose is to help its users develop their careers, either through making useful contacts and sharing information or by keeping a weather eye on the recruitment ads. The blogs that succeed on LinkedIn are those that reflect and directly address the aspirations of that audience.
Witness the current number one blog. Clocking in with a cool 3.5 million views, Dr Travis Bradberry advises readers on how to maintain peak performance by controlling stress. Elsewhere, in the top six, there are blogs on “toxic” characteristics that impede progress in the workforce, the key attributes of good leaders and the biggest career mistakes. For the most part it’s highly practical advice and insight aimed at people who are seeking to enhance their performance while also navigating a way through the pitfalls of commercial life and office politics.
As such, LinkedIn’s top blogs highlight a key principle of content management strategy – as set out in BlogStar’s Seven Steps to a Content Strategy eBook – namely the importance of understanding your audience and providing relevant content.
2. Find a Big Problem
So what does this mean in practice?
Well by definition, LinkedIn’s users are ambitious and many are successful but that’s not to say they don’t face challenges or wrestle with career worries. So LinkedIn’s most successful bloggers home in on the concerns that keep their readers awake at night. For instance, for those who feel their careers are stagnating, then success coach Kathy Caprino might be able to help by identifying the ‘toxic habits’ that could be blocking progress. And if the search for a new job isn’t going too well, check out Google SVP of People, Laszlo Block on the most common “resume” mistakes.
3. Action Points with Style
And once you’ve hooked the reader with a recognised problem, offer a clear solution that could be broken into easily digestible blocks.
It’s important to find a style that delivers your message effectively while also being appealing to the audience. Numbered action points are commonly used, such as David Kerpen’s “11 Ways to Become a Better Leader” and Cathy Caprino’s 6 toxic behaviours (and how to recognise them).
This works on a number of levels. First and foremost, a list of solutions (or issues to address) provides a clear menu of action points that can be read quickly and easily. The message: Maybe you have a problem. This is what you do. A step-by-step solution.
But importantly the menu is A La Carte. They may not read the whole thing but he or she can pick out a headlined section that seems relevant or interesting.
4. Be Definitive – The Hook is In the Headline
Successful blogs don’t mince their words. Laszlo Block doesn’t talk about Resume mistakes. No, he sets out “the biggest” errors. Readers are left in no doubt that this is the definitive guide. Meanwhile David McKeown talks of the “Number One” career error.
The effective headline says “must read” rather than “maybe you’d like to have a look at this when you have a moment.”
5. Be Credible
To be definitive you have to be credible. Our LinkedIn bloggers are not necessarily saying anything new, but stylistically what they do say is carried off with a degree of chutzpah, coupled with stylistic confidence, underpinned by credentials or life experience that suggests what you say is worth listening to.
Your credibility might stem from transparent success (Bill Gates is there at number 8), your role (Laszlo Block heads the people management of a company that has some world-renowned HR practices) or because of your track record as a writer (David McKeown is a best-selling author). You don’t need to be Bill Gates, but you do have to give people a reason to sit up and take notice of what you say.
And again, this is a principle that applies to all content strategy. Successful Vloggers on YouTube build audiences of millions because their audiences like them or trust what they say.
6. Have an Objective
So why blog on LinkedIn? There is no one reason. For consultants, say, establishing a following on LinkedIn – or any social network – is a good way to get leads, for an author it’s a means to sell books. For a company executive the benefits are perhaps less direct but nonetheless tangible. By providing good advice you enhance your company’s reputation (indirectly good for business) or raise the profile of your personal brand. As BlogStar’s eBook points out, the perquisite is to have some clearly defined objectives and use your blog in service of those goals while also serving the reader.
Ultimately success as blogger is about providing something ‘useful’ or ‘entertaining’ in a package that suits the medium, the website and the target audience. That principle holds true not only on LinkedIn but wherever your audience can be found.
The top 7 best performing blogs on LinkedIn
How successful people stay calm – Travis Bradberry, 3.5 million views
Toxic Behaviours that Push People Away – Kathy Caprino, 2.8 million views
11 Simple Concepts to become a better leader – David Kerpen, 2.7 million views
Caffeine: The Silent Killer of Success – Travis Bradberry, 2.1 million views
The Number 1 Career Mistake – David McKeown, 2 million views
The Biggest Resume Errors – Laszlo Block, 2 million views
The One Thing Successful People Never Do – Bernard Marr, 2 million views
See LinkedIn’s top posts of all time here.
