Content Sharing and Repurposing – LinkedIn

According to some, LinkedIn has fallen out of favor as a social networking tool. Facebook, Twitter and even the newest kid on the block, Google Plus, seem to be getting all the love.

But LinkedIn has over 135-million members. That doesn’t mean they’re all active members, but 135-million is still nothing to write off.

As we continue talking about content sharing and repurposing, how do we leverage LinkedIn? In my opinion, LinkedIn actually gives us more options than other social networking sites.

LinkedIn Status Updates

Let’s start with the easiest option, the status update. This is just like a Twitter or Facebook update… a chance for you to share a new blog article or podcast, a speaking engagement, or a link to a helpful resource you’ve found.

One thing I find unfortunate about LinkedIn these days is how some people have abused the ability to update their connections. Before Twitter and Facebook became so popular, many people saw LinkedIn as their way to connect with true business connections. Maybe it was clients, maybe colleagues.

Today, though, it’s so easy to link multiple social networking accounts in one place you can share something and have it go to all your social media profiles at once. That’s made it far easier for people to share every passing thought to their LinkedIn connections as they’re also updating their Twitter and Facebook friends.

So, as always, use discretion when you update your status on LinkedIn. It is possible to “turn off” updates from a connection while still being connected to them. You don’t want people doing that to you, but it can happen if you’re updating too much, or talking about things that aren’t really relevant to business.

Personally, it’s rare I would ever do more than one update a day. And there are many times I’ll only update once or twice a week. In my case, most of my connections are clients or colleagues, not prospects. I’m not trying to sell to them. I’m just trying to be a resource and letting them know about new content they might find useful.

LinkedIn Groups

Groups is another part of LinkedIn that has value, but has been abused. Groups allow you to talk with other people on similar interests like marketing, start-ups, design… just about any topic.

The main idea is to discuss things… share ideas… help other people out. But far too often, people use it as a blatant sales tool or try to drive people to their sites to discuss issues there instead of within LinkedIn.

Still, if you find a good group where the group owner makes it clear that blatant promotion won’t be tolerated, you can find great opportunities to network and share your content.

In fact, it’s a great place to gather information when you’re creating content. If you want outside opinions on an issue, fellow group members are often more-than-willing to add their 2-cents if you’re upfront about why you’re asking.

And some discussions brought up by others have created a launching point to my own blog articles where I can address the topic and put my own spin on it.

While I don’t advocate popping into a group and posting links to new articles everywhere, I don’t see a problem with responding to someone else with a link to relevant content.

For example, if someone is asking about how to put together a business plan, and you wrote an article about it, go ahead and say so. I always try to give some information in the answer before providing the link. I think people appreciate when you try to answer a question as simply as you can and then link to an article that might have more information.

One of the benefits of including a link is that it’s not only the person who started the conversation that is likely to look at your information. Other people, even months down the line, who are interested in the topic may visit your site to learn more.

LinkedIn Q&A

This is, perhaps, my favorite part of LinkedIn and also where I’ve made many new connections. Like Groups, LinkedIn has many Q&A sections on different topics. It’s a place where people can ask a question and get answers from experts or at least other people who have been through the same problem.

Blatant self-promotion is strongly discouraged here. But just like I mentioned for Groups, it’s perfectly acceptable to answer a question as best you can on the site, and then point people to a relevant article (or podcast, or whitepaper, or video) where you tackled the question in-depth.

And like the Groups, it’s not just the person who asked the question who will be interested in your answer. Others who chime in may also be interested. Likewise, you may learn something new from others who answer. Also, don’t forget to take questions that are asked and create your own articles from them.

LinkedIn is still a strong site for connecting with other business people, whether it’s potential and current clients, or colleagues and potential business partners. Your existing content, shared in a respectful way, may be just the introduction you need to make a new connection, or land a new client.

By the way, my free guide, Connect With Your Connections, is available on the Klassen Communications Resource page. This short PDF tells the story of realizing I was connected to lots of people I didn’t really know, and what I decided to do about it. It’s a lesson I know you can apply to your own business.

Other articles in this series:

Content Sharing and Repurposing – Your Starting Point

Content Sharing and Repurposing – Twitter

Content Sharing and Repurposing – Facebook