LinkedIn is a powerful tool for connecting with people, building your brand, and generating leads. And, because it allows you to share your blog posts and articles, LinkedIn can be a valuable source of referral traffic.
But, if you want to get results from LinkedIn, you have to play by its rules. Rather than posting a blog entry and expecting people to read it, you need to approach the site strategically.
In this post, you’ll learn how to use LinkedIn to drive traffic back to your blog.
Optimize your profile
Your LinkedIn profile is the hub of all of your LinkedIn activity. To effectively leverage LinkedIn, you need to spend time optimizing your profile.
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First, make sure you’ve filled out every section of your profile. Potential clients and partners want to know you, not just what you sell. So, use your profile to tell the story of how your brand solves problems.
Use a keyword-rich headline, and include one to two relevant keyword phrases. Include relevant keywords in your summary and job description.
Finally, link to your blog and website from your summary. This will make it easier for people to find your content.
Build your network
LinkedIn’s search algorithm prioritizes content shared by your network. So, even if you’re not posting content regularly, you can still build up your network on the platform.
To get more connections, you need to post content regularly and engage with your network. For example, if someone comments on your post, you should always take the time to respond.
Don’t just copy and paste the same canned response. Take the time to engage. Mention something you have in common. And, be genuine.
Master LinkedIn groups
LinkedIn groups are communities where professionals in the same industry or with the same interests can interact. You can find these groups under the “groups” tab on your homepage.
As a thought leader in your industry, it’s tempting to join as many groups as possible. But, doing so won’t help you. You should join only groups that are well targeted, active, and relevant to your target audience.
One strategy you can use to figure out which groups to join is to look at the profiles of your highest-value customers. What groups do they belong to? What types of content are they engaging with? What types of discussions are they engaging in?
Remember, your objective on LinkedIn is to build your brand, connect with people, and get leads. Joining groups that don’t have any relevance to your brand or audience is like throwing money out the window.
Create content that gets shared
Once you’ve joined five to 10 relevant groups, start contributing. Don’t just share other people’s content. Start sharing your own content, too. And, don’t just share blog posts. Share any piece of content you publish. This can be an eBook, white paper, or guide to solving a specific problem.
To get people to share your content, you need to write with your audience in mind. Don’t just publish for the sake of publishing. Create content that adds value to your audience.
Send articles to individuals in your network
You can post content to LinkedIn Groups. But, you can also send individual articles to people in your network.
To do this, click the “share an article” button under your profile information. Then, choose the people you want to share the article with. You can send it to all your connections, or just a specific group of people.
Sending individual articles to people is a great way to build brand awareness and drive traffic. It’s also a great way to promote the content you’ve already published.
However, make sure to select individuals who are actually interested in the topic you’ve covered. You can add notes and tags to your connections to make it easier to remember who you sent what to.
You might be wondering how to tag someone on LinkedIn, as LinkedIn itself doesn’t offer this feature. Luckily, you can try CRM LinkedIn extensions that can help you add notes and tags and manage your connections.
Ask for feedback
While LinkedIn is a good place to promote content, it’s also a great place to get feedback.
When you ask for feedback, it’s important to be specific. Don’t ask for general feedback. Instead, ask the person to share a specific idea, take a specific action, or react to a specific conclusion.
For example, if you’re writing a blog post, you could send the article to someone and ask for their input. Don’t just say “What do you think of this article?” Instead, ask the person to share their number one takeaway from this article.
Getting feedback will help you improve the quality of your content. And it can help you come up with topic ideas for future articles.
Over to you
Use the strategies outlined above to drive traffic back to your blog. Remember, LinkedIn is a tool that should be used strategically. Don’t just post content for the sake of posting.
For best results, build a network of people who share the same interests as you. Then, engage with your network regularly, and leverage LinkedIn groups to promote your content.
What strategies do you use LinkedIn to drive traffic back to your blog?
