Posting Only Original Content — a 45-Day Experiment

 I like patterns and observations, the ones you see pretty quickly, the ones that are a shout-out for attention. I’m not the person who is most likely to find the needle in the haystack. I’m the one who gets diverted a dozen times before the needle presents itself. You know what? On LinkedIn, that’s ok though.

Here are a couple of observations about content on LinkedIn:

• People are finally catching on to what to do with content on LinkedIn. They are stepping out and beginning to post, like, comment, and share.
• There is so much content, it’s now overwhelming especially since Sponsored Updates launched. I find the Sponsored Updates valuable for the most part.
• People are relying on third-party content more and more. I think this is ok in small doses, but just sharing “curated content” does not help people build their professional brands or subject matter expertise.
• An active network is so helpful; it creates a strong community. People talk and share, and you build your brand along the way.
• Original content is so much more interesting and, although it won’t be be reposted as much as some third-party content, I think it will actually create more value. This will be increasingly important now that LinkedIn has opened up their Influencer program to more people, 25,000 at launch.

With all of this in mind, it’s so interesting to see which of my posts get attention and play (likes, comments, shares). I like to share my friends’, colleagues’, clients’ content. I also share lots of other content, but recently I posted a blog from a colleague and client, Eliot Wagonheim, and within a few hours I had more than 250 views. That’s what prompted this experiment. I was surprised how much activity that original content created in a very short period of time.

Below is a look at some of the activity on my last few posts. One was original content and two were not.

Over the next 45 days (a bit in conjunction with Lent and its practice of giving up or taking up), I am ONLY going to share original content. I will post interesting, original content from  people I know within my network.

Why?

I want to see if it adds greater value to my network. There are so many people (me included) just reposting content from the likes of Social Media Today, Inc., Business Insider, and so many other sources. Those sites offer great content, no doubt, but after a while, I don’t think reposting adds a ton of value other than to say I agree or don’t. I tend to use reposting as a small touch and reminder that I’m part of a larger conversation.

If you know me, you know that I actually prefer to start the conversation. I have been fortunate enough to develop a strong, diverse network, so I invite you to send me your best content, and I’ll be happy to share it.  I also invite you to check in on the content I will share—maybe you will learn something about a new industry or idea, and maybe you will connect with new people. Let’s see what happens, shall we?

Want to learn more about my content experiment? Get in touch.