If you have not been tuned in lately, I hate to have to break it to you, but content is king and LinkedIn agrees. LinkedIn in the past couple of years has positioned its network as a publishing platform and encourages all users to create, like, share and comment on content on a daily basis. How you go about sharing is different for everyone. I would argue that no two people have a strategy that is exactly the same. We frequently hear people groan over not knowing how to share — wanting a blueprint on how to do it correctly. In hopes to set your mind at ease, I asked my colleagues about their sharing personalities. I hope their responses offer insight on just how different content curation and sharing is from person to person. But first, let us take a look at how to share content on LinkedIn and why it is important.
How to share content on LinkedIn
I explained how to share content with your personal network, on your company page, and in groups in my recent blog post: LinkedIn for B2B Marketing: Make It Work for You. Taking sharing a bit further, LinkedIn also allows you to share from LinkedIn Pulse, other websites, and through liking.
Pulse
Pulse is LinkedIn’s app that makes news easy to consume whether on your computer or on the go, and it is packed full of great content worth exploring and sharing with your network. When you’re finished reading an article, click on the forward arrow to share it with your network.
Other websites
When browsing any of your favorite websites and blogs, chances are they have set up social sharing options to make it easy for you to share their content. Just find the LinkedIn icon, and it will usually open a new window for you to add a customized message before sharing with your network, group(s), or individual(s).
If the website doesn’t have any social sharing icons, you can still share its content by downloading and using the LinkedIn Sharing Bookmarklet. The bookmarklet works for Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, or Safari browser.
Liking
The most overlooked way to share content on LinkedIn is through “liking.” When you like a post on LinkedIn, that “like” is then shared with your 1st level connections.
This, in return, spreads the reach of that piece of content.
Why sharing is important
Being active on LinkedIn is key and often dramatically increases your chances of starting conversations and creating new opportunities. With LinkedIn being the third fastest growing social network, it is a definitely a platform to consider for your marketing. (One in three professionals on the planet are on LinkedIn.)
When people spend time on LinkedIn, they are investing and mining time for professional development, whether personally or for their company. Furthermore, 50 percent of LinkedIn’s members report they are more likely to buy from a company they engage with on LinkedIn. So whether B2B or B2C, you want to be seen by these individuals and you need to be active.
The sharing personalities at Intero
To offer an example of just how different share personalities are, let’s take a look at the sharing habits of the folks at Intero:
“I work in clips and tend to see a bunch of things I want to read, comment, like and share at once, so I have to stop myself and not barrage my network. I will often save a headline or link and save it to Evernote and share it later. I am working more at sharing original content from the people in my network…that is important to me.”
– Colleen McKenna
Read more about Colleen’s experiment to share only original content here.
“I’m a early riser and lunchtime sharer. I share more earlier in the week than later and I share multiple things at one time. I do a scan of my home page, early, share a couple things. And I do the same thing at lunchtime.”
– Lynne Leidy
“I’m the random content sharer. I typically only share when a topic piques my interest, teaches me something that others can learn from too, or gives someone in my network a shout out. I think having a workout share plan would help me be more consistent.”
– Lindsey Stemann
“I usually only share 1 or 2 things per day. I tend to focus on subject matter that speaks to me – company culture, leadership, recruiting, interesting people and other “cool stuff.”
– Erin Dore
Personally, I’m a practical sharer and try to share content that will in some way make the lives of the people in my network better, like a tip, an infographic, or a how-to. Overall, we all have different approaches to sharing content on LinkedIn and our strategies are constantly being tested and adjusted.
What’s your LinkedIn sharing style? Let us know in the comments.
For more information on what to share and how often, take a look at these 7 Essential LinkedIn Marketing Stats: When to Post, What to Post and How to Improve. If you need help planning or implementing your own content strategy on LinkedIn, I’d be happy to help: Contact me.
