The biggest and most powerful publishing platform on the planet is LinkedIn Publisher. Initially it was available only for those deemed to be 'Influencers' such as Obama and Branson but then they generously opened it up to mere mortals with a selected few also invited to be LinkedIn AUTHORS.
Publisher is the platform on which you're reading this (Pulse is the name given to the channels they've created to stream content) and the stats are staggering. There are more than 1 million unique writers publishing over 130,000 posts per week achieving unrivaled reach and engagement with over 380 million members all around the world with 2 new people joining per second. Almost half of the people publishing in LinkedIn are in the upper ranks of their industries (senior managers, VPs, CEOs, etc.) yet those publishing posts equate to less than one-third of just 1% of LinkedIn members! It's staggering that in the age of personal branding, more than 99.5% of LinkedIn members fail to take advantage of a game-changing feature enabling them to show insight and relevance in their areas of expertise.
Publishing enables you to attract and engage while demonstrating insight and relevance for your target market
Just 10 months ago, I decided to stop blogging on my website and go all-in here in LinkedIn. It was part of a deliberate strategy I formed to go and be where my market is to create audience as an author and speaker. I took this action after reading David Meerman Scott's book, The New Rules of marketing and PR and the results in just 10 months have been staggering: Ive grown my blog followers from 1,600 to nearly 10,000 and with well over 450,000 reads and huge engagement with likes, shares and comments. Note the statistics in the sample of 6 posts below.
I've published more than 250 original content posts here in LinkedIn and theresults have included being recognized as the #1 sales influencer in Asia-Pacific and one of top 100 B2B social media users globally. I've received invitations from magazines and blog sites to write for them and an approach from a New York publishing house for a book deal. I've invoiced substantial new business in speaking and consulting from sales conversations that ask; "Are you available and how much do your charge?" instead of me having to chase anyone or establish my credentials.
Publishing in LinkedIn is transformative and their generosity in providing the platform for free is changing the human engagement in the business world in ways we do not fully comprehend. It's time from LinkedIn to showcase the best and brightest who use their platform as it is intended; not as a narcissistic blasting platform for spamming or selling but for high quality community engagement where valued relationships are built, ideas are shared and value is created.
I write for Top Sales Magazine and they recently published their list of the Top 50 blogs but not one of these was on LinkedIn. The 15th annual weblog awards (The Bloggies) were conducted earlier this year and they are also yet to recognize anyone on the biggest and best platform on the planet which is LinkedIn Publisher with Pulse streaming content through its channels. Here is my question for the leaders at LinkedIn.
When is LinkedIn hosting the inaugural Publisher Awards and what will be the categories?
What's your opinion about LinkedIn Publisher as a blogging platform and Pulse as a publishing channel catering to special interests? What do you think the award categories should be? Share this article as an Update and Tweet this link to LinkedIn executives to get the ball rolling.
If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' and ‘share’ buttons below. This article was originally published in LinkedIn here where you can comment. Also follow theaward winning LinkedIn blog here or visit Tony’s leadership blog at his keynote speaker website:www.TonyHughes.com.au.
Main image photo from Flickr