Publishing on LinkedIn: What You're Doing Wrong

As a writer, I was very excited when LinkedIn opened up it's publishing platform to the general public. You see, I believe writing is not for the elite, the talented, or the big wig CEO's. It shouldn't be limited to the few who can afford it, or those who prance around the universe claiming to be the best writer since Shakespeare.

Call me old fashioned, but I believe writing is the purest form of self expression; a real chance to really speak your mind. So why should it be limited on LinkedIn to those who are deemed "influential?"

But as soon as the floodgates opened, my excitement was quickly replaced with frustration. My once interesting LinkedIn news feed was now being bombarded with rigid, boring articles, blatant plagiarism and the worst offense of them all, copy and pasted press releases from the ye olde company website.

No, no, no.

"You've got it all wrong!" I wanted to shout. "This is not the way."

I want you to imagine that you had the chance for your article to be picked up by the New York Times. If you were going to write an article for the Times, what subject would you choose? How many times would you edit it and check the spelling before you submitted? How would you highlight your business, trade, or self employment in a humorous, gripping, or newsworthy way?

Writing on LinkedIn gives your writing the chance to be seen by millions.

I'm not saying it's the New York Times, but I am saying that your soggy old press release is not going to swim here. I'm saying that your plagiarized article that you copy and pasted from Forbes, should only highlight to your peers and colleagues what a phony you are.

If you want to publish on LinkedIn and really get recognized, here are four tips to do it the right way:

1. Head to the (Digital) Water Cooler

Every morning I spend the first hour of my day reading the news, perusing my specialty sites (for me that's Adage, Adweek, LinkedIn, and Twitter), and drinking an extra large cup of tea. This is my digital water cooler, the place where I discover all the gossip for the week.

William Faulkner once wrote, "Read, read, read. Read everything -- trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it.Then write. If it's good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out of the window."

I cannot call myself a writer if I know nothing about the world. I cannot live in the realm of digital marketing and not be a consumer of digital marketing. So I follow trends. I absorb. I am a living, breathing, human sponge.

If you want to know what to write about, simply follow what everyone is talking about.

2. Think Like Your Customer

Put yourself in your customer's shoes. What are they reading about? Where do they like to go? What do they like to do? Do you know anything about them?

Some of the best content is simple, funny, and lighthearted. It doesn't always have to be a boring summary of your quarterly report. Let's be honest, do you even read that?

Start thinking like a customer. Write the type of article that your customer would read, like, and share with their friends. The more the customer likes your writing and shares your article, the more organic traffic you are getting to your webpage.

If you must use your press release, take it and reinvent it for LinkedIn:

For example:

Your release: "Company X Just Launched New Product"

Your LinkedIn Article: "5 New Products to Watch in 2015"

3. Keep an Editorial Calendar

Content shouldn't be something you begrudgingly churn out every six weeks because your boss yelled at you that nothing is on your LinkedIn page. It should be fun and fresh and interesting.

In company meetings, start making a list of cool ideas for LinkedIn articles. Write them down and put a publishing date next to each one. Then divide up the work and get multiple voices on your company page.

Editorial calendars can be very helpful for productivity, sharing the workload, and producing new and original content.

4. News With a Twist

In my writing workshops, I encourage participants to think outside the box. To take a story or an article they have already written and come up with a completely new and exciting way to tell the story.

There are so many traditional ways of telling a story. There are so many articles that have been written and re-written and re-written again. It get's boring!

If the current method is not working, it's time to come up with a new strategy. Take a look at what is working for other LinkedIn writers. What articles appear in your Pulse? Use funny gifs or sparks of humor. Find meaningful stories from your company that your customers need to hear about. Video tape a real customer testimonial that will touch your heart.

LinkedIn articles should be a place to showcase the best of the best at your company on in your life.

Start using this publishing tool wisely!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Suki Eleuterio is a writer, blogger, digital marketing nerd, and yoga teacher with an addiction to social media. She relishes fresh, interesting content, especially the type that makes her think or shed a tear. Her writing can be found on MindBodyGreen as well as on her two websites: Found My Light and Sookton's Space. When she's not writing her book, she can be seen zen-ed out on a yoga mat or posting on every social media platform imaginable.