The Difference Between LinkedIn "Articles" and "Posts"

A question from a network contact regarding the reach of LinkedIn "articles" (aka, LinkedIn blogs) versus LinkedIn posts (or status updates).

Q: Brenda, advise if I need to change anything on my LinkedIn, l am posting and adding articles as we discussed. Noticing that posts versus articles are seen more. I take it people don’t want to read too much. 

A: Excellent question and there's a bit of math, science, and social media karma that will contribute to your success with articles vs. posts. For the purposes of this explanation, I'm going to call "articles" blogs, which is what they really are.

First, the Math.

Consider the fact that LinkedIn blogs take more time to post than a status update. Therefore, it's typical for LinkedIn blogs are few and far between. Some people posts one blog per week. Some just once per month. Others may post a blog when the mood strikes.

I blog when the mood strikes. And when my network connections ask me a question about LinkedIn.

Compare this to posts on LinkedIn. If you're most people, you may post daily or just once a week. Your posts are short and sweet. Maybe a sentence or two. They don't take a lot of time to post, nor do they take a lot of time for your connections to read.

With posts, it's a volume and numbers game. If you have ten posts in a month and they each get an average of 2 likes and 1 comment, that's 20 likes and 10 comments.

Now back to blogs. When you do post a blog on LinkedIn, it pushes the blog link out onto your homepage feed, and any of your first level connections who are on LinkedIn at that moment in time and for the day or so afterward, if they scroll through their home feed.

If you're an established blogger and you have a following, you'll receive some likes, comments, and possibly shares. For one blog a month, you might get 5 likes and 1 comment. You might get more overall likes on a blog, but the total number of likes in a month is greater for your posts.

But do the totals really matter? And why are some posts shown repeatedly, and others go away into obscurity. The ones that are shown more often have a greater chance of gaining additional engagements.

Is this a popularity contest? Well, kind of. This takes us into the science.

The Science.

LinkedIn and other social media sites have an algorithm which dictates which posts stay at the top of the homepage feed for the longest period of time. I don't know exactly the scientific formula, but I do know that early traction (likes, comments, shares) within the first day the blog is posted, combined with substantial length of comments (five words or more) are all seen favorably by the algorithm formulas.

Which blogs will get the best response? It's a bit of experience and MAGIC.

When your first level connections engage with your blog (like, comment, share), it posts that activity along with your blog link on THEIR homepage feed, which then serves it up to their first level connections. If their connections interact with the blog (like, comment, share), it amplifies the perceived success rate of a blog.

Like, Comment, Share

I've seen this firsthand when a few of my more popular blogs (links below) have had engagement (likes, comments, shares) from my first level connections and their connections. It explodes. Like a science fair project with baking soda and vinegar.

So how do you make this happen? Well, that's where social media karma comes in.

Social Media Karma

I'm a big believer of engaging with your network as it builds up positive social media karma. Every time you help your network, you're essentially giving them a little present.

Those network connections will think favorably of you and will be eager to return the favor by sharing and engaging with your blogs and posts.

A few techniques I've found that are effective in building social media karma include:

• When someone likes, comments, or shares on your blog or post, go onto their LinkedIn and immediately like, comment, or share one of their posts. Yes, it's going to be obvious to them that you are returning the favor. That's the point.
• Seek out those individuals whose posts get a great deal of engagement. They know what they are doing. Focus your time and effort on these individuals. Like attracts like, so there's a good chance you'll find other connections who will do the same. Check out (and follow, then engage with content posted by) people like: Rita Fields, John Espirian, Lee Meadows, Terry Bean, Cathy McCafferty-Smith, and many others. If you have others to offer, please add their names / links to the comments in this blog. I'm always looking to connect with and follow great minds.
• Spend more time overall on LinkedIn helping your network vs. promoting yourself and your business. People don't like being sold to. However, rest assured that if you've built a good reputation for helping them on LinkedIn, there's a good chance they will refer business to you. I try to focus on just one post a week promoting my business. The remainder of my activity is focusing on others.
• Add more than the LinkedIn minimum when you interact. This applies to invitations, congratulations text, and even comments on posts. Make a conscious effort to post five words or more in a comment. Instead of just "congrats on the new position!" add to the end, "Best wishes in your new role. Sounds exciting! Happy 2018!"
• When someone comments on your post, reply back and thank them.
• When you read a helpful blog or status update and you're not yet connected to the person, reach out and connect to them. Personalize your invitation. Tell them that you found the post helpful and offer to be a resource for them.
• Help connections with their asks on LinkedIn, and do so with no expectation that they will ever return the favor. This might be by sharing their job posting, connecting individuals, or offering your advice or expertise.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to articles and posts, and which is better, my advice to you is this: first figure out what your goals are on LinkedIn. If you want to get greater engagement on blogs, make a plan. Map out how often you'll posts, who your target audience is, and what are the key messages or content focus areas you'll blog about. If your goal is simply to build up greater visibility, you might find better results with a daily post. If you post once a day on LinkedIn, you'll reach 60% of your network.

Regardless of your route, build up your social media karma. BONUS: if you have a good following, tag people and organizations in blogs - but make sure it's relevant to the blog. If you tag others, be sure to let them know, and there's a good chance they will share the blog with THEIR connections.

And finally, my rule of thumb is blog once, share multiple times. Your initial blog post shows up in your homepage feed. If your blog isn't getting a lot of engagement, it's going to move down the page. However, if you share your blog link with specific connections, in relevant LinkedIn Groups, and on your Twitter and Facebook, you're increasing your chances of that blog being read.

If a tree falls in a forest and nobody is there, does it make a sound? Of course it does. But if nobody is there to hear it, you could argue that no "sound" was made.

Same goes for blogs. If you post a blog and nobody is there to read it, it doesn't mean it isn't effective. It may mean that not enough people have had the opportunity to read it.

If you've applied all of the above and you're STILL not getting an increase in your blog readership and engagement, consider your blog topics. They may be perceived as too controversial. They may not be of interest to your readers. Or, you may not be reaching your intended audience.

Hope this helps. Please click to share if you found this helpful, and reply in the comments if you have any related blogs to share on this subject.

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Let's connect on LinkedIn: www.dhirubhai.net/in/brendameller

Check out these related blogs:

• How to Post a LinkedIn Status Update https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/how-post-linkedin-status-update-brenda-meller-zawacki-mba-msmkt/
• Want to Increase Your Blog Readership? https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/want-increase-your-blog-readership-do-things-brenda-meller-zawacki-/
• Blog on LinkedIn? Why Bother? https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/blog-linkedin-why-bother-brenda-meller-zawacki-/

Need some help with LinkedIn? I work with individuals and organizations to provide you with guidance and expertise. Visit www.mellermarketing.com to learn more.