Blog on LinkedIn? Why Bother?

“I’m too busy to blog.”

“I have nothing to blog about.”

“I don’t see the value in blogging.”

“Who even READS blogs on LinkedIn?”

LinkedIn blogs are actually a great way to achieve many awesome things.

1. Demonstrate your subject matter expertise

LinkedIn is such an awesome networking tool on its own. Add in a blog or two or ten to your LinkedIn profile, and it’s like all kinds of bells and whistles to your LinkedIn profile. Let’s take me for example. I’m an experienced marketing leader. By sharing marketing tips in blogs like these, I am able to illustrate my expertise as a marketer. Sometimes I do so by blogging tips like I am today. Other times, I might be inspired by an article I read, by an event in my professional life, or by a question I receive from a network connection. (spoiler alert: a lot of my blogs are written in response to questions I get from my network. By blogging my response, I do two things: 1) answer the question posed by my connection. 2) amplify my response to a broader audience. As for YOU: what questions do people ask YOU about? Could some of these responses be blogs?)

2. Proactively reach your target audience

Every organization has this marketing challenge: how to reach its desired target audience. What I love about LinkedIn blogs is that you can publish a topic that people in your target audience may be interested in, perhaps on a subliminal level, but they may not be at the point that they are looking for product or service. Yet. The key word here is “yet.” Blogs plant a seed. Blogs provide valuable content that could turn a reader into a customer. Blogs allow your target audience to find you.

3. Extend your marketing and brand message

Continuing on with the topic of marketing, effective blogs can extend your marketing and brand message into new directions. Since blogs are written by an individual person, it’s that person’s voice and message. I’m talking to you through this blog. Can you picture my voice as you’re reading this? (If you weren’t before, you are now). I can and have used blogs to expand on a concept in my organization’s brand and marketing campaign. Since the blog is from me as an individual and not from the institution, you may be more open to the message. Studies show that people trust people more than they trust organizations. Imagine the potential of empowering your sales and marketing organization through blogs. Those rockstars would be rocking up a storm!

4.  Find a new career, freelance opportunity, or consulting gig

I’m sharing this tip for a few in my network who have reached out to me sharing their frustration with the job search process. You put in application after application. Day after day. No response. Or slow responses. Blogs give you the power back by helping to increase your visibility. Share some of your expertise and demonstrate to your targeted organizations how you can help them. BONUS: end your blog by letting your network know you’re available for consulting, freelance, or a new gig.

5. Express your positions on leadership or workplace philosophies, and inspire others

Some of my favorite blogs are those when I share my leadership and management philosophies. My most prolific blog “Have you hugged your employees today?” achieved over 2,000 views to date. The comments I received illustrate the power of inspiration.

6. Create positive social media karma through tags and shout outs

Those who know me know that I am a big believer in social media karma. Put positivity out to the universe and the universe will reward you with positivity. Tag people who share your philosophies. In my network, these are people I’ve met including Lisa Bower, Lara Galloway, Rita Fields, Ara Topouzian, MiVida Burrus, Terry Bean, Sherry Kenyon, Denise Beers-Kiepper, Denise Kulak, Lee Meadows, Cathy McCafferty-Smith, or Marilyn Opdyke. And people I haven’t met yet but hope to someday like Beth Crocker, John Moore PhD, and Susan Packard.

Q: BUT BRENDA, does it work automatically?

A: No. As with all good things in life, you have to put EFFORT into it. How?

For those of you who say “I’m too busy to blog.”

Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day. You will ALWAYS find time for the things you really want to do. And if it’s important to you and you really are too busy to blog, find someone to interview, ghostwrite for you, and provide you content for your blog.

For those of you who say “I have nothing to blog about.”

We all have something we could blog about. If you’re on LinkedIn, you’re in the professional world. Pick a topic that is related to your industry, your profession, your career interests, your target audience's interests, or your philosophies on professional success.

For those of you who say “I don’t see the value in blogging.”

Through blogging, you reach an elusive audience who you may not be able to reach otherwise. If you have all the customers you could possibly manage, if you’re in your dream job and at the top of your career, if you feel your marketing efforts are fully optimized and couldn’t benefit from additional exposure…. Well then you wouldn’t be reading this, would you?

For those of you who say “Who even READS blogs on LinkedIn?”

Well, my friend, if you made it this far, >YOU< read LinkedIn blogs. And I happen to think you're pretty awesome. Click to share, and then start blogging. Tag me and I’ll share your blog on my LinkedIn homepage with my 5,200 LinkedIn connections. You may be pleasantly surprised to find that a whole lotta people are reading YOUR blog.

Let's connect: www.linkedin.com/in/brendameller

(click MORE and mention you read my blog about blogs!)