For a lot of B2B marketers, creating & distributing content is a time-consuming and challenging process. Well, LinkedIn has conventionally been a text-heavy social network, but now has progressed into a powerful platform meant for hosting & distributing content.
Let us see how LinkedIn offers a great commercial opportunity regarding content marketing through three proven solutions.
- Pulse content platform
Well, Pulse is the self-publishing platform of LinkedIn that brands can employ to post content, especially for their subscribers. This seems to be a valuable platform to publish long-form content and perspectives depending on your field of expertise.
The content which is written in Pulse is easily distributable to other communities like relevant Groups or your very company page to maximize distribution as well as viewers.
Towards the top left-hand side of Pulse, there is a tab that is labeled “Top Posts”; it is used to find some inspiration for any content ideas.
Moreover, it is important that when you get to publish your post on Pulse, you label the post towards the bottom part of Pulse editor using appropriate categories like “online marketing” or “SEO”. Such category tags can make it easier and simpler for people to locate your post.
- Slideshare
It was in 2012 that SlideShare was purchased & integrated into the architecture of LinkedIn. SlideShare has made strong progress regarding LinkedIn’s goal of perhaps making it the biggest repository of expert knowledge available online.
Users of Slideshare can choose to upload files from PDF, Keynote, PowerPoint or OpenDocument presentations; you can view the slide decks on the site itself. One of the major ways in which experts can capture & demonstrate their expertise and knowledge is presentations; consequently, this helps in shaping their professional identity.
To support the content marketing process on LinkedIn, there are two major ways in which Slideshare could be used. They are:
- By adding presentations to each profile page
- Building your business page on SlideShare
Much similar to other social networks, it is possible to ‘like’ and ‘share’ the content on Slideshare, eventually enabling the combined ratings to serve as marketing guarantee for the brands as well as their content.
- Company Pages
Setting up your exclusive company page is easily one of the finest content marketing opportunities you can find on LinkedIn to promote your business. The best part is that this service is free of cost and comparatively easy to use.
Via a company page, it is possible for you to market your brand to LinkedIn network, thereby telling the story of your company and providing consumers and your potential customers a unique forum to discover about your brand, business, and people associated.
In fact, LinkedIn’s research shows that its users are nearly 50% more likely to buy from a firm that they like & engage with. While company pages are a preserve of big brands, they can be resourced easily by smaller businesses as well (if there is content output that is consistent).