Over the past few years, Linkedin has added some wonderful, free features that can help bloggers maximize their online efforts. Below are some of the top activities you can do to not only increase blog awareness, but generate traffic and, ultimately, engagement levels:
1. Join Groups - Your free Linkedin account will limit you to 50 groups, and my advice is to take advantage of all of them. Join groups in your core market that cover topics similar to those you blog about. You can join or leave groups risk-free at any time.
*Tip: Try to join groups with at least 500 members, but not more than 5,000. If the group is too small, you're wasting valuable group allowance and will not be reaching as many people as you could. However if the group is too large, you're running the risk your message will be diluted among thousands of other posts. I like to aim for a more tight-knit group in the 1,000 member range. Remember, you have 50, so 1,000 members in each group equates to an audience of 50,000 people.
2. Make Friends - Start connecting with your fellow groupies. Linkedin is like a mini-rolodex, and the more people you connect with, the larger your blogging network and distribution list will become.
* Tip: At any time, you can export your Linkedin connections to Excel and import to your desired e-mail program to alert them of new blog posts.
3. Share Your Content - Share relevant, meaningful content that links back to your blog. Post relevant discussions in groups and comment on other posts. Short on time? Try using RSS. In many situations you can contact the group owner and set up your Blog feed to auto post content within the News section of your group.
*Tip: Linkedin has an easy-to-use content sharing feature that makes it extremely easy to post a link to multiple groups at the same time. Once you've posted a new discussion, click the down arrow and select "Share."
4. Have Fun (and don't spam!) - Linkedin is a free and easy way to promote your blog posts while building your own professional network. You can easily share as much blog content that you feel your group will be interested in, but try not to abuse the platform by overposting or spamming.
*Tip: My advice to those sharing on Linkedin is to 'keep it real' and keep it relevant.
Good luck!