Blogging 101: How to Utilise LinkedIn

Why use LinkedIn?

Network with PR agents and agencies

My degree is in marketing and as soon as I started university I was told to create a LinkedIn account and start building my own personal brand. Marketers and PR agents are specially trained to build themselves up as a brand – and they do this on LinkedIn.

Most professionals are also happy to link with you because there’s often benefits for both parties if you’re building a relationship to work on in the future. Creating contacts at agencies in particular are good as they will often keep you in mind for more than one brand that they’re working with.

Search Results

Google loves LinkedIn in its search results, and so if anyone is searching you name you want it to show up. You and your brand should be synonymous with one another and making sure people can find you, and then immediately find your blog is important.

Trust, professionalism and expertise

A LinkedIn profile gives a sense of trust because it’s all about you rather than your blog. You’re not just some random person on the internet who’s writing about things they love – you’re X and you’ve previously done all of this and you know work on this blog which has X, Y and Z statistics.

It also shows that you’re in it for the long haul rather than your blog being a passing fad. You seem more professional to those who may want to work with you, and you have some kind of expertise in how to create content for your audience. Because your profile lays out exactly what you do to make your website as good as it is.

How to use LinkedIn?

Create an allstar profile

Image – on your LinkedIn profile you should use a professional headshot of yourself as the profile image. Not your logo or a photo of you at a club – but one where you look presentable and a ‘suitable candidate’ for any job role (even if you’re not looking for a job).

Headline – If you also have a job, this should be in your headline alongside that you’re a blogger. Whichever one you want to push your career forward in should go first in your headline to cater to potential recruiters.

Summary – Similar to your CV this should be short and succinct but also informational. It should show who you are, what you’re doing and maybe what you want to do in the future (depending on whether you’re aiming for something).

URL – Change your profile URL to a personalised one. You can find this sitting by pressing the pencil button and going into contact information. For SEO purposes you should use your full name, although if you have a common name initials and middle names may need to be used.

Experience – Add in your relevant experience, but most importantly the current roles you are in. When writing about your blog and the position you have with it, remember to list skills as keywords within the text. You don’t just write and take photos, you’re a copy writer and photographer. You understand and implement social media marketing and work with affiliate partners.

Share Content

Sharing content is pretty much the same as any other social media site. You share you image or link with some context and people can like and comment on it – the exact same as Facebook. Except it’s not Facebook – make sure your content being shared is professional and the way you talk on LinkedIn is professional.

Company Profile

This isn’t necessary, but if you wanted to you could create a company page for your blog. Brand it all up just like any social media site – think of it as similar to how you would run a Facebook page.

Build Connections

Search for the people you already know, like friends, family and people you have worked with. Use your email address to find the PR agents you’ve previously spoken to and reach out to them. If you’ve been to any networking or blogger events do you remember who spoke at them? You can also follow people if you don’t want to request. Other bloggers are also a great shout to increase your network.

Join Groups

There’s so many different groups that you can join which have likeminded people. I’m part of the UK Bloggers and Influencers group which has nearly 900 members from across the country. This also has PR and Brands which drop opportunities into the group.