Creating and maintaining a blog is time-consuming, which is why many business owners give up on it. However, sharing content with your audience can attract and support customers.

If you don’t want to take the time to set up and contribute to a full-fledged blog, consider writing a few posts each month on your LinkedIn page. LinkedIn has a blog-like publishing feature that allows you to post content that is attached to your profile.

With 300 million users on the platform, you have access to a captive audience. Plus, a report from Econsultancy shows LinkedIn is responsible for referring 64 percent of traffic from social sites to business sites. That’s more referral traffic than Facebook and Twitter combined.

Ready to start blogging on LinkedIn? Here’s what you need to know:

How to post

Look for the “Publish a post” button at the top of your homepage. This takes you to the publishing tool. Write your long-form post, adding hyperlinks, images or video. Click the “Publish” button at the top right. Then confirm that you’re ready to publish your post by clicking either “Yes, publish it” or “No, not yet.”

What to post

Like other social media platforms, your LinkedIn page lets you publish virtually every form of content: articles, photos, quotes, company news, videos and even SlideShare presentations.

You’ll want to include a mix of useful, entertaining and promotional information. LinkedIn recommends that for every post promoting your company you create or share four that focus on industry trends or information that positions you as an expert in your field.

As for length, aim for a minimum of 300 words. If you can naturally add a link to a partner or relevant expert on LinkedIn, do so. While it can be tempting to always write short posts, more in-depth pieces are more likely to be featured on LinkedIn Pulse, a content hub that recommends articles to users.

Be sure to tag your post to increase its chances of being found. Current tags include industries like retail, skills like web development and fields like project management. You can choose up to three tags per post, but you can’t create your own.

When to post

According to LinkedIn, posting 20 times per month reaches a minimum of 60 percent of your audience, but even writing a few posts a month is beneficial.

In addition to frequency, it’s important to know the best days and times to post to maximize your reach. According to LinkedIn, most members use the platform during business hours. If you write something at night and on Saturday morning, wait to post it on the next business day.

Promoting your posts

Be sure to create a call to action at the end of each post. Encourage your followers to “like” your post, comment and share it. Add a question at the end to encourage people to comment, or add a sentence that asks readers to like your post.

Share your post on other social media sites. You can also include in an email campaign or newsletter by writing a summary paragraph and link back to LinkedIn. If you’re in LinkedIn groups and your post is relevant, share it with the group.

Responding to comments

Comments are flattering because they mean someone took the time to read your post. Keep the conversation going to build trust, establish your role as an expert, gather additional feedback and strengthen brand loyalty.

Like other sites, you can flag offensive comments made on your posts.

Analyzing your reach

Curious which topics garnered the most reads? Check your posts’ analytics by clicking on “View stats” next to “Edit post” underneath the cover image. You can see statistics like number of views, shares, and demographics.

You can use this information to tweak your content to improve traffic. See which days get the most views and which topics spark conversation. Use your demographics to gear content to that crowd.

LinkedIn is an excellent marketing tool that has the power to position your company as an authoritative figure and increase your customer base. Try creating a handful of posts each month and see what kind of results you get.

Learn more by checking out, “What LinkedIn’s New Blogging Tool Means for Your Business.”

Wendy Burt-Thomas is a full-time freelance writer with four books and thousands of published articles to her credit. Contact Wendy at WendyBurt@aol.com.

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