You have probably started receiving notifications from your Connections who are posting things. They are a part of a new, long-form publishing platform that LinkedIn is rolling out (and is not yet available to everyone).
A Post should not be confused with an update, a share, or a like, which have all been around for a while and appear in the streams of your Connections. LinkedIn provides additional details about the new, long-form posts in its Answers section.
This new publishing channel creates a previously untapped opportunity to place content directly in front of your Connections as indicated by a flag notification on their homepages. Individuals, not companies, can only create Posts.
I think these Posts have impressive potential, but it’s uncertain how they will play out once everyone has the ability to post. My fear is that we are about to become inundated with posts from our Connections, with constant flags, quickly diluting their uniqueness and effectiveness. There’s a certain level of annoyance that comes with a frequent poster to the stream, but this has the potential to be much worse.
So, what’s the right strategy to pursue? I think the answer is that you participate, but be very selective in what you put out there. Gain credibility within your network by authoring something educational or thought provoking. Be respectful, though, and don’t overplay the card. It will be very interesting to see data on how well posts are received (read or ignored) over time.
I invite you to read my first LinkedIn post: Bigger Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Better in Google’s Organic Results.
