Why publish on LinkedIn? - LinkedIn Tutorial

- As a college student or recent graduate, you're probably working to build your experience. You're probably networking, and simply doing whatever it takes to get a foothold in the industry you want to work in. A great way to do this is by sharing your experiences and your insights using long form publishing on LinkedIn. Why? Well, I'm gonna show you how blogging on the platform helps you to demonstrate your value to a potential employer, reach the professionals you want to reach, and build influence among LinkedIn's more than 450 million professionals world wide. Let me start by sharing a stat that blew my mind. Did you know that 45% of readers on LinkedIn are manager level and up? You know what this means right? This means, not only can you reach peers and connections with the content you publish, but you could potentially capture the attention of your next boss. That's one of the things that sets LinkedIn's publishing platform apart, your ability to reach a wide swath of professionals and get discovered. LinkedIn has more than 450 million members globally, and more than 130 million here in the US. This includes your professors, your peers, executives, entrepreneurs, potential funders of that great start up idea you've got, employers, and much more. What's great about this platform too is that users on LinkedIn are highly engaged. This makes it a great sounding board for your ideas. One millennial entrepreneur who publishes about his start up shared with me that writing on LinkedIn helps him engage in conversations both online and off, and stay top of mind among people in his network. You can also use writing on LinkedIn as a way to showcase what you know. By sharing your insights and perspectives, you're able to demonstrate and apply what you're learning or studying in school and hone your writing skills. Take Tai, a young professional who used writing as an undergrad to land his dream job. He wrote about marketing and digital media, but through the lens of a millennial. Because of his posts, he was invited to write columns for other outlets and was recognized as a top voice on LinkedIn and one of Forbes 30 under 30 for marketing. Like Tai, you can use publishing on LinkedIn to establish credibility and demonstrate your knowledge of an industry, ultimately putting your value on display to a potential employer. As one engineering recruiter shared with me, "I like thought leaders from entry level to CEO." In publishing on LinkedIn, you're also able to add personality and context to your profile. Take that internship you had last summer. It's one thing to list it on your LinkedIn profile, but why not write about that experience and what you learned as a long form post? Their might be 1,000 other people who have similar experiences, but when a recruiter is trying to narrow down who to hire, best believe your posts are going to help set you apart from the competition. In blogging on LinkedIn, you're essentially building and shaping your professional brand online, which is important to do early on, I can't stress that enough. Ask yourself, who do I want to be online? What do I want to be known for? What ideas do I bring? What knowledge do I possess that I can share with the world? What conversations do I want to start or be a part of? Now that you know why to publish on LinkedIn, it's time to get started.