How to Use a Blog Post as a LinkedIn Article

With LinkedIn providing a platform for users to write articles and publish their experience to share with their connections, it is no surprise people are itching to get writing. But what do you do when you already have a blog? I have many clients ask if they can use a blog post as a LinkedIn article and the answer is both yes and no. Confused yet?

Reasons to NOT Copy and Paste Your Blog to LinkedIn

• Your audience for your blog is generally slightly different than your LinkedIn followers; for example, while your blog is likely targeted to your market audience, your LinkedIn profile is likely viewed primarily by others in your professional field. By adjusting your copy to suit the platform and audience, you have a higher probability of engagement which is your ultimate goal.
• Google will be mad at you! When Google sees the same content appearing twice on two different websites, it flags it as duplicate content. Search engines perceive this negatively, as though you are trying to trick the search engine, and it will reflect poorly on your ranking.
• Duplicating content word for word across platforms shows a lack of creativity to your followers. When I see someone using their blog post on various platforms but portraying their message in unique ways specific to the platform, it shows they know how to use the medium properly and took the time to consider the audience before posting it.

So What Can You Do With Your Blog?
Let’s be honest: you probably don’t have the time it takes to write completely separate pieces for each platform, right? Consider the following ways to take a blog post and convert it into a LinkedIn article without upsetting the search engines of the world:

• Take this opportunity to tailor your post to your LinkedIn followers. For example, imagine you’ve written a blog post about Facebook’s recent changes to its algorithm. In the post, you voice your frustration about it, to the tune of several paragraphs. This is absolutely fine for your personal writing, if it fits with the general tone of your blog. However, LinkedIn is a platform for business professionals, and they will want to read about the facts about Facebook’s changes, not your tangent on how frustrating you found them. Consider whether you can rewrite your rant into a list of ideas or suggestions to help others navigate the changes, rather than complaints.
• Add or remove information. When I reread a blog post, I find myself thinking of additional points I want to add, or even deciding to remove some content. When you consider cross-posting from your blog to LinkedIn, take the opportunity to evaluate the content, adding additional ideas to support your key message or removing content that is out of date or does not support the key message.
• Reorder lists, bullets or numbered items. If you’ve written a professionally-toned blog post with ten ways to market online, shuffling the order of the points or re-wording the copy will avoid the trap in the search engine algorithms. Just make sure that if you do this, the content you’re sharing is appropriate for the new platform in addition to being modified for the search engine.
• Restructure your sentences and paragraphs. Move sentences and paragraphs around so you are still conveying the same message, but not saying the exact same thing. In addition to this, you can swap out words such as adjectives and verbs. As an example:

ORIGINAL COPY

Many of the best newsletters contain a combination of features, including a showcase of your products and services, resources for clients, and an opportunity to highlight all the ways you are a thought leader in your industry. When you become the source of great information in your industry, you are able to easily demonstrate your expertise and remain top of mind for your clients.

MODIFIED COPY

When you are the source of leading information in your industry, you can easily show your expertise and stay top of mind for your clients. The most effective newsletters contain a combination of sections, including helpful resources for clients such as articles and a showcase of your services and products, and give you the opportunity to highlight all the ways you are a thought leader in your industry.

In this example, I have moved words and sentences around but still share the original meaning of the paragraph. If possible, you might also rearrange paragraphs to change the tone of the content without changing the overall meaning.

To use a blog post as a LinkedIn article does require a bit of time, but not nearly as long as writing a new piece from scratch, and further allows you to enhance an existing post. This also allows you to keep your writing consistent across all mediums, no matter where you write.

Bonus tip: Take some of your older top performing blog posts and rework those first. I am talking about the ones that have been buried by all your new great content! These old gems had some great ideas and traction, so they only need a bit of new life infused into them so they shine!

Still not sure where to go with your blog or Linkedin articles? Not a writer but want an online presence? We can help! Contact us to get your articles and blogs rocking the online world!