Research shows that internet users are increasingly turning not only to Google and search engines, but also to social media sites for news and information.  And you've heard us say before that it's beneficial to let go of your content by publishing it in multiple places.  After all, the more places you share content, the more eyes will see it.

That's why we're excited about LinkedIn's new news-sharing features, announced yesterday .  Here's a quick, 47-second overview of the enhanced features.   


8 Enhancements to LinkedIn's Sharing Feature:

  1. The ability to specify who will see your updates (everyone vs. only your connections or just specific people, groups, etc.) 
  2. A customizable, sexier preview of the content you're sharing (via images, article excerpts, etc.)
  3. The ability to preview, edit or delete content you're sharing
  4. A re-share feature that allows you to easily share content posted by someone else (think of it as a retweet on Twitter )
  5. Ease of off-site sharing for articles you find shared on LinkedIn
  6. Availability of shortened lnkd.in URLs for simple sharing
  7. Attribution to the original link-sharer for content you re-share to your network
  8. The ability to keep your LinkedIn profile fresh and updated by making the items you share public

Why Marketers Should Be Excited

It seems like LinkedIn modeled its new enhancements a little bit after Facebook and a little bit after Twitter, and we're definitely fans.  We can speculate that allowing users to make the content they share on LinkedIn appear even sexier will increase the chances that people who come across that content will A) read and B) share the content themselves. 

Although the chances that a person will spread your content largely depend on the quality of the content itself, it's also important that the content first catches their attention.  Therefore, make sure it has a compelling and attention-grabbing title as well as an aesthetically pleasing image .  And now that you have the ability to edit the excerpt that describes the content you're sharing, use the opportunity to write a description that people won't be able to pass up.  These details will help draw your reader to the content in the first place. 

What do you think of LinkedIn's new sharing enhancements?  Will you use the channel to share content more now that LinkedIn has implemented increased functionality?

 

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Originally published Apr 22, 2010 1:01:00 PM, updated October 20 2016

Topics:

Social Media Engagement