LinkedIn’s publishing platform, which started as a small experiment available to just the “influencers” the professional network deemed worthy, is now available to millions of its members.
See also: LinkedIn Has Quietly Rolled Out A “Follow” Button To Millions Of Users
Roughly 15 million people now have access to LinkedIn’s publishing tools, the company stated in its second-quarter earnings press release on Thursday.
With LinkedIn’s publishing platform, anyone can share their professional expertise in a long-form post, and anyone can follow you and read it. The publishing platform generates over 30,000 weekly long-form posts, according to LinkedIn. Basically, it opens up a wider audience for LinkedIn members—mutual following is not required. (As ReadWrite reported earlier today, LinkedIn has quietly but dramatically expanded the option to follow other members.)
When LinkedIn opened up the publishing platform to just 25,000 members in February, it stressed the importance of building a professional brand, and that publishing is one way to do it.
When a member publishes a post on LinkedIn, their original content becomes part of their professional profile, is shared with their trusted network and has the ability to reach the largest group of professionals ever assembled.
To publish a post on LinkedIn, simply click the status bar the way you would if you were writing an update. In the right corner—if you’ve been granted publishing privileges—there’s a pencil icon to create a post. When you click on it, it will push you into a composer, and you can start writing.
If you don’t have access to the publishing platform yet, you will soon. LinkedIn is slowly rolling it out to more members.
Lead image via Marisa Vasquez on Flickr
