Posts vs. Articles: Elevating Your LinkedIn Content Strategy

Let’s talk *long-form* on LinkedIn. We know that posts are a great way to connect with your audience immediately. Yet, could long-form articles be the key to unlocking greater visibility and credibility for your brand on LinkedIn? What would that mean for your content strategy?

Users describe LinkedIn posts as having engagement that is a bit of a flash in the pan. Engagement is immediate and sometimes plentiful, but it peters off after about 24 hours. All that effort can leave you feeling a bit let down. Very much, “All that work, and what did it get me?”

Think of LinkedIn articles as the long-form sibling to posts. While posts are capped at 3,000 characters, articles give you up to 25,000 characters to dive deeper. They live permanently on your profile under the “Activity” tab.

We think articles are the new sweet spot for expanding on thought leadership, SEO, and engagement. In this article, we’re going to explore why LinkedIn articles are a powerful addition to your LinkedIn content strategy.

Why Long-Form Content Matters for Your LinkedIn Content Strategy

As much as it may seem like long-form content might be on its way out, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Sure, short form delivers faster “results”, but it doesn’t mean that those results are better or more effective.

The fact is, LinkedIn is a (slightly) untapped publishing platform. Simple posts already have a large word count limit. So, it’s clear the Blue website wants users to stay on the site, connect, and learn.

Long-form content is a way for you to invite your audience in and discuss topics from your lived experience. To really build on that important thought leadership element of storytelling.

Sure, you can do this in a post, but will people read it? Let’s look at some stats:

• The average internet user’s attention span is pretty brief – only 8.5 seconds. In fact, some users decide if they want to keep scrolling within three seconds. If you’ve got something to discuss at length, that’s not a lot of time to “hook” your audience.
• Now, with long-form content, the stats are more forgiving. Research shows the average reader spends 96 seconds on a blog post, with only 43 percent opting to skim through.

There appears to be a cognitive shift with a short social post versus long-form content. The intent is different. While skimming and page bounce will still happen on an article, readers who do engage are more invested.

This is why integrating long-form content into your LinkedIn content strategy is so key – user behavior is different.

The SEO Benefits of a LinkedIn Content Strategy

For several years now, Google has been gradually indexing content published on social media and including it in the SERPs.

The SEO benefits of a LinkedIn content strategy can’t be overstated. LinkedIn has a high domain authority, which means that content published on this platform is likely to rank well. Of course, this depends on the content and how well optimized it is, but you can see the appeal.

A LinkedIn article that ranks well on Google won’t have a direct impact on your website discoverability. However, your LinkedIn profile will be highly discoverable.

How to Optimize LinkedIn Articles for Search Visibility

The good news is that optimizing your LinkedIn articles for search is the same as optimizing a blog for search. The core components of Google’s EEAT principle still stand: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.

When writing your article, incorporate your chosen keywords as naturally as possible. Include metadata like descriptions, summaries, subheadings, and heading content.

When writing, try linking back to other LinkedIn content to boost engagement and use external links sparingly and judiciously.

Thought Leadership: Positioning Your Brand as an Authority

Anyone can publish, but brands that consistently talk about their clients, their expertise, and their experiences rise above the noise.

While publishing posts is great for quick wins and daily moments, articles allow you to explore thought leadership much more deeply.

As we’ve established, users will spend more time on an article than they will on a post. This means more opportunities to share your unique perspective, insights, data, and more. Simply put, articles let you put a little more heart into your LinkedIn content strategy.

What Makes a Thought Leadership Article Stand Out?

We recently explored this question on our blog. Check out our article, Storytelling in Content Marketing: How to Make Your Brand More Engaging and Memorable.

In short, you’ve got to tap into your audience and understand what they want. Focus less on facts and stats and more on your experience. Shift the focus to the outcome of your story and how you got there.

True resonance in storytelling starts with working back from the last page of the book, so to speak.

When to Use Posts vs. Articles in Your LinkedIn Content Strategy

At this point, you’re likely wondering how posts vs. articles on LinkedIn fit in with your content marketing.

Posts are perfect for quick engagement, team member updates, company updates, and trending topics. Think topical content that wouldn’t really fit as an article. Use concise, clear messaging that encourages the user to read and react!

Articles are perfect for evergreen content that will stand the test of time. Industry analysis, step-by-step instructions, or complex topic breakdowns.

The great news is that posts are easily converted into articles. In fact, posts can be a great way to gauge interest in a certain topic before expanding it into an article. If a post sparks engagement or debate, that’s your sign to explore turning it into an article.

Ask yourself, “What did I hold back on? What would make this even more valuable?” Hone in on your core points. Then, easily expand on your original idea by adding more context, quotes, and examples.

Best Practices for Writing High-Performing LinkedIn Articles

If you’ve ever written a blog post, you’re already on the right track for writing a great LinkedIn article! Here are a few best practices to keep in mind when writing:

• Lead with a clear, concise headline: Make it obvious what your article is about and why it’s worth reading.
• Format for skimmers: Break up your content with subheadings, bullet points, and short paragraphs. Remember, many readers skim, so make it easy for them.
• Use visuals: Graphics, charts, or simple images can boost engagement and keep your reader’s attention.
• Keep readers on-platform: Link to strong sources when needed, but avoid overloading your article with external links. LinkedIn favors content that keeps users engaged within the platform.

Measuring the Impact of Your LinkedIn Content Strategy

Integrating LinkedIn articles into your content strategy is half of the equation. Like all other social platforms, LinkedIn has a pretty intelligent analytics tracking platform. Taking the time to track how your work performs is how you’ll continuously improve and get better results.

Start by diving into LinkedIn’s analytics dashboard, which is available for both individual and company profiles. Here are the key metrics we recommend focusing on:

• Reach + impressions: The most straightforward indicator of performance. This is how many people saw your article on the platform. Reach reflects unique views, and impressions reflect total views.
• Likes, Comments, Shares: These are engagement metrics. They tell you how your content resonated with your readers. Shares are key, as they put your article in front of a new slew of LinkedIn seconds and thirds.
• Individual post analytics: Use this section to get info on job titles, industries, and locations. This can help inform future targeting.

How to Adjust Content Based on Performance

This at-a-glance data is powerful. Once you have a few articles under your belt, you’ll have a good idea of what’s working and not working.

Align this data with your goals. For example, let’s say you want more comments and views. Ensure you’re approaching a topic from your own point of view—even if it’s a little controversial. Keep it professional, but if you’ve got a hot take or unpopular opinion, that’s a surefire way to increase engagement.

The Next Step: Incorporating LinkedIn Articles Into Your Broader Content Strategy

We love the beauty of repurposed content. One great thing about content marketing is that there are genuinely so many fun ways to say the same thing.

Adding LinkedIn articles to your overall content marketing plan does not have to be hard! You can easily cross-post (with some tweaks) from your blog to LinkedIn and vice versa.

More than that, you can take these concepts you’re writing about and integrate them into other content. Link your article in your email newsletters, repurpose your article to an Instagram story, Facebook post, and more.

Repurposing LinkedIn Articles Into Other Content Formats

Long-form content is literally a treasure trove of content ideas to reduce, reuse, and recycle! Here are our favorite ways to do this:

• Short-form video: Use the subheadings and punchy sentences as text overlay for a Reel or TikTok
• Infographics: Convert data and instructions to a compelling and attractive graphic to re-share on Instagram, Pinterest, or Facebook.
• Podcast segments: Use your article as a script or outline for a podcast episode
• Bite-sized content: Break your article into two to three posts over the next few weeks. Link back to the full article for context!

Using LinkedIn Articles to Strengthen Overall Brand Presence

Publishing a single article once in a blue moon won’t move the needle much – consistency is key. Regularly publishing can seriously elevate your brand (or personal) presence over time.

Use each article as an opportunity to showcase your experience and point of view. This activity signals to users that you’re active, a credible source, and genuinely invested in your industry.

Building a Stronger LinkedIn Content Strategy with Articles

Oversimplified, we can look at it like this: short-form content gets you found, while long-form content builds your reputation. LinkedIn articles provide greater visibility, SEO benefits, and thought leadership opportunities compared to short posts.

It’s time to take action! Analyze your existing LinkedIn content and identify top-performing posts that would perform as long-form articles. Then, make publishing a regular habit while also integrating your articles into your broader content marketing strategy.

About the Author