The professional networking site is expanding its "Influencers" program that began in the fall of 2012 and has included Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson and Martha Stewart. Over the past year or so, each has written insightful posts about the business world.
As of today, the ranks of LinkedIn Influencers has tripled from about 150 to about 500 including CEOs Ian Read of Pfizer, James Gorman of Morgan Stanley and Carlos Ghosn of Nissan.
The long-form content provided from such well-known business leaders is all part of LinkedIn's evolution from a job-finding site to a professional resource. Gates' first post about what he learned from Warren Buffett got 1 million-plus views in the first two days. (His latest lands today and is about the U.S. school system.)
"It's a very engaging platform that allows these Influencers to share their knowledge and for these members to learn great stuff from these influential people," says Ryan Roslensky, head of content products at LinkedIn.
And the rest of the more than 277 million LinkedIn members will soon be able to publish full-length content, too. As that capability is rolled out in the coming months, members can pen posts that will first go to their networked contacts. If they are well-read, LinkedIn's publishing platform will automatically distribute it to others based on their professional interests.
"It's great for them because they will learn something from one of their peers and it's great for the person who posted that because they will get great distribution and make their professional profile look better," Roslensky says. "We will be doing this on a massive scale."
Full-length commentary from members will have a ways to go to surpass the popular Influencer posts that are read, on average, by about 20,000 LinkedIn members, and generate about 200 comments and 300-plus likes. A tongue-in-cheek post by Cona! n O'Brien, published last week, about his refusal of the Microsoft CEO job, has been read by more than 350,000. Among the ideas he had for the software giant: "Every single version of the Windows operating system would have been voiced by Scarlett Johansson."
LinkedIn's continued influx of content -- and ability to charge for advertising -- not only improves the site's business model, but also increases its value to members. "The company has done a better job as of late at making its content more engaging," Brian Nichols (author of Taking Charge With Value Investing) noted recently on The Motley Fool. "The company really looks poised for longevity."
The overall goal for LinkedIn is to become the go-to destination for professionals, Roslensky says. "We want LinkedIn to be a place members come to be more effective and successful, not just when they are looking for a job or looking for people. We believe that content is a way to do that," he says. "We're making his commitment to our members: Give us 15 minutes each morning and make you better at your job today."
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