That sound you’re hearing is a collective gasp from the thousands of execs who used to blog on HuffPost.
The Verizon-owned publication recently announced it was shutting down its free blogging platform. Some 100,000-plus contributors used it to provide HuffPost with free content.
It’s the end of an era, but the beginning of a new one too. As we’ve seen recently on YouTube, letting content creators run wild can backfire. At HuffPost, with so many contributors, there was no way to maintain any level of quality control.
Unfortunately for executives who were dependent on HuffPost to share their points of view, they are finding it tougher to get published elsewhere. In our experience, many publications appear to be getting stricter on submissions or are limiting the number of submissions they are willing to accept from outside contributors.
What’s Next?
As a result, we are advising our clients to look more closely at self-syndication – especially on the social networks. No. 1 on the list is LinkedIn.
LinkedIn’s SEO is excellent now. So, for example, if you blog about a “PR management crisis,” your post has a good chance of showing up in Google’s first or second page. To make the platform work though, you need to go beyond posting a piece and connect with your LinkedIn network.
After posting your article, there are many tools to extend the reach of your post, from sponsoring it to creating a text ad. Many executives are also creating LinkedIn slideshare presentations based on their articles to extend the life of their pieces.
Want to make your post go further than LinkedIn? Then create a customized email distribution list or post creative Tweets about your latest piece.
The Bottom Line
While many executives may have been disheartened to hear about HuffPost’s decision, the future is bright for those executives who pursue a self-syndication strategy – especially on LinkedIn.