Each of us has a blog and we don’t realize it. It’s our LinkedIn presence.

That’s because each LinkedIn post is a blog post. And your LinkedIn account is your blog where all of your posts are housed.

LinkedIn has become a content hub over the past few years. It’s either your first or second Google search result which underscores its power. It’s where people go to find out information about you and it’s not just an online résumé anymore.

If you’re not using LinkedIn to post thought leadership and content that supports your brand and business, you’re not using it to its full potential.

It is free to do this, and you will reach a lot of potential clients, recruits, recruiters and referral sources.

Plus LinkedIn has a built-in audience, which your blog does not. It’s not easy to start a blog from scratch – trust me. It can take years to build a loyal audience.

You certainly can have your own blog but if you want to dip your toes into content marketing, start using LinkedIn to publish posts up to 3000 words and also use LinkedIn Newsletters and Linkedin publisher to create longform content.

All of the posts are editable and you can delete them. You have the same control over your posts as you would on a blog. You can also pin certain posts to your featured section to highlight them. And download the posts periodically so you have an archive of them.

You can start to write your own posts, how about these ideas:

1. Write a takeaways piece from a recent webinar or conference you attended

2. Provide a review of a book you read

3. Offer your opinion on an article or a topic in the news

4. Create a listicle post on pain points your clients are experiencing

5. Create a best practices post

Thinking about LinkedIn as a blog – even if you have a blog – is smart as it’s another way to amplify your content and reach a wider audience.

You never know from where your next opportunity will come. So why wouldn’t you use LinkedIn to its full potential?

Have you ever thought about LinkedIn as a your own blog?