400. Four hundred. FOUR HUNDRED! This is how many times my blog post, “ ‘CFA credential implies a standard of care not always upheld,’ says Forbes opinion piece”, was shared, according to the ShareThis widget on my blog. “CFA” is short for chartered financial analyst, which is a credential that I hold.

I couldn’t have done it without LinkedIn Groups, the interest and affinity groups that you can join on the popular networking site. I shared my CFA credential post on three CFA-related LinkedIn Groups, where it generated conversations and clicks.

Here are the lessons I learned:

1. Sharing your blog posts on LinkedIn Groups can boost visits to your blog. Four hundred “shares” is above-average traffic for my blog.

2. A blog post targeted to hot spots of a few LinkedIn Groups can generate more traffic than a less-targeted post shared with many LinkedIn Groups. My popular post addressed ethics and fiduciary duty – topics that CFA charterholders care a lot about. I suspect that I couldn’t have generated another 400 “shares” by distributing my post to the rest of my 47 LinkedIn Groups.

3. You may wonder how to pick LinkedIn groups for sharing. Don't share every blog post you write in every one of your groups. If you blog frequently, you'll alienate group members who'll tag you as a relentless self-promoter. Instead, focus on sharing into groups with members likely to be interested in your topic.

4. Another tip: Solicit feedback from members of the group on your post. Asking “Do you agree?” and then responding to comments shows that you're not posting purely to generate page views. Plus, you may learn something from your exchange.

If LinkedIn Groups have generated good results for you, I’d enjoy hearing your success story.

Susan B. Weiner, CFA, leads a highly praised teleclass, “How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read: A 5-Week Teleclass for Financial Advisors.” She writes and edits articles, white papers, investment commentary, web pages, and other communications for leading investment and wealth management firms as well as financial trade publications.

Labels: Blogging/Blogging Strategy, Social Media, Susan Weiner