Now that you’ve read up on some LinkedIn basics like how to set up a LinkedIn profile, you may be ready to explore some of the more unique aspects of LinkedIn.com such as LinkedIn “Pulse.” However, when LinkedIn updated its interface at the start of 2017, it stopped offering LinkedIn Pulse as a separate feature of LinkedIn, and now integrates it into your homepage newsfeed. In this article, we’ll explain what LinkedIn Pulse is, and help you make the most of it, so you can enrich your experience using LinkedIn.
So, what exactly is LinkedIn Pulse?
LinkedIn Pulse is a collection of articles providing analysis of and insight into today’s global political, social, legal, and economic issues. Many are written by notable public figures in business, government, and philanthropy, and are designed to help you find success and enrichment in business, and in your life.
There are many wonderful contributors to LinkedIn Pulse, including Richard Branson of the Virgin Group, Bill Gates of Microsoft, Dr. Deepak Chopra, Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post, and even American President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron. If you have some business wisdom that you feel you can share, then you can join in the conversation, too!
What happened to the old LinkedIn Pulse?
At the beginning of 2017, LinkedIn changed the interface of their website and app, and chose to integrate LinkedIn Pulse to every users’ home page newsfeed. So rather than needing to navigate away to access Pulse, you can simply see updates from the people, businesses, and channels you follow instantly.
4 ways to make use of LinkedIn Pulse
1. Discover new people, businesses, channels, and topics to follow.
To get started out on Pulse, be sure to visit www.linkedin.com and sign into your account. From there, on your homepage, you will see the updates from people you follow, or interesting/trending stories on LinkedIn that you may be interested in. If you ever want to follow someone/something new, simply click Follow or the blue “+” symbol next to/above/below their title.
You can also enter the URL: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/follow/ to see a grid of suggestions for you to follow.
You can also see suggestions for you to follow at the top-right of your homepage on LinkedIn. Click View All Recommendations to see more suggestions you might like.
2. Read articles and keep up with the latest news regarding your interests.
From your homepage on LinkedIn, simply scroll down and view your newsfeed. This will continuously populate new stories for you to read, so you can keep up with the latest news. To read any LinkedIn Pulse article in detail, click on the box/image highlighted in the update.
3. Engage in the online conversation, meet new people, and make better connections.
Be sure to like, comment, and share your favorite articles on LinkedIn Pulse. Simply click Like, Comment, or Share below any article to get involved in the conversation.
This is a great way to interact with other users, and find like-minded people. It just may be your ticket into a new opportunity!
4. Post your own articles on LinkedIn Pulse and try to become an influencer of the masses.
Publishing on LinkedIn is easier than ever now! Simply navigate to your homepage, and click Write an Article at the top.
This will open the LinkedIn Publishing window, which is its own word processor geared towards success on LinkedIn. Start out by adding an image and a headline for your article. Click the image icon to upload an image to acompany your article, and click Headline to type a name for your article.
The next step would be to click in the field labelled “Write here” to begin writing your article. Simply start typing, but be sure to write in the format you want to see visually represented on LinkedIn. For example, use appropriate paragraph breaks, add images or a video throughout to make a visual impact on the reader, and use proper spelling and grammar.
If you want to change the formatting, or have parts of your article stand out, use the tool bar across the top. You can edit in the following ways:
Normal: Changes the paragraph format, allowing you to add headings to your article.
B: Bold your text.
I: Italicize your text.
U: Underline your text.
Numbered List: Allows you to create a formatted numbered list.
Bulleted List: Allows you to create a formatted bullet point list.
Block Quotes: Will highlight and enlarge a specific quote from your text, making it a featured part of the article.
Hyperlink: Allows you to embed links so the readers can quickly access a related website.
When you’re finished with your article, have proofread it, and formatted it correctly, click Publish in the top-right corner. Your draft will save automatically as you type, but it will not be live on LinkedIn until you click the Publish button. If you ever want to access a saved article, click the More drop-down menu beside the Publish button, and select Drafts. You can also view your published articles by clicking More > Articles.
That’s about everything you need to know about LinkedIn Pulse! If you want to learn more, we’ve got articles and step-by-step tutorials on how to use LinkedIn and how it works, how to sign up for a premium account, and how to set up a company page. Or you can check out this great blog post from LinkedIn with tips for writing and publishing articles. Read on to become a LinkedIn Pro today!
