LinkedIn just announced its newest feature, a blogging tool  for your personal profiles. Rather than being a search engine for professionals, LinkedIn is looking to become the primary source for professional content by opening this blogging platform to all users.

You might be thinking: how does this benefit me? Well, the content you produce is shared with professional contacts already established on your LinkedIn account. These posts will bring traffic to your page and make you stand out from others. Your posts give you the ability to make a professional brand for yourself that others will be interested in learning about. LinkedIn encourages users to write about topics they are passionate about, which will bring value to others.

In 2012, LinkedIn allowed influencers to write blog posts about their expertise, and each user was able to follow specific channels of interest. With this new feature, rather than consuming the content, you are able to actively create and share your own content. This allows the public to also become influencers in the professional sphere.

LinkedIn is gradually making this feature available to all users. If you do not see the options for posting blog post content just yet, it should show up on your page soon.

If you feel like starting your first blog post, here are directions to help you get started:

1. At your home page, press on the ‘Share an Update’ box.
2. Click the pencil icon, which opens a writing tool.
3. Start writing your blog post.
4. If you want to add an image, click the camera icon. Select the image you want to upload, and then click submit.
5. When you are finished, click ‘publish’ to share the post.
6. You are able to save and preview your blog posts before sharing.