Have you seen those snazzy new badges you can earn on your LinkedIn profile? They’re called Community Top Voice badges and we have the in-side scoop on how you can snag one for your profile.
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Have you seen those snazzy new badges you can earn on your LinkedIn profile? They’re called Community Top Voice badges and we have the in-side scoop on how you can snag one for your profile.
Whether you’re trying to take your LinkedIn more seriously or become a thought leader in your industry, adding a Top Voice badge to your profile will earn you some major credibility points.
Our social media manager, Mya, recently earned a Top Social Media Marketing Voice badge and is ready to give us the inside scoop on how we can get one too.
Badge Selection
The first thing to do is to figure out what Top Voice badge you want to try for. While you can work towards and earn multiple badges at once, it will be easier to set your sights on one badge at a time or to create a priority list and work your way down it.
To start, you’ll need to head to the collaborative articles section. Here is where industry experts (that’s you!) are invited to add to an existing article on a topic.
You’ll need to select an industry first to see a narrowed down selection of articles to add to. On the left hand side of the screen you’ll see multiple different industries to choose from and once you select that, you’ll see subcategories show up to further niche down your selection.
This is where you select exactly which Top Voice badge you want to shoot for.
For example, Mya selected Marketing and then Social Media Marketing. This led to her earning the Social Media Marketing Top Voice badge.
But she could have chosen from a variety of similar subject areas within marketing such as influencer marketing, social media, digital strategy, search engine optimization, etc.
Start Collaborating
Once you’ve narrowed it down and found the collaborative articles within the topic area you want to add to, it’s time to start, well, collaborating!
You’ll see an array of different articles that relate to the topic area you chose. You can find the ones you feel confident in adding to and go in and give your thoughts!
Mya has some tips when it comes to the actual writing portion:
Next Steps
So, you’ve contributed to an article, what now?
You have to stay consistent. Add to articles within your chosen topic area frequently to increase your chances of earning a badge.
Make sure to also be posting on LinkedIn periodically too in order to show the platform you’re an active member.
This also gives more people opportunities to engage with your stuff and tells the algorithm they care about your voice.
Then your article contributions could potentially show up on others' feeds allowing for more opportunities to receive interactions.
LinkedIn refers to people liking your posts added to the articles, “finding your contribution insightful”.
This is what you want.
To earn that badge, people have to find your contributions insightful.
You’re going to want to try to optimize your posts to stand out both in-feed and within the articles to maximize your chances of people noticing and liking AKA finding your contributions insightful.
LinkedIn actually has done us all a solid by including a way to see your progress towards earning a Top Voice badge.
Once you’ve started actively working towards a badge, when you go in to add to an article it will show you what % of quality contributors you are currently at for that topic.
You need to be in the top 5% of contributors to earn the badge.
The Timeline
Badges also only come around in 60 day cycles. You have 60 days to earn one and then 60 days to keep it by continuing to add to articles and holding your top 5% spot.
If you don’t stay in the top 5% you’ll lose your badge but can always earn it again in the future.
You also can have multiple badges at once, but be cautious of this because it can come off as unauthentic and salesy.
Being an expert in 1 or 2 areas is great, but being an “expert” in 10 areas doesn’t tell the best story to your audience.
That’s why picking your topic area is so important to ensure you’re building your personal brand in the way that makes the most sense for you.
Now you’re equipped with the knowledge and know how to choose, work towards, and earn a coveted Top Voice badge on LinkedIn.
Look at you go, working towards bettering your personal brand. We’re proud of you.
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