There are many reasons members choose to write articles and post on LinkedIn. Some write to share their wisdom and experience, as they seek to become the next thought leader in a particular area of expertise. Others use it as a forum to market to prospective customers. And there are those who simply use it as a creative outlet, posting inspirational and humorous stories to share with their community….this is my motivation. But no matter what your reasoning, everyone who posts is writing for some type of return…professional recognition, potential revenue or simply the innate human pleasure of creating something new. However, today I discovered a new incentive to writing articles and posting on LinkedIn…the SWAG! Let me explain…
I posted an article on March 18, 2017 entitled What’s a SPLAT point? The article shared my discovery of a fitness program called Orange Theory Fitness. I wrote it, because I truly believe in the program at OTF and thought sharing it with the larger LinkedIn community might be inspiring to those frustrated with the more ordinary fitness regimens.
This afternoon I arrived at the Morrisville OTF studio, owned by Kristie Shifflette. And as soon as I entered the double glass doors, the ladies working the front desk stopped me and said, “Phil, we have something for you!” They handed me a silver OTF-branded gift bag stuffed full of OTF merchandise…t-shirts, baseball cap, water bottle, car magnet etc. I was completely surprised. I thought I had won a prize from one of the many contests they have every month. Part of me thought it was a mistake. But they continued to explain the Morrisville studio manager, Paige Alexander, had assembled this bag of goodies as a way to thank me for the article I posted on March 18th. I was completely blown away!
So, next time you consider whether or not to write and post an article on LinkedIn, remember there may be SWAG involved!