LinkedIn Answers can be a great way to establish yourself as a thought leader and connect with colleagues and prospects.  I try to create RSS feeds for almost everything I monitor online; it is more likely I will get to it that way.  The other day I realized I can get an RSS feed of LinkedIn Answers.  Unfortunately, it is not very customizable.  You can only get a feed of an entire topic, not just based on a certain keyword like search.twitter.com.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Go to LinkedIn.com
2. Click on Answers (it’s at the top)
3. In the right sidebar, under Browse, click on the topic that relates to your industry
4. In the right sidebar look for the orange RSS logo, click the link to add new questions on this topic to your feed reader

*Note you can also subscribe to sub topics.  Keep in mind that many questions are asked each day so the more specific you can be the better.

What is the benefit of being active on LinkedIn Answers?  I know someone who was asked to speak at an industry conference based solely on answering a question on LinkedIn.  We currently have two deals in the pipe that originated on LinkedIn Answers.  I know my sales reps don’t always have the time to keep up with LinkedIn Answers so whenever someone asks a question looking for a solution like ours I pass it along to the appropriate sales rep to follow-up.

I still recommend going in at least once a week to search your company and products’ names since those are conversations you defintely want to be aware of.  Still unsure of what to do?  Check out How to Use LinkedIn Answers in Marketing.