LinkedIn this week added the first pharma voice to its Influencer articles with a post by Pfizer CEO Ian Read.  

The articles have been contributed from business leaders such as Bill Gates and Richard Branson since October 2012 as part of moves towards publishing that have also seen it launch the LinkedIn Today news service.  

Read's 'You gain respect in drops, but can lose it in gallons' takes aim at the importance of a pharma company's reputation and just one day after publication had amassed more than 8,500 views.  

In terms of engagement the article is doing well too, having so far attracted more than 1,200 shares and 66 comments on LinkedIn, not to mention 45 tweets and 112 Facebook 'likes'.  

The Pfizer CEO's debut as an Influencer, one of more than 50 names added, including the CEOs of Nissan and Morgan Stanley, comes as LinkedIn starts opening up its publishing platform to its rank and file members.  

Members will be able to share long-form posts to their LinkedIn profile and, in a Facebook-like move, they can be followed by LinkedIn members with which they are not connected.

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