Episodes
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"I just don't have the time to post on LinkedIn™️. It's not that I undervalue the benefits, it just takes me far too long because I overthink it"
This came from a delegate on a course I delivered recently and it hit me right between the eyes...That's why so many people find it hard to find the time to post content, they overthink it!
Also in this episode;
Feedback on pods and direct messaging.
How demure and mindful is your profile? I found out and got roasted!
More changes coming to video content and Livestreaming...potentially.
A heartbreaking post of the week
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Serious question...why do you do it?
What are your objectives and are you achieving them?
This week I received a message which challenged my views on posting content on LinkedIn™️. I disagreed with the points made but that doesn't make them wrong or inappropriate, just different and a good challenge to my thinking.
So I thought I would share my thoughts in this weeks episode.
That plus;
Drafting a post with AI✧
Premium perks
Forwarding DM's
More thoughts on organic reach (the lack of)
Post of the week
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Missing episodes?
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LinkedIn™️ are finding it hard to control pods so some LinkedIn™️ users have decided to take the law into their own hands and expose people who use pods to falsely inflate the engagement on their content.
But...are these exposures accurate and could some people be caught up in the fallout?
That plus;
'Videos for you' on mobile app
Sharing comments
You really don't need hashtags
'LinkedIn is a mess. Here's how to fix it' The Guardian has it all wrong!
Post of the week
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This week I answer 3 questions about;
Business development on LinkedIn™️ The use of AI LinkedIn™️ 'Associates'Also covered in this episode;
Collaborative articles The problem and prevalence of misinformation What is the right amount of characters in a text only post? Post of the week -
We often come across people on LinkedIn™️ who look interesting and produce content we find valuable...so we follow or connect and over time we feel as though we get to know them better.
But do we REALLY know them?
interesting People interviews are designed to reveal more about the background, personal lives and characteristics of some of our favourite people on LinkedIn™️
This week I chat with one of the nicest and most helpful LinkedIn™️ Experts out there - My friend John Espirian.
Subscribe to my newsletter for full show notes https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6726487426274992128/
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This week I chatted with personal branding specialist Ella Orr about the tricky topic of putting your personality into your LinkedIn™️ content.
In my experience, this is a big challenge for many people and they tend to either be;
Full on (loud) but not authentic
Bland, steering away from revealing any personality.
Both of the above are driven by the same thing, a reluctance to reveal their real character and personality. It should be easy but it's really not!
So I sat down with Ella for an hour or so and chatted about this fascinating topic.
Subscribe to my newsletter for full show notes https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6726487426274992128/
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I was hoping that we, the LinkedIn™️ community, would have learnt by now but no, illegal (Linkedin law) automation products are still thriving and new ones seem to appear almost every month.
It's been a long time since I tackled this subject - remember the battle I had with John Nemo in episode 198? John has since changed his views but since those days (2018), the tools have become more sophisticated but still do the same damage to this platform so I thought I would return to this important topic.
Also in this episode I talk about;
A content generation tool called AuthoredUp
Two new features
A worrying security issue
Post of the week
Subscribe to my newsletter for full show notes https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6726487426274992128/
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I'm back from a wonderful two weeks in Greece...back to a windy and wet UK (summer lasted two days apparently!) So to warm myself up, I got stuck into the following topics in this weeks podcast;
Should a company be posting this?
Congratulations you are in the top ten experts list!
Four new features
LinkedSummit 2024
Post of the week
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We often come across people on LinkedIn™️ who look interesting and produce content we find valuable...so we follow or connect and over time we feel as though we get to know them better.
But do we REALLY know them?
interesting People interviews are designed to reveal more about the background, personal lives and characteristics of some of our favourite people on LinkedIn™️
This week I chat with my favourite Kiwi, New Zealand based LinkedIn expert Lynnaire Johnston.
Lynnaire has a fascinating career history in radio, publishing and copywriting before finding her passion for LinkedIn™️.
Lynnaire is one of the friendliest, most generous and knowledgable LinkedIn™️ experts out there and I'm sure you will enjoy hearing her describe her background.
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It's a common belief that the answer to poor (and getting worse) organic content reach from a company page is employee advocacy. So why are so many organisations getting it horribly wrong?
That plus;
The new video feed and how it impacts the videos we post. Multiple image posts - new dimensions Images on external links are shrinking and it really doesn't matter! An outrageous post of the week The New Video FeedI was chatting recently with Lynnaire Johnston about this new feed (she doesn't yet have it) and she made the valuable point that this new style of delivery might necessitate a change in the way a video is produced.
Because the scroll has audio enabled (unlike in the normal feed) it puts more emphasis on the opening few seconds of the video and less emphasis on the words you type to accompany the post - these appear at the bottom of the video in this feed. This doesn't mean that you should worry less about the words because they still play an important role in the normal feed on both mobile and desktop (see image below).
In addition, the new video feed appears to zoom in somewhat which creates an issue with text on the video or even captions if you add them yourself.
How a video is displayed in 3 different feedsAs a reminder, this video feed is only enabled once you tap on some video posst you see on the main mobile feed, at the moment this is only for about 40% of the videos I see in my feed. Once you are in this feed you can the scroll to see more videos and those videos all autoplay with sound.
I suspect that LinkedIn will fix the zooming issue but that will probably take some time so it's worth ensuring your text does not go near the edges of your video for now.
Multiple Image PostsThe way images are displayed in a multi-image post is beginning to change as you can see here in these example of 2 and 3 image posts;
LinkedIn™️ have provided this helpful document which can be downloaded here.
I've had this change for a while but apparently more the majority of users are now seeing this in their feeds.
Images On External LinksLinkedIn™️ have announced that images on posts with external links are shrinking unless you sponsor (advertise) that post, in which case the image stays the same size as it has always been.
Lots of people are up in arms about this!
Why?
External link posts are seen by very few people anyway so not seeing a larger or small image results in the same...it's not seen!
OK I'm being a bit cynical there but honestly guys, have you not learnt yet?....don't post external links, unless you really have to.
Employee AdvocacyEarlier this year I was a panel member on stage at UpLift Live when a question about employee advocacy on LinkedIn was asked. My slightly cynical response was to state that asking employees to Repost or Like a company page post was not employee advocacy in any sense yet that is as far as most organisations go.
I stand by that answer but it did occur to me that it was worth trying to explain what a more productive method would be.
Firstly I am not a fan of the phrase 'employee advocacy'. To my understanding an 'advocate' is someone who promotes someone or something. This leads to a belief that employee advocacy is all about encouraging employees to promote the company that they work for.
And for the most part, that is what happens. Employees either repost company page content or directly promote the organisation that they work for either to other potential employees or customers.
This is highly ineffective.
Below is a classic example. Robert Half have published an article (ironically about employee advocacy) and then asked their employees to post it...so they do!
This is merely a distribution mechanism and, as you can see by the lack of engagement, not a very effective one!
Whilst this might be employee advocacy for some organisations, others 'ask' their employees to post about the amazing work environment or how they are so happy working for them or how impressed they are with the products or customer service etc etc.
It just comes across as forced and hollow...frankly nobody is buying it!
We all know that promotional content does not do well on LinkedIn, it is difficult to attract engagement and so typically achieves poor reach. So why do companies do it? It strikes me as being nothing more than a 'ticking the box' exercise.
"employee advocacy...done!" ✔️
All that said, we know that company page content has extremely limited reach and this reach seems to be getting worse so it does make sense for organisations to use their employees personal accounts for their benefit.
If however the objective is promotion, it simply won't work. The problem is that the objective is wrong, if the objective was greater visibility then employee advocacy could work, if done the right way.
When an employee of an organisation becomes influential on LinkedIn then the organisation will benefit from their greater visibility. To become influential on LinkedIn though, the employee shouldn't be posting about how amazing the company is, that's not great content.
The trick is to identify individuals within an organisation who have the motivation and ability to gain a following and influence on LinkedIn. This does not need to be many employees, just a few with the right mindset and desire.
The second part of this is about what employees are asked to do and many organisations will be deeply uncomfortable with what is the right approach - to encourage employees to develop their own personal brand by producing content that is helpful, interesting, entertaining and focussed on the audience.
This is usually seen as a threat in most organisations and that is the heart of the problem.
In the podcast I also get into the topic of recruitment and how this strategy will impact the sort of people that are recruited.
Tip: Start small by encouraging a few select employees to comment on company page content. Make sure the content is focussed on the audience and not the company and let the employees contribute to it by adding meaningful comments that add value to the piece.
These same employees should also be encouraged to comment of many other posts (not from the company) that are focussed on topics that will be interesting to your target audience.
Let them build their confidence and credibility this way first.
Then give them the tools and skills to start posting great content designed to encourage engagement.
Once they have gained a strong following and influence, they can occasionally post something about their employer or it's products/services but the main objective is to increase visibility and influence.
Ultimately, the power of employee advocacy lies in authenticity. By encouraging employees to share their unique perspectives, you can create a more compelling and genuine narrative for the organization.
Post Of The WeekThis a belter from Lara Bywater and mainly because the topic is just....well, unbelievable really!
How on earth could anyone be so stupid as to think that this business card is OK? Maybe they would defend it by saying it's just harmless banter...if you believe that then just read the comment thread!
It's not clever, it's not funny and it shows a complete lack of empathy or understanding of how a woman would receive this.
The post is also well structured with a great hook line.
Well done to Lara for a great post and for having the courage to call out this sort of behaviour.
That's all for this week.
If you are in Odense in Denmark at Linkedsummit this week, come and say hello!
Until next time...
Published by Mark WilliamsMark Williams People call me 'Mr LinkedIn™️' · LinkedIn™️ visibility · Informed Podcast host · One to one online coaching · Speaker · Social Selling · Online sessionsPeople call me 'Mr LinkedIn™️' · LinkedIn™️ visibility · Informed Podcast host · One to one online coaching · Speaker · Social Selling · Online sessions Published • 4d 181 articles So the organic reach for company pages has gone from poor to almost non-existent...so what do you do?
You turn to your employees (who have better reach) and you call this employee advocacy!
Sharing company page content is not employee advocacy, it doesn't really help either the company or the individual...but there is a better way.
More of that plus;
🔶 The new video feed and how it impacts the videos we post.
🔶 Multiple image posts - new dimensions
🔶 Images on external links are shrinking and it really doesn't matter!
🔶 An outrageous post of the week from Lara Bywater
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This week I had a thoroughly enjoyable and thought provoking chat with Copywriting expert and author of the modern classic 'A self-help guide for copywriters' Dan Nelken .
I've been a follower and admirer of Dans work for several years, so I was delighted to finally get him on the podcast to talk about copywriting techniques, LinkedIn™️ and Bunions!
Plus a post of the week about gender equality!
Here are the topics we covered;
Dan's Journey and Overcoming Self-Doubt.
Dan shared his early days working as a forklift driver, his later studies at copywriting school, and his subsequent work as a copywriter at various ad agencies, working with massive brands.
Authenticity in Professional Content
We chatted about how people find it challenging to really be themselves on LinkedIn™️ and how we need to become 'an expert in being ourselves' and why our inner critic is a 'ding dong' - I wrongly assumed this was a Canadian term!
He also shared his struggles with self-doubt and the importance of remaining true to oneself in communication
Balancing Personal and Professional Content
We discussed how sharing personal experiences can effectively engage the target audience by illustrating overcoming relevant challenges. Dan emphasized the importance of authenticity and using language to impress oneself rather than others
"Your audience is you"
We also discussed the trend of using complex vocabulary in professional settings and debated its effectiveness as a means of communication.
Content Creation Strategy and LinkedIn Success
Dan admits to being no expert in LinkedIn™️ content strategies but he has, through trial and error developed a style using images, quotes and carousel templates that resonate with his audience.
He also discussed his 'list and twist technique' as demonstrated in this 2 page carousel post...
AI & Creativity
Dan does use AI and is impressed with it's capabilities but he "prompts it to prompt him to be more creative"...not to answer questions or create for him.
Book Rankings, Deals, and Course Launches
Dan revealed his challenges with the competitive element of launching a book and bestseller rankings and how with that and marketing his course he stuck to his values and accepted that he is not going to appeal to everyone and that being helpful to others is more important than maximising sales.
Maximize image Edit image Delete image Click on the image above to view Dans bookEmbracing Self-Expression on LinkedIn
Everyone has to start somewhere and Dans advice is to start small and develop a habit for content, even if it's just 15 mins a week brainstorming ideas for posts. Figure out who you are and how you want to communicate and develop the habit of creating content ideas.
As mentioned earlier, above really is a very brief summary of a 55 minute conversation so I strongly recommend you listen to the full episode to gain the most from Dan's expertise.
Thanks again to Dan for taking the time to share so many golden nuggets.
Post of the weekPlenty of good nominations this week including this highly impressive video post from Farouk Bacha in support of Lara Acosta
This weeks winner had less impressions and engagement but I've picked it because I think we can learn more from it.
An attention grabbing and recognisable image of a film star couple with a brilliant hook 'My new man!!' followed by...
Well icon…. Well screen saver.. ok not even screen saver… look I took the image from Google!
and then the (now irresistible) 'See more' link
Great structure, a great use of image and even more critical to it's success, an important and potential controversial topic.
Congratulations to Jo (although you would be much easier to tag if you used your full name...just sayin!) and thanks to Katharine Robinson for nominating it.
That's all for this week, feel free to say hi to Dan and let him know what you thought of the episode.
Until next time.
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Organic content reach is on the decline...again!
"It's inevitable, this is what social media companies do" and "All they are interested in is posting more ads" I keep seeing people comment but it really isn't as simple as that. LinkedIn is not an advertising company like Meta, they are a business that primarily generates revenue from subscriptions so the reasons for the decline in reach is more complex...
Also in this episode;
Creator mode confusion
LinkedIn™️ Games
AI-generated content screening
The new immersive video feed mystery
Post of the week
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LinkedIn™️ Groups...Once heralded as a cornerstone of professional networking, their prominence has waned over time. However, amidst the shifting tides, could membership in these groups still hold untapped value? Tracy Bedwell certainly believes so. In this compelling episode, we delve into Tracy's firsthand experiences and unveil the strategic tactics she has wielded with remarkable success, shedding light on the enduring potential of leveraging LinkedIn Groups.
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We often come across people on LinkedIn™️ who look interesting and produce content we find valuable...so we follow or connect and over time we feel as though we get to know them better.
But do we REALLY know them?
interesting People interviews are designed to reveal more about the background, personal lives and characteristics of some of our favourite people on LinkedIn™️.
This week, it was my immense pleasure to sit down and chat with the UK accountants mentor and speaker MARK LEE FCA .
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Bruce Johnston has been helping people use LinkedIn™️ more effectively for the last 13 years and I've been a follower for 8 years. Bruce is a great wordsmith and one of the more original thinkers out there when it comes to LinkedIn™️ so I thought it was about time to bring him onto the show to share some of his insights.
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LinkedIn™️ seem to love it, more and more posts are created by it and comment threads are becoming infested with it...so I thought it was time to revisit the topic of AI and try to answer this important question...
Can AI be used in a credible, authentic and ethical way on LinkedIn™️?
That plus...
New - Company page premium inc' Who viewed your company page'
An improved 'Premium benefits' page plus a special offer
Why the new 'Recruiters verification badge' is a disgrace!
Post search results now favour Articles
A great new option for profile custom buttons
An interesting piece on Colla'boring'ative articles!
Post of the week
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This week I chat with Merrill Charette a long timer listener to the podcast (and a podcaster himself!) about his upbringing, experiences and how he ended up in the maritime industry.
I really enjoyed chatting with Merrill who is a fascinating character and a great raconteur. In this interview we cover;
How he grew up the '6th child' with his other siblings being 5 Old English Sheepdogs!
His very sports orientated childhood and his (and his fathers) obsession with Lacrosse
The benefits of focus and determination to achieve his potential in lacrosse
How he attended 4 high schools in 5 years experiencing bullying at every turn
Tough love from his father
Why he gave up lacrosse and rebuilt his identity
Dealing with authority (when you know they are wrong)
The 1000 Origami Crane Challenge and how it changed him
Completing a challenging 2,200-mile trek along the Appalachian Trail
Quitting law school
The difference between moving on and giving up
How a random comment from a stranger "You could always live on a boat" led him to the maritime industry.
How he negotiated for and bought his first boat
How he taught himself to sail his first voyage from New York to Boston
Finding a new community of boat owners
Becoming a boating entrepreneur as an outsider to the industry
Artificial intelligence and the maritime industry
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This week in the podcast I complete my review of Uplift Live with the speakers from the afternoon sessions
Gillian Whitney
Kevin D. Turner
Tiina Jarvet
Richard van der Blom
Also in this edition;
New ‘Takeaways’ on Articles & posts New video feed on mobile An excellent example of brand partnership with influencer Post of the week -
My thoughts and feedback on Uplift Live
UpLift Live is an in-person, LinkedIn-focused conference that took place for the first time on 21 March 2024 in Birmingham, UK.
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