[WR #13] What's Working for Me on LinkedIn Right Now...
In late August I decided that, after a two year hiatus, I was getting back on social media.
Since the platforms I used to be on felt like a living cesspool of ick, it seemed like a great opportunity to try something new.
Since it seemed like my people were on LinkedIn these days, I made it my primary focal point for content.
I've been documenting my journey for myself since then, treating LinkedIn like my own personal networking and business-growth laboratory.
I thought it might be useful to share about what's working for me over there in case any of my insights might be useful to you too.
I'll add that if you're NOT long on LinkedIn like I am, read on anyway.
Everything I'll share about what's working here has an application that can be useful on other platforms, and really, can simply be used in practice in real life as well.
First, let's start with the facts...
- I've been experimenting with LinkedIn for 11 weeks.
- I've been posting every weekday without fail since then.
- So that's nearly 60 posts since I started this experiment - which is about 10x the number of posts I'd created altogether in my prior decade of exposure to LinkedIn :)
- I'm spending about an hour / day engaging on LinkedIn and about an hour or two / week generating and editing content, so a total investment of about 6 -7 hours / week on this experiment.
Now to the growth data...
Most of the time when people share about LinkedIn growth, they share the standard vanity numbers - views, likes, comments, and followers.
My vanity metrics have seen tremendous growth these last 11 weeks - but mostly because my baseline was essentially zero when I started.
For transparency purposes I'll share that my views are up 10,605%, likes are up 7,825%, comments are up 7,000%, and followers are up 81%.
I'm not going to bother to dive deep into those numbers here because they simply don't matter that much.
(more on what DOES matter in a sec...)
What I can infer from those metrics that IS helpful is:
- How engaging my content is overall (so I'll know my voice and message are resonating)
- Which content is working (so I can replicate more of it)
- And who, specifically, this stuff is resonating with (so I'll know if I'm effective at attracting the right audience)
The number that really DOES matter...
Again, the numbers above are cool to track because they tell me how engaging and effective my content is, which helps me get more eyeballs on my brand and helps me understand what kind of content to keep creating.
But the number I'm tracking that matters the most is revenue that I can associate to all of this activity.
In the last 11 weeks, I've booked two brilliant, awesome new clients that I can track back in some way to my activity on LinkedIn.
One was a warm referral, the other found me cold and closed in one phone call.
Two new clients may not sound like a lot, but in my business it is.
And here's why it's such a BIG win:
Because my job is to help founders simplify their business models to scale without sacrifice, my own model is super simple and elegant too.
At the moment, I've got one thing that I offer in two different ways.
It's highly leveraged and super profitable.
And because my clients typically like to stick around, the lifetime value of a client for me averages anywhere from $40,000 to $75,000 or more.
So based on that assumption holding true, by booking two new clients, I've just generated anywhere from $80,000 to $150,000 or more in potential revenue from 7 hours / week of activity on LinkedIn.
I like results like that. A lot.
But it's the simple, leveraged model I've got that made that possible.
Alright, onto the tactics...
Here's what's been working to generate those numbers:
1) Consistency
I post every weekday at about 8:15 am EST without fail. This timeframe and cadence is what all the LinkedIn growth "experts" say is best because people like to consume content on their commute / first thing in the morning, so I was willing to listen and try it. Seems to be effective.
I also shortcut content creation. I've got a brilliant team that helps me co-create three of the five posts / week, which alleviates much of the stress of coming up with that many ideas on my own.
And every time I leave an insightful comment somewhere (see #2 below), I copy and paste it into a central "content ideas" document for later use as its very own post. This has been an absolute game changer in making content creation easier and faster.
** If you're not on social media, consistency could look like simply showing up in the right places where your people are on a regular basis and being willing to connect and make friends.
The intention here is to pick a simple, focused tactic you enjoy doing and do it regularly and efficiently.
2) Adding Value
I find my people and connect dots for them. In practice, this looks like jumping into the conversations on people's content - friends, influencers, people with similar audiences, etc. - with something of value.
I don't just drop a "great post!" or "I love this!" - I make a meaningful contribution to the conversation that helps me stand out not only as a smart person who knows her sh!t, but also as a helper and generous giver.
** This one is incredibly powerful at driving new followers - especially when you're adding value in the right places.**
I've looked at my numbers and on the days when I've been less attentive to this activity my new follower pickup rate is exponentially lower than on days when I'm intentional about adding value elsewhere in the LinkedIn-verse.
I'm also getting more exposure by connecting dots in the right places. I've picked a handful of influencers with reach who speak to my audience about similar topics and comment with value on their posts as often as possible - and as close to the moment they post as possible.
The benefit of showing up early on an influencer's post is that it tends to ensure that either a) they see it and comment back - which creates visibility for your profile, and/or b) others will see it and like / comment back, which also tends to drive more people to notice and follow you.
**If you're going to add value in real life instead, this might look like spending time each day thinking about your network and reaching out to catch up and be curious about what they need right now so you can connect helpful dots for them.
The intention here is to show up where your people are and make some form of meaningful contribution to their lives.
3) Making Friends
I'm only interested in *real* connection on my LinkedIn adventure. I've said no less than three times in the last couple of weeks that I take my cues from my seven-year old daughter when it comes to this LinkedIn experiment. I'm in it to make friends.
I go into interactions with people remembering they're humans just like me and assess if we'd have fun hanging out. If I think we will, I just do what I would do if I truly wanted to become friends and there was no businessy context in the mix at all. No weird networking wonkiness, they just get silly, irreverent, helpful, loving Amy :)
I've made and deepened at least a dozen new, REAL friendships through LinkedIn - not just friendly connections - over the last 11 weeks, which is super fulfilling and lovely.
And I'm certain that some of them will facilitate new business for me too, but that's not the main intention - which is what makes me so certain it'll happen.
**Same is true outside of social media. The best, most vibrant and successful business relationships start with friendship, so why not just go for it and let it be fun?
The intention here is to keep it simple and really, truly just make friends. The dots will always connect to business later if you do.
4) Being Willing to Eff it All Up
I prioritize "done" over "perfect". In my early days in business, I was constantly trapped in the cycle of trying-so-hard-to-get-everything-perfect that I could never, as Seth Godin says, "ship" anything.
These days, I'm super pleased if I just get the posts out. If I make time for meaningful conversations with the humans on the other side of all those words on the screen. If I can do it all without interfering with time with my kiddo.
Is all of my content perfect and amazing? Uh, no. One of my first posts was all about how important it was to be concise... but it nearly maxed out the LinkedIn character limit. (insert facepalm here).
But because I'm treating this like a grand experiment and not the be-all end-all to my business growth strategy, I can walk into all of it knowing it's okay - and even BETTER - if I eff it all up. Making mistakes is helping me learn and get better at creating content and connecting with my people.
My engagement, views, and connections are increasing every single day because I'm learning from all my brilliant screw ups. I laugh at myself, figure out what the lesson was, and move the eff on.
**In real life, there's not much to add here. Embracing imperfection and getting over our fears of failure is all part of evolving as a human.
Be willing to sound dumb when you introduce yourself to a new potential friend. And then laugh at yourself when you do. (I do this all the time...) It'll disarm the other person and diffuse their stress and anxiety too because, news flash - they're just as worried about effing it all up as you are.
The intention here is to let your discomfort about getting it all wrong rise up, and just let it be there while you do the tricky thing anyway. It's not gonna kill you, I promise.
One final thought here before I wrap this up...
I shared all of this NOT because I'm suddenly going to transition my brand and become a LinkedIn growth expert. There are already PLENTY of those out there.
I share this because I know, if you're reading my stuff, you're in growth mode right now and are are trying to connect with potential clients in some way, shape, or form.
And that you'd likely LOVE to find an easier, simpler way to do that.
All of these tips and tricks are great and useful if you're trying to grow your reach on LinkedIn.
And they're certainly not the be-all, end-all to how you could leverage LinkedIn to grow your business.
But before you dive into ANY strategy, first check in on WHY you're using it.
I decided to go on this LinkedIn adventure for two reasons:
1) I've got capacity to scale,
And 2) I saw an opportunity for me there that would be fun to play around with.
There are no "shoulds" or "coulds" or "have tos" or "need tos" in any of this.
It never feels like hustle - it always feels like fun, ease, and play.
Especially because my simple, leveraged business model allows for it to be that way.
And the fact that I've booked a couple of new clients along the way creates a dotted line to the efficacy of the experiment, which is also great.
If you decide to use these tactics for yourself, awesome.
Just be sure it feels like fun, ease, and play for you too.
And let me know how it shakes out - I love getting replies to these emails :)
See you on the other side...
- A
PS... if you want to learn more about how to leverage LinkedIn from the person I trust the most on this, check out Justin Welsh's LinkedIn Operating System course.
It taught me the ins and outs in under two hours with immediately executable strategies and is an absolute steal at $150.With my two new clients, my ROI on that investment is somewhere in the realm of 48,000% (not a typo.) And for connecting that helpful dot, I'll also earn a little commission if you decide to grab it - win/win!
Go forth and conquer LinkedIn, friend. Or whatever scaling strategy feels best to you :)
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