by Caroline Leach | Apr 30, 2017 | Social Media
If a LinkedIn status update every weekday is ideal, how do you come up with enough engaging content?
Here are 11 simple content ideas. They can be tailored to reflect your goals for LinkedIn and your professional interests, as well as be easy to integrate into your day.
When you share content using these ideas, you can add your point of view. And you can engage your network by asking questions about their perspectives.
Here goes . . .
Your company’s employee advocacy program. More companies are enabling and empowering employees to share company news in their own personal social media through an employee advocacy program. If your company offers this, it’s an easy way to provide valuable content and be a brand ambassador for your employer.
Your professional associations. What organizations do you belong to? Where do you look for training and development? You’ll often find the latest thinking in your field that you can share with your network. A few of my favorites in corporate communications are the International Association of Business Communicators, the Public Relations Society of America and the Forum-Group for communications leaders.
Your favorite industry and career news sources. What are your go-to sources for news about your field or the world of work? On the top of my list are Harvard Business Review and Fast Company.
Your alma mater. Colleges and universities are helping their alums be lifelong learners. Have you checked out yours lately? As an alumni ambassador for the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, I’ve shared information about event content and information such as the Relevance Report.
Your colleagues’ content. What are people in company and your network posting? Keep an eye out for articles posted to LinkedIn that align with your goals and share those. A few of my favorites are by Carlos Botero, Rachel Ybarra and Jennifer Van Buskirk.
Books you’re reading. What’s on your Kindle or your nightstand that has a business and professional focus? Share what you’re reading and what you’re learning. For me it’s Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant. It has two daily practices that would probably benefit everyone – note 3 things you did well and 3 moments that brought joy.
Conferences and events you’re attending. What virtual or in-person development activities are you involved in? What are you learning? Share your key takeaways in a status update. Include photos of the event and people you’re meeting.
What you’re learning. What’s your development plan to learn new skills this year? Are you taking online courses, pursuing a nanodegree or listening to podcasts and TED talks? Share status updates about what you’re learning and how you’re preparing for the future. Include your perspective on why these skills will be critical to the future of work, your industry and your employer.
Speaking engagements you’re doing. Anytime you’re speaking, whether it’s a conference or a webinar, it’s a great opportunity to post an update. Share your big idea or interesting questions people asked after your talk.
Key holidays. Look at the calendar each month and identify key events. May and June, for example, are big graduation months. You could share the best career advice you got at graduation or the most important thing you’ve learned since graduation. One of my posts that got great engagement was a leadership quote and a beautiful photo from iStockPhoto on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Keep an eye out for hashtag holidays – like #NationalMentoringMonth in January #GetToKnowYourCustomers day in July – and create posts about them.
Your blog. Do you have a blog about your profession and your industry? LinkedIn is a perfect place for a status update each time you post new content. If you’ve been blogging for a while, look through the archives to see what’s still timely. Your status update could include fresh information or a new take on the original post.
For the month of May, I’m going to conduct an experiment. I’ll further test these content ideas by posting a status update to LinkedIn on every workday of the month. That’s 22 status updates.
In future posts, I’ll share what I learn in the process about creating an editorial calendar, responding to comments, evaluating analytics, increasing engagement and more.
In the meantime, what would you add to this list of content ideas?
by Caroline Leach | Apr 9, 2017 | Social Media
Feeling overwhelmed by studies saying you should post a daily LinkedIn status update?
Start with something more manageable. Spend a few weeks reading and responding to others’ status updates instead.
Take a few minutes each morning or during a lunch break to scroll through the updates in the “home” icon of your LinkedIn mobile app.
Why? Here are 5 reasons.
- Notice which updates get the most interaction. What updates are getting multiple likes, comments and shares? What is it about the update that is so appealing?
- Identify what types of updates you’re drawn to. This will help you not only formulate the types of status updates you’d like to share, but it will also guide you on format, tone and length.
- Take note of cringe-worthy updates. Identify why these updates don’t work. Put them on your list of things-not-to-do in LinkedIn, along with updates that are personal, political or unprofessional.
- Engage with your network. Tap the “like” button for posts you enjoy. Leave a brief, upbeat comment that congratulates your colleague and adds your point of view. Remember that any content you engage with reflects on you, your personal brand and your employer, so be sure to look before you like.
- Expand the conversation. If the content aligns with your professional interests, share it with your network along with a brief comment from your point of view. Be sure to look before you link, reading the full update and any links before sharing. And if someone in your network would be interested in the update, mention their name in your comment so they’ll be notified.
Tip: Find your favorites
Over time, develop a list of people in your network who are reliable sources of information and insights.
Several of my AT&T colleagues consistently post valuable updates. Here are a few (along with my note that opinions expressed in this blog are my own) . . .
- Steve McGaw posts timely updates on the latest technology for business.
Who are the people at your company or in your network who are valuable go-to sources of news, information and inspiration? Check out their updates often to see what you can learn as well as share with your network.
Bonus tip: Create a strategy for the appearance of “Your Activity”
Check out how your likes, comments and shares appear in the mobile version of your LinkedIn profile. Under “Your Activity,” the 3 most recent interactions appear, with the most current one first (on your laptop, the 6 most recent interactions appear). What do you want to display on top?
Think about who you’re meeting with for the first time today. They may pull up your LinkedIn profile before, during or after your conversation. Consider what you want them to see.
You could like, comment on or share content relevant to your meeting topic. You could check out what status updates the person you’re meeting with posted recently. You could like, comment on or share those updates as appropriate.
What’s your strategy for engaging with your network’s status updates?
by Caroline Leach | Apr 8, 2017 | Social Media
When you scroll through your news feed, what grabs your attention? A great headline, of course.
It’s the same with your LinkedIn profile. You can – and should – create a personal headline. Otherwise the default is your current job title.
This is a lost opportunity on prime real estate in your profile. Not only does it display prominently in the mobile version of your profile, but it also appears in a Google search that displays your profile. It helps you stand out when people are searching.
You have 120 characters to describe yourself in a unique and compelling way. You should use every one of them, says personal branding expert William Arruda.
Your headline should share both what you do and how you benefit your target audience. That goes back to your goals for LinkedIn. Do you want to build your professional brand? Develop a reputation as a thought leader in your field? Position yourself as a candidate for your next job?
LinkedIn expert Donna Serdoula outlines two approaches to headlines in her book on LinkedIn Profile Optimization. (Even as the LinkedIn algorithms evolve, this is a great reference book with underlying concepts that are invaluable for personal branding.)
The first is using keywords – words or phrases that describe you and are likely to be used in an internet search. Serdoula suggests asking, “What are the keywords a person might type into LinkedIn search to find you?”
The second is a benefits statement – what you can do for your target audience. Here Serdoula suggests asking, “How do I help individuals and businesses?” and “What benefit do others receive from working with me?”
If you can accomplish both keywords and benefits in 120 characters, that’s even better.
Keyword-Rich Headlines
From my own LinkedIn network, here are some standout keyword headlines:
Shel Holtz – Communication Strategist, Public Speaker, Author, Trainer
Lisa Skeete Tatum – Entrepreneur | Investor
Allison Long – Professional Networker | Career Matchmaker | Connector of Dynamic Teams and Great Talent
Rene Dufrene – Innovative Business Development Executive | Team Leader | Alliance Design, Negotiation & Operation | Cloud Services
Erin Gollhofer – Global Corporate Social Responsibility Professional
Debbie Storey – Published Author | Speaker | Consultant on Leadership, Diversity & Inclusion, Customer Service, Resilience, Courage & Confidence, and Women in Business
Anthony Mirenda – Global Communications Leader | Corporate Reputation | Crisis & Issues Communications
Benefits-Focused Headlines
Also from my LinkedIn network, here are some compelling benefits headlines:
Michael Ambrozewicz – Engaging AT&T employees in how we deliver a mobile and entertainment experience in the U.S.
Amy Posey – Creating powerful leadership development experiences and making work more productive and effective at Peak Teams
Gary Zucker – Helping marketers and researchers make sense of customer feedback to test ideas, build loyalty and grow revenue
Catherine Fisher – Helping people build their professional brand on LinkedIn
Glenn Llopis – Disrupting the status quo and reinventing the way we work
Anat Mahrer – Creating a compelling and unique employee experience
Jon Lara – Delivering employee benefit strategies that enrich participant lives while optimizing company financial results.
How A Headline Evolves
Before writing this post, my headline was “Communications & Marketing Leader in Entertainment & Tech.” My goal was to highlight my functional areas, my level and my industries. Brevity and fitting a headline on two lines for mobile viewing were also priorities.
Then I edited it into a benefits statement that included my employer’s newer industry. “Communications & Marketing Leader in Tech, Media & Telecom helping people and organizations tell their stories.” (Opinions expressed in this blog are my own.)
But that repeated the opening of my summary statement a few lines below the headline. So I went back to what Serdoula calls “a keyword-saturated headline.”
Now my headline has my “VP” title to be more specific than “leader.” It includes AT&T as the name of my employer – a company I’m proud to say was recently named to FORTUNE’s 100 Best Companies to Work For. And it showcases this blog about social media savvy for corporate professionals.
Perhaps this highlights the most important thing about any social media presence – always be changing, evolving and improving. Just like the platforms themselves. And just like life.
by Caroline Leach | Mar 25, 2017 | Social Media
What simple action will dramatically enhance your LinkedIn profile? Adding a compelling cover photo.
Looking for examples of great cover photos in LinkedIn, it was surprising to see how few profiles take advantage of this feature.
You’ll stand out more in LinkedIn if you ditch the default techno-connection look for something that tells your story.
As Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick say in The Art of Social Media, the purpose of your cover picture is “to tell a story and communicate information about what is important to you.”
Start by thinking about your personal brand and the story you want to tell about yourself.
Ask yourself a few questions:
- What field are you in?
- What industry are you in?
- Where have you spoken?
- What awards you have won?
- What books have you written?
- Where do you work?
- What accomplishments are you proud of?
- What are you passionate about in your career?
- What best represents YOU?
You can also check out How to Brand Your LinkedIn Cover Photo, by Hannah Morgan, a contributor to U.S. News and World Report.
If you don’t already take pictures at work and of work events, start doing that. Over time, you’ll build a set of your own visual assets that you can use for a variety of social media purposes.
Of course, be sure to represent your employer, and yourself, in a positive light and don’t share pictures of confidential information.
A great example I saw this week was Matt Warren’s Instagram post of a big event he produced. It was a dramatic, visually compelling way of showcasing his work. It gave me a window into his world and made me feel like I was there.
In my career I’m passionate about telling stories, leading teams and making a difference for my employer and the world.
That’s why my LinkedIn cover photo is from a corporate citizenship event my colleague Tina Morefield held at a Los Angeles elementary school. After speaking as a then-VP of Communications, I snapped a pictures of our City Year partner rallying our volunteers.
The story in this photo is about the power of people and teams and unity. We were giving back to the community. I felt great pride in my employer (opinions are my own in this blog), and the strength in the diversity of our colleagues.
Take a look through your own camera roll. See what story you could tell about your professional work.
And take some new pictures this week. You can change your LinkedIn cover photo as often as you like to reflect your evolving and growing career.
by Caroline Leach | Mar 5, 2017 | Social Media
When your LinkedIn app fills up with connection invitations, what’s your strategy for deciding yes or no?
If you set a general framework for which you’ll accept, it will save time and result in a better network.
LinkedIn’s Catherine Fisher recommends in Business Insider connecting only with people you know and trust.
If you want an even higher bar, try Alexandra Samuel‘s “favor test.” She recommends only connecting with people whom you’d be willing to ask a favor of or do a favor for. Check out more in Harvard Business Review.
If someone takes the time to personalize an invitation to me with a well-articulated reason for wanting to connect, however, I will generally accept it.
But what about the ones with no personal note? The majority of these come from people I don’t know. Short of simply deleting all of them, sight unseen (which is certainly an efficient option), here’s my strategy:
ACCEPT
- People who are fellow colleagues at my current or former employers (opinions expressed in this blog are my own)
- People from my alma maters – students, alums, professors or staff members
- People who belong to the same professional, community or civic groups that I do
- People I attended a conference with, such as MAKERS or TED
- People who add to the diversity of my network on various dimensions, including industry, geography, career stage, functional area and so on
Personal branding expert William Arruda recommends diversity in a LinkedIn network, which links to a great perspective on its value.
- People with an interesting background that catches my eye. It’s hard to articulate this one, but I know it when I see it.
CONSIDER
- People who have common connections. This comes with a big caveat. An underlying rationale for the connections has to be evident.
Recently I declined invitations from people who had a high number of shared connections, but for which I couldn’t discern a compelling reason why. Often it was because they didn’t work in the same industry or even one that could be considered in some way related.
DECLINE
- People with no clear connection to any areas of my work
- Lack of clarity about what the person or their company does
- A suspicious-looking profile, such as no last name listed or little information included in the profile
- Anything appearing the slightest bit sales related. If I’m looking for a new vendor partner, I’ll go to my trusted network first for recommendations, not to random connections in LinkedIn.
This is my decision matrix, and it may give you some ideas for creating your own. This lets you quickly go through incoming invitations.
It frees up time to proactively create and cultivate your network by sending personalized invitations to a focused group of people.
What’s your strategy?
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