by Caroline Leach | Aug 1, 2023 | Careers, Social Media
In July I did an experiment.
I posted daily on LinkedIn to see what would happen.
My mission? To answer questions about content creation:
- What content is most engaging, or valuable, for serving my network?
- How can I increase the quality of my network through content creation?
- How will content creation enhance my personal brand?
On Saturdays, I posted weekly interim reports. Questions people asked as a result:
- What content works best?
- What’s the optimal posting cadence?
- What’s the impact of the LinkedIn algorithm change?
WHAT THE DATA SAYS
Key Metrics for July
- Content impressions (onscreen displays) up 371%
- Content engagement (reactions, comments, reposts) up 229%
- Followers increased by 118
- Profile views up 102%
Top Performing Posts
- Don’t Apply for Stuff: 22,030 impressions, 133 engagements
- LinkedIn Experiment Weekly Update #1: 2,574 impressions, 61 engagements
- Is the American July the New European August? 2,335 impressions, 48 engagements
Why did “Don’t Apply for Stuff” do so well? It was a contrarian view on the job search. The statement was an attention grabber. It offered knowledge and advice. People engaged with the post by commenting and reposting right away. LinkedIn seems to reward early engagement, in the first hour, with more impressions.
And along those lines, it’s okay and even advisable to like your own posts and comment on them. You can add more info in a comment. It’s also good to reply to as many comments on your post as possible, to foster dialogue. Include a question to keep the conversation going.
WHAT THE DATA MEANS
During the first half of the year, I posted monthly or less. Impressions were higher, in the range of 3,500 to 10,000.
The LinkedIn algorithm did change in mid 2023, to reward posts that share knowledge and advice.
But because my posts have always shared knowledge and advice, that may not be the reason impressions are lower in July, generally in the range of 250 to 2,500. Perhaps my content quality isn’t high enough. Or maybe posting daily has resulted in fewer impressions per post.
Logically, that means I should post less frequently.
BUT, this data suggests otherwise:
- More comments on my posts from people I haven’t heard from in a while
- More DMs from people in my network who are reaching out to reconnect
- More connection requests from interesting people I want to know better
The quality of my relationships and conversations on LinkedIn have dramatically improved in July. And that speaks to my goals of serving people through my content, improving the quality of my network, and enhancing my personal brand.
ADVICE FOR YOUR CONTENT
- Pick a posting frequency to fit your life and goals. It may be monthly, weekly, daily, or somewhere in between. You get to choose.
- Share knowledge and advice. This makes your content unique. It’s what only you can share. It’s also what the current algorithm rewards.
- Don’t repost content. It won’t achieve a high level of impressions. Instead, start a new post and tag the person whose idea you want to credit.
Lastly, don’t give up. It takes time to build a professional reputation through content creation.
Briana Sharp expressed it beautifully in a comment on one of my posts. She wrote: James Clear in his book Atomic Habits references the period when nothing seems to happen but is, citing the example of “Bamboo can barely be seen for the first five years as it builds extensive root systems underground before exploding ninety feet into the air within six weeks.”
What root systems are you building with YOUR content?
by Caroline Leach | Jul 21, 2023 | Careers, Leadership, Work/Life
How do you use a time windfall? ⌚
Today my client appointments all rescheduled for future dates. I find myself with a day free of calendar commitments. There’s a lot on my to-do list.
What’s the best use of the time?
The temptation is to focus on what I call “administrivia.” These are tasks that sorta, kinda, haveta (?) get done. Respond to routine emails, reconcile QuickBooks, enter coaching hours into the log, and so on.
It feels good to check them off the list. Like I’m making progress.
Yes, they may need to get done. But they are not the tasks that are going to move me forward in a big way.
What are better uses of time?
👉 Thinking about business strategy
👉 Connecting with people in a meaningful way
👉 Choosing one of the most important tasks to complete
How do you know if a task is important?
Ask: what’s the ONE thing, if you focused on it today, that would make the biggest difference in your career or business?
Not something that’s urgent or that represents other people’s priorities.
What’s YOUR priority?
Singular, as in ONE priority.
(Fun fact: the word “priority” began only in the singular form. Meaning that only one priority could exist at a time. Not the multiple priorities we now attempt to juggle daily and hourly. As if we ever could.)
My priority for today is creating a new program for our most loyal guests at our family restaurant Pacific Standard Prime. This is a team-focused effort, involving collaboration and iteration. The administrivia will wait until that’s done.
What’s YOUR priority today?
by Caroline Leach | Jul 20, 2023 | Careers, Work/Life
Has the American July 🇺🇲 become the European August 🇪🇺 ?
Meaning: is everyone in the U.S. on vacation this July? Europeans are a great role model for vacationing in August. Maybe we’re learning an important lesson about how to best live our lives.
From a business perspective, however, everything feels slow right now:
1. Email replies take a while if they come at all
2. New client work has slowed down considerably
3. Reservations have dipped at our family owned restaurant
Why could this be? Maybe …
1. People are taking longer summer vacations (a great thing!)
2. More intense heatwaves across the U.S. are tiring us out (not so great)
3. The quality of my outreach and content is lacking (feedback welcome!)
More importantly, what to do? Or not do?
Author Dorie Clark inspires me with the concept of “strategic patience.” Meaning: doing the work, day after day, without any guarantee of success. Showing up, every day, and taking action. And while you’re waiting, taking daily steps toward creating the future you want, independent of whether anyone else responds.
My July experiment of posting every day to LinkedIn is an exercise in strategic patience. I’m collecting data to see what happens when I share content daily. Some days people engage with my content. Other days, not so much.
That’s okay. Because I’m testing and learning for the future. And I’m sharing what I learn with my network. Hopefully I can help others with their own content strategy to fuel their unique goals.
Someone else who inspires me is Zoey Zheng. She is a 2023 MS grad of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Zoey recently posted a very real look at the challenges of the job search. Her post was authentic and vulnerable, addressing the anxiety, the doubt, and the toxic positivity. She also took a powerful stance in her post. She generously shared the many resources she’s found helpful during her job search. In the hopes that she can serve others.
The lesson I take away? No matter how difficult things may be for us personally, there is always something we can do to help ourselves and to help others in the process. Thank you, Zoey! And with her talent and tenacity, I can’t wait to see what lucky employer makes her an offer.
Lastly, sometimes the best action is no action. Timing really is everything. It’s best to reach people when and where they want to engage. If business is slow and if people are on vacation, those are signs. It may be time to ease up on the outreach, relax ourselves, and enjoy each moment as it comes.
What do you think about life and work in July?
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