by Caroline Leach | Oct 31, 2020 | Leadership, Social Media
Is there hope on the other side of despair?
Yes, there is, says internet trend observer and investor Mary Meeker.
Mary and her team at Bond Capital released a report called Our New World in April of this year. It was about a month into our stay-at-home world to “flatten the curve” of the coronavirus.
The team “compiled observable trends that help form our views of the present and should provide insights into the future.” They are optimists, and rays of light are so welcome right now as we slog through this seemingly never-ending pandemic.
I added this report to the reading and discussion for the class I’m teaching (remotely) this fall at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. It’s called Managing Technologies for Digital Media in the MS program in Digital Social Media.
Here’s the crux of the report: “None of what we are going through is comfortable, or fair. And while things will likely get worse before they get better, has America, perhaps, just gotten the wake-up call it needed to get to a better place? Let’s hope so, and let’s find the best ways to get to the other side as quickly and thoughtfully as possible.”
Getting to the other side is the game we’re all playing now. What do we need to do to get through today? And tomorrow? And the next day? Many people are struggling with loneliness from quarantines. Some friends tell me it’s hard to get motivated or excited about much of anything these days. And many jobs have evaporated and many businesses are prohibited from operating at full capacity.
Our family restaurant, for example, is only allowed to use 10% of its available seats — the ones outdoors. If there’s any good news, it’s that we’re in Southern California and we don’t have cold winters like much of the rest of the country and the world. My heart goes out to restaurateurs in colder climates who are installing igloos to serve diners.
The phone rang last night near closing time after a busy Friday night of outdoor dining. The hosts had already departed. I eyed the phone warily, not eager to answer it after a long day of various work projects that started in the early morning hours. But I picked it up with as much cheer as I could muster.
“Hello,” the caller said, “I ordered takeout tonight.” Silently, I prayed that all had gone well. “I don’t usually do this,” the caller continued. “But I wanted to tell you our meal was outstanding.”
At this point I exhaled. And smiled. “Usually we think of takeout as being less than,” he said. “This was anything but. We have a dinner reservation in a few weeks, and we can’t wait to come in.”
Well, wow. Just wow. That someone took the time to call and share their experience and their thanks was something to be truly grateful for. It re-energized me late in the evening. I couldn’t wait to share the feedback with the team who had worked so hard to make the experience memorable.
This made me wonder. Are we all viewing life as “less than” right now? Something to be endured? A time to live in suspended animation as we collectively wait for “the other side” to materialize?
If the game we’re playing is getting through each day as best we can to get to a “new normal” (or whatever we’ll call our post-Covid world), how can we up our game? In my last post, I wrote about a feeling of progress every day and making note of what was accomplished. Often it’s much more than we thought.
To that, here’s a new practice to consider adding. What can we each do or say every day to encourage someone else? What uplifting words or feedback can we share, whether in a text, on a video call, or on social media?
Because our words might be just the thing that helps someone who’s feeling discouraged to carry on. To keep trying. To keep striving. To ultimately get to the other side.
by Caroline Leach | Jul 20, 2020 | Leadership, Learning, Social Media
What are the best content types to share in our stay-at-home, pandemic world? What do people most need right now? What are they seeking?
A place to start is with content that resonates with you. What are you looking for when you scroll through LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter?
Another consideration is experiences you’ve had or observations you’ve made about leading and navigating through work during a global pandemic.
Two hypotheses emerged for me.
First, people are looking for helpful content that informs them on topics of interest that solve a problem for them.
Second, people are attracted by inspiring content that motivates them to take action amidst difficult circumstances.
To test these hypotheses, I analyzed the last 60 days of my LinkedIn posts. I’ve been known to gather my own data on a spreadsheet and analyze it for unique learning.
If you post content regularly, I encourage you to do the same. It creates clarity about what’s resonating with people. In addition, it gives clues about what will be engaging in the near future.
Before getting into the data, it’s worth noting that views, likes, and comments are considered by some to be vanity metrics. Why? It can be difficult to link social media content to specific business outcomes. As I reviewed the last 60 days, though, it was clear that one-third of my new clients were people who saw my content on LinkedIn and reached out to me as a result. That’s why these metrics are valuable to me as a solopreneur. They may be helpful to you as well, depending your goals for social media in boosting your career.
My average was one post a week. Views ranged from 4,692 on the high side to 86 on the low side. Likes/reactions went from 113 to 3. Comments went from 34 to 0 (yes, zero; ouch!). In addition, by clicking on the number of post views, more data is available. This includes organizations, titles, and geographic areas of people who engaged with a post.
What did the two lowest-scoring posts have in common? They were both shares of someone else’s content. That was a valuable learning. From now on, I’ll make a substantive comment on content I find share-worthy. However, I won’t share it. Instead, I’ll create an original post on the topic, crediting and tagging the creator.
Looking at the top half of my posts, five themes emerged.
Big Brands
The post with the most reach was a farewell meeting as my my three-year term concluded on the USC Alumni Association Board of Governors, representing the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. With 60+ people on the board and more than 400,000 living alumni (Patrick Auerbach can always quote the exact number), potentially a large number of people might be interested. This post got more than 4,700 views and 113 likes. Thanking various people and tagging them, as well as including relevant hashtags, probably helped this post gain more exposure.
Giveaways
Thinking about what could help people right now, I remembered I had several copies of my book, What Successful People Do on Social Media: A Short Guide to Boosting Your Career. Why not offer some free copies? In a book giveaway post, I tagged the book’s editor and cover designer, along with people who gave the book 5-star ratings on Amazon. In under an hour, five people claimed their books, which were mailed out the next day. Others could still get a free workbook, Your Social Media Success Roadmap, with 50 questions, actions, and ideas about career building on social media. This post got more than 1,700 views. It had the most comments at 34. A few second-degree connections commented, and we’ve since connected with each other.
Media Quotes
As a result of commenting on U.S. Chamber of Commerce posts about marketing ideas for small businesses, I was interviewed for a few articles. Of the three I posted, the most engaging one was customer communication tips during Covid. Here I tagged the article author and the other contributors, in addition to connecting on LinkedIn with everyone involved. This post got more than 1,460 views, 22 likes, and 8 comments. My theory is this one performed the best because it had the most people tagged. And it was for an appropriate reason, because they were all quoted in the article as well.
Podcasts
A fellow grad-school alum, Randa Hinton, contacted me this spring for an informational interview. She introduced me to another alum, Anika Fisch, and we had chatted as well. A few weeks later, Randa and Anika invited me to a be a guest on their new podcast, Opportunity Unknown. They teamed up to share the journey of their job search in the middle of a global pandemic. It’s an excellent podcast, BTW, for anyone who’s looking for work right now … full of actionable advice and inspiration. This post got 1,379 views, 34 likes, and 4 comments.
Black Lives Matter
As a white person who wants to contribute to social equality and justice, reflect on and adjust my own behavior, and amplify Black voices, I struggled with how to engage on social with Black Lives Matter. Then I read a poignant op-ed in the LA Times by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I shared his article, along with my thoughts. This post got more than 1,240 views and 26 likes. Of my recent posts, however, this was the only one that got zero comments. Hmmm. I’m not sure what that means. Perhaps people didn’t know what to say? Why do you think no one commented?
What’s Unique to You?
For the most part, these posts focused on what I’ve been doing in my consulting and coaching business. No doubt you are working on important projects, learning hard-won lessons, and achieving celebration-worthy victories with your colleagues. Your experiences might help someone else solve a problem or feel inspired to keep going on their own professional journey. What will you be sharing in the coming days? Please tag me so I can check it out!
by Caroline Leach | May 31, 2020 | Careers, Leadership, Social Media
A heartening trend is shaping up on LinkedIn.
Multiple people are posting with offers of helping others during these turbulent times.
It may be a LinkedIn reference for someone who lost their job due to the global pandemic. It may be an introduction to someone else in their network. It may simply be encouragement to keep pushing beyond rejection. It may be valuable ways of fighting the racism that is front and center in our national consciousness.
Shelley Zalis, CEO of The Female Quotient, recently posted an invitation inviting people to contact her for help and connections to her vast network.
Savannah Rayat offered to help people she knows who have been laid off, by putting them in touch with a company or sending an email putting in a good word for someone.
Randa Hinton and Anika Fisch are launching a new podcast. It’s called Opportunity Unknown They’re helping fellow job seekers by chronicling their journey as recent grads searching for meaningful jobs during a pandemic.
Karyn Spencer and Charlene Wheeless have offered their perspectives on what’s happening in the aftermath of this past week’s horrific events towards Black people in our country.
Men are part of these dialogues as well, and I applaud their efforts to help others navigate these difficult times.
As I sort through the truly disturbing news in our country this weekend, I am heartened by pictures of police in Camden, New Jersey; Flint, Michigan; Santa Cruz, Calif.; and other communities nationwide.
They are joining arms with protesters, sometimes taking a knee, and peacefully de-escalating tensions. This is so important to help us start listening to each other and making meaningful change.
As for me, I invite people in my network to reach out if I can be of help. I’m happy to make introductions, share perspectives, and listen to your journey.
Each of us has something to offer others at this time. It’s especially powerful if we help someone who is different in some way from ourselves. What are you doing to help make the world a better and more just and equitable place?
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