by Caroline Leach | Jul 8, 2023 | Careers, Marketing & Analytics, Social Media
What happens when you post daily on LinkedIn? ✍️
A week ago, I decided to find out. I began a reprise of an experiment I did in 2017. At the time, I posted every weekday for a month, collected and analyzed data, and shared my findings in this article.
Back then, I was testing a hypothesis about how many posts are needed in a month to reach a certain percentage of my network.
Now, I’m doing a slightly different experiment. I’m posting daily, including weekends, during the month of July.
My hope is that this data will be valuable to you, too, as you think about your own content creation strategy.
I’ll share interim updates in July, and a full report in an article in August.
In this experiment, I want to answer these 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?
It was a bit daunting to start this experiment during the 4th of July week. It feels like this week has evolved into what the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is like. Everyone seems to be on vacation. This is great for quality of life, and not so great for interest in business content.
But I pressed on. Thanks in part to encouragement from various people.
And I’m happy I did. Here are some numbers for the past 7 days:
📈 Post impressions are up 862%
📈 Profile views are up 147%
📈 Search appearances are up 11%
Qualitatively, I’ve noticed other changes.
They all have to do with the ratio of salespeople (who I DON’T want to meet) to professionals (who I DO want to meet).
As a coach, consultant, and speaker, I hear from a LOT of salespeople who want to “fill my business pipeline and increase my revenue through done-for-me marketing.” No thank you. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
What is changing in these first 7 days?
Profile views, connection requests, and DMs are all evolving. I’m seeing and hearing from much more interesting corporate professionals and business owners. These are exactly the people I’d like to get to know better and serve through my content.
My daughter thinks these changes are because the salespeople are on vacation this week, too. But time will tell as July unfolds. 😊
What questions do YOU want to see answered in this experiment?
by Caroline Leach | Jul 7, 2023 | Careers, Corporate Communications, Leadership, Social Media
Don’t apply for stuff. 🚫
Students and colleagues give me a puzzled look when I share that advice.
How are you supposed to get jobs and grow careers without applying?
Applying for stuff:
🔴 Rarely leads to anything good
🔴 Often involves being ghosted or rejected
🔴 Gives a false sense of taking action that will lead to desired outcomes
What works instead?
✅ Getting to know people and being of service
✅ Building a network of colleagues who encourage and help each other
✅ Creating a reputation – a personal brand – for delivering value
A few examples …
In a career change, I applied for multiple jobs in corporate communications in my organization. Initially, I got rejections. Then I met people on the team through professional associations. They helped me get interviews. But I was often the number-two candidate, without an offer. Finally, I interviewed for a job and hit it off with the hiring manager. The role wasn’t right, but we kept in touch. Two months later, he reached out. A senior writer had resigned. Was I interested in the job? Um, yes! More interviews ensued. They wanted to make me an offer, but I hadn’t applied for the job. So I quickly did.
In leaping from the corporate to entrepreneurial world, I wanted to teach as a focus area. My start was serendipitous. A colleague from a volunteer board was a department director at a local college. He asked if I was interested in designing and teaching a new class in digital marketing. Um, yes! It was a blast. Later, I wanted to move to a larger university. I reached out to people in my network to chat about opportunities. While the conversations were friendly, they didn’t lead anywhere. One referral seemed hostile and uninterested in connecting, so I decided not to push it. A few months later, I got an email introduction. It was someone at the university who knew me from my alumni volunteer work and corporate social media work. A department head asked her for adjunct professor recommendations in digital and social media. My contact recommended me. After several conversations and guest speaking, I was invited to start teaching. Oh, and I had to apply after that.
More recently, I applied for an intriguing part-time contract role. It was complimentary to my current portfolio of clients and focus on coaching, consulting, speaking, and teaching. I thought I met or exceeded the key criteria. I excitedly applied online. Two days later, the rejection email arrived. I reflected on what went wrong. Because I thought my experience was a strong match with the requirements, I didn’t reach out to people for advice. This is a mistake I will not repeat.
So, stop applying for stuff. Instead, nurture your network. Help people. Let them know how they can help you. Do great work and tell people about it in the spirit of serving others.
How have you landed new opportunities?
by Caroline Leach | Jun 28, 2023 | Careers, Social Media
Get your Social Media Success Roadmap workbook, newly updated for 2023!
You’ll find 50 questions, actions, and ideas to build and 
boost your career through social media.
The workbook now includes a LinkedIn profile checklist, to make the most of your digital presence and help people find YOU.
It’s a companion piece of my book, What Successful People Do on Social Media: A Short Guide to Boosting Your Career (available on Amazon).
Here’s to your success![Download not found]
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