by Caroline Leach | Jun 17, 2018 | Learning, Social Media
There’s only one you in the world. No one else has traveled your exact professional path, experienced identical situations or learned the same lessons.
Of the more than 560 million LinkedIn users and counting, only you can tell your unique professional story.
That’s the big takeaway from analyzing 49 articles I posted to LinkedIn starting in May 2017. The top articles were largely inspired by my personal experience:
If you aren’t already posting LinkedIn articles, here are some reasons to consider it. And if you’re already writing articles, this may help you up your game.
Just over a year ago, I started an experiment on LinkedIn. I posted to LinkedIn every weekday for a month. Why? To test the data point that it takes 20 LinkedIn posts each month to reach 60% of your audience.
In developing an editorial calendar, one of the easy ways to share content was to repurpose my blog posts at carolineleach.com. This solved another problem – promoting my posts. Repurposing posts as LinkedIn articles reached a broader audience among my LinkedIn network.
In analyzing the data over the past year and reflecting on my experience, here’s what I learned in the form of benefits from regular article writing. By writing an article weekly, as I did, or probably even monthly, you’re likely to:
Create a sustainable writing schedule. When I began writing articles a year ago, there was a healthy backlog of blog posts. It was simply a matter of organizing the topics in a logical flow, making minor content updates to ensure timeliness, posting the articles and sharing them with my network.
Once the backlog was done, though, a weekly article needed to be written. With a busy professional position and an active family with two teens, where was the time going to come from?
Here’s one of the ways having teens can be a blessing. They generally sleep in on the weekends. That’s why early mornings on the weekends became my writing time. And the weekly article was ready to repurpose on LinkedIn during the week when more people visit it.
Committing to a weekly article pushed me to create a sustainable writing schedule every week. If you’re a lark like me, or a night owl like my teens, you can take advantage of early mornings or late nights. Or you could turn part of your lunchtime or your public transport commute into writing times.
There’s an ideal intersection. It’s between areas when you can carve out time and when your brain is operating a high level of efficiency. Look for those times.
Grow your network. My articles that attracted the most engagement have been those where I’ve done experiments and collected and analyzed related data. That made me wonder how my network grew between May 2017 and June 2018.
LinkedIn has a handy feature where you can download all of your connections into an Excel spreadsheet. BTW, this is a good practice to do every 3 to 6 months, so you always have an up-to-date record of your contacts. You never know when you might need it!
While I thought my network had grown over the last year, it was surprising to see connections were up more than 60%! There are many reasons for this, and I believe my weekly articles are a big one. Why? Because people mention them in their connection requests.
While connections went from about 1,900 to 3,160, followers also grew from zero to 440 in the same time period. The combined group is just over 3,600. That data helped me set a stretch goal for this year of 5,000.
Establish yourself as an expert and increase your influence. By sharing your professional expertise and your unique perspective, you can establish yourself as a thought leader in your area of focus.
How can you measure this? The growth in your network connections and followers gives you one indication.
You can also look at the trend of your profile views. How are they increasing over time? What’s the makeup of people looking at your profile? Is it the group you want to reach, whether it’s industry leaders, peers or recruiters?
You can also look at speaking requests. Because of my LinkedIn articles, I’ve been invited to speak to …
A highlight was joining the team of social influencers at the inaugural AT&T Business Summit in 2017. John Starkweather, Michelle Smith and I along with several others shared our experiences in LinkedIn articles. (Note: opinions expressed in this blog are my own.)
What’s next? This spring I did research on how people are using social media to boost their careers. That identified several people who are doing it well. I’ve begun interviewing people who are crushing it in social media and will start sharing profiles of them soon.
The ascendence of AI, artificial intelligence, and AR, augmented reality, are fascinating in how they are influencing social media. These are areas I look forward to researching and conducting experiments.
The best part about reflecting on that last year? Seeing a holistic view that added up to significant progress. Without pausing to reflect, the feeling of moving forward wouldn’t be as strong.
And having a sense of forward momentum is what creates “the best inner work lives,” according to authors Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer. They studied and wrote about the importance of daily action toward meaningful goals in The Progress Principle.
How are you making regular progress in sharing your expertise with the world?
by Caroline Leach | Apr 22, 2018 | Learning, Social Media
What did you share in social media in the last week? How did your network respond? What did your analytics look like?
In part 3 of this series of posts on social media research I did in March 2018, I’ll share the data relevant to those questions.
Part 1 in this series covered the survey goals, methodology, respondents, and professional and personal social media use.
Part 2 looked at the reasons why people are active in social media to boost their careers.
Part 3 in this series covers:
- What types of LinkedIn content get the most engagement
- What topics on LinkedIn get the most engagement, and
- Strategies to increase engagement with your social media content, regardless of the platform.
How is engagement defined? It’s likes, comments and shares of your content.
LinkedIn content types that get the most engagement
By far, Sharing an article was the type of LinkedIn content that gets the most engagement, with 68% of respondents choosing it.
In second place, half of that at 34% said Sharing a photo.
Tied for third place was Sharing an idea and Resharing content of others at 22%.
In last place was Sharing a video at 19%. This surprised me the most, given how popular video content has become. However, the addition of video has only come to LinkedIn in the last year, so it’s still relatively early days. I expect to see this percentage grow over time, as more people experiment with video content.
Some of the comments added great ideas to the mix:
“On the job photos, specifically of participation at a company event, with a company leader, or an interesting ‘behind the scenes’ moment.”
“Articles on industry thought leadership topics get read/liked/shared by my peers.”
“Content that congratulates or promotes and tags others in exemplary work.”
LinkedIn topics that get the most engagement
The topics in LinkedIn content that attract the most engagement are:
- Industry trends (48%)
- Leadership (34%)
- News about your employer (30%)
This confirms two of the top three reasons people are active in social media to boost their careers – accessing news about your industry and profession (81%) and learning continually about your industry and profession (77%).
Strategies to increase engagement with your content
Lastly, what are effective ways to increase engagement with your social media content, regardless of the platform?
Two strategies rose to the top:
- Tag people in the post, if they’re in an accompanying photo or video (75%)
- Mention relevant people in the post (65%)
Some of the comments offered up more ideas:
“Hashtags generate interest, especially from young professionals.”
“When people are authentic with their voice and message and thank (tag) the people who helped contribute to the project or idea get a lot of organic engagement.”
“Provide my point of view when sharing an article – not a headline, but instead an insightful suggest that might entice someone to read it. Ask a question.”
Two strategies that were only selected by 20% of respondents are actions that I have found valuable in increasing engagement.
First is to tag people in the post, even if they’re not in the accompanying photo or video. Why? This alerts them to content that may be of interest to them or their network.
The caveat here is not to overuse this strategy to the point that it becomes annoying to others. A way to decide? When someone you’ve tagged multiple times does not engage with your content.
A group of people who do a great job tagging people in posts are colleagues at my employer. (Note: opinions expressed in this blog are my own). Sarita Rao, John Starkweather, Sarah Groves, John Stancliffe, Eisaiah Engel, and Knox Keith are a few good examples. By tagging relevant people in their LinkedIn and Twitter content, they make sure that their content is seen by a wider audience.
Second is to sent separate, tailored messages to relevant people, alerting them of the post. This strategy I learned from others who sent me brief direct messages in LinkedIn to tell me about an article and why I might be interested in it. They did not specifically ask me to like, comment on, or share their content. But if I found value in the article, I engaged with it.
Many people commented that they don’t post frequently as a career-building strategy. One respondent said, “I have not built the confidence yet to post my own ideas in LinkedIn. I’m trying to figure out my voice before posting my ideas and also what I want to represent with my personal brand.”
An easy way to get started with content updates is by tapping into an employee advocacy program, if your employer offers one. These programs serve up ready-make, on-brand content that you can share as is in your social networks, or add your point of view.
The next post in this series will share how survey respondents are taking advantage of employee advocacy. How are you using it?
by Caroline Leach | Mar 21, 2018 | Learning, Social Media
When it comes to social media innovation, I’m inspired by many colleagues at my employer.
One of those groups is Marketing Communications in Business Marketing. The team’s VP, Sarita Rao (pictured above), gets her far-flung team together on a regular basis for “open mic” meetings.
Last fall I got to work with John Starkweather, Sarah Groves, John Stancliffe, Knox Keith and others as influencers during The Summit, a ground-breaking inaugural event for the company’s business customers. Every day, I learn more about how to kill it in social media from this group.
So it was an honor when Sarah Groves invited me to do an open mic session at Sarita’s team meeting this month in Dallas at the company’s headquarters.
Here’s what Sarah asked and how the dialogue took shape.
How did you get started using social?
A few years ago, my colleagues and I launched a social business platform, to enable people to collaborate and work in new ways.
Just a few of the key contributors were Michael Ambrozewicz, Thyda Nhek Vanhook, Frank Palase, Brian Ulm, Miriam Smith, John Cloyd and Alan Lewis.
We did a pilot program before launch. Not surprisingly, there was the to-be-expected resistance to chance.
I launched a blog, for two reasons. One was to role model behaviors that fellow leaders and employees could follow. Another was to learn how to do it so I could advise our CEO and others on how to reach a broad audience through blogging.
Over time I discovered I enjoyed the process of learning through blogging, sharing that journey, and connecting with people throughout the company.
Three years later, I started my external blog at carolineleach.com. A few years after that, I began repurposing my blog content as weekly LinkedIn articles, in order to reach a broader audience.
One thing that’s important about blogging and any social media activity is to know and follow your company’s social media policies.
Generally, that will mean not sharing any information that is confidential or private, and making it clear that the opinions you express are your own and not the company’s. (Note: opinions expressed in this blog are my own).
When in doubt about the wisdom of sharing specific content, err on the conservative side and leave it out.
How do you fit social into your life? How much time do you spend on it?
It’s ideal to have a social media plan, and make social part of every day. Gary Vaynerchuk advocates simply documenting what you’re doing, rather than attempting to create all kinds of content.
Depending what goals you want to accomplish in social media, you can spent as little or as much time as your calendar and your lifestyle can accommodate.
My week in social looks like this:
Weekend blog post on carolineleach.com (this is easy to do when you have teens at home who sleep in, as I do, which gives me quiet mornings to write)
Wednesday LinkedIn article, repurposed from my blog and set up on Tuesday evening to post the following day
Daily scroll through LinkedIn home feed, liking, commenting on and sharing relevant content by people in my network and for people in my network
One tweet a day, plus looking at trending news in the morning and afternoon
A daily look at my employer’s Social Circle employee advocacy app to check for content I might want to share in my social networks
A few posts during the week on LinkedIn, as well as on Instagram, which is generally more personal in nature. Now I’m intrigued by and researching how people are using Instagram in their professional lives.
Some of this activity can be combined with other activities. For example …
If I’m waiting in line at the company cafeteria, I’ll scroll through my LinkedIn feed and maybe I’ll retweet something I see in Twitter
When I attend an event, I share pictures of speakers along with their best soundbites, or I share pictures or videos of other attendees
When I’m catching up with reading over the weekend, I share relevant articles in Twitter and LinkedIn.
What’s your recommendation for getting started?
Begin with your LinkedIn profile. Complete every field, until LinkedIn identifies your profile as “All-Star.” You’ll see “All-Star” noted in the upper right of the dashboard section of your profile, which only you can see.
You don’t have to complete your profile all at once. You can set aside time each week to work on one section at a time. Start from the top and work down, addressing these areas:
Your LinkedIn profile is ever evolving, as you and your career grow and change. Target adding something new to your profile every month, whether it’s a link to a company news release that relates to a project you worked on or an article sharing your expertise and thought leadership.
How do you see social playing a role for all employees driving engagement and advocacy for the company going forward?
Everyone can be a brand ambassador in social media. In addition to building your own career and championing the achievements of your colleagues, you can share the great news about your employer.
In the process, you can also get to know people in your company and beyond that it might otherwise be hard to meet.
If you have an employee advocacy program at your company, that’s an easy way to get started with on-target content. You can always customize it a bit with your personal take on the news and information, tailoring it for your networks.
Don’t forget to include the relevant hashtags for you and/or your employer, to maximize the reach of your content.
How do you know what you want to be known for?
You can ask yourself a few questions, to identify one or two subject areas you want to be known for in social media and in real life.
- What topics are important for success in your current role?
- What topics will be important for success in your likely future role?
- What topics are you naturally drawn to and interested in?
Here’s an example from my own career journey. This blog began in 2015 as an exploration of the future of corporate communications as a corporate vice president of that function.
When my employer was acquired later that year, I had the opportunity to move into marketing analytics. My blog then pivoted to learning more about that field. What then became paramount for me was learning how to learn quickly, which I explored in this blog.
As I searched for the topic I most wanted to explore, I was inspired by hearing Reese Witherspoon talk at a Fullscreen Media event in 2016.
She was asked about how she’s been super successful in social media. And she talked about social media content creation for people as being a big white space that’s not fully being filled right now.
That prompted a lightbulb moment for me. My blog then evolved into exploring how people are using social media to build their careers. And here we are today.
What blogs do you read?
This question made me realize I’ve migrated from reading blogs over to listening to podcasts. So I reacquainted myself with the folder of favorite blogs on my iPhone …
My favorite podcasts are an eclectic mix …
The Daily from The New York Times and Michael Barbaro every weekday morning to dip into a timely topic in the news.
The Science of Social Media, every Monday from Brian Peters and Hailley Griffis from Buffer. It’s “a weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation and inspiration.”
Disrupt Yourself by Whitney Johnson.
Hidden Brain by Shankar Vedantum.
The Tim Ferris Show
If you have other podcasts to recommend, please leave me a comment. I’m always looking for new ideas to explore through podcasts.
And on that note, how are you killing it in social media?
by Caroline Leach | Nov 12, 2017 | Careers, Social Media
Why doesn’t everyone have a social media strategy for their career?
There are two main reasons: not seeing the value and not having the time.
The value proposition has a simple answer. Our professional reputation increasingly influences how we get jobs, advance in our careers and navigate transitions.
The time equation is more difficult. We each have 24 hours in days that seem to get busier by the second. How can we make the most of our limited time to build our careers through social media?
Start by thinking about what you’ve done professionally over the last month.
Have you –
- Spoken at an event
- Attended a conference
- Taken a course, online or in person
- Traveled for a work meeting or event
- Joined a professional or trade group and attended a meeting
- Received an award for your work
- Completed a key project that can be shared in public
- Participated in a company-sponsored charitable event
- Seen an engaging video about your company or industry
- Found a valuable article about your company or industry
- Read a thought-provoking book about business or your industry
- Come across an interesting post by a colleague or your company
Why consider these activities?
VaynerMedia CEO Gary Vaynerchuk identified a simple and powerful strategy in his post, “Document, don’t create: creating content that builds your personal brand.”
Documenting is creating content, he says. It’s simply sharing your career journey and what you’re doing every day. And it’s easy to do because you’re “just being yourself.”
To look into the future of this documenting trend, check out the New York Times article Keeping Up, on Camera, Is No Longer Just for the Kardashians.
In everything you do professionally today, start by asking yourself if it can be shared publicly in social media. Make sure to never, ever share non-public and/or competitively sensitive information in social media.
When in doubt, err on the side of caution and don’t share. Even if you think something is okay to share in public, check that official company sources have shared the information publicly, or ask your supervisor for confirmation.
Career blogger Penelope Trunk said it well in her online course Reach Your Goals by Blogging. “Just don’t write anything near where your ‘security clearance’ goes,” she advised. While most people don’t have security clearances, this is an apt analogy to keep confidential information confidential. Don’t share it.
Once you’ve cleared that hurdle, then focus on what you’re doing, what’s interesting about it and why it could be valuable to your network.
What specifically in the course of your day, your week and your month could you share that builds the career brand you want to be known for?
Some of my colleagues do this really well. (This is where I remind readers that opinions expressed in this blog are my own.)
Here are just a few.
TeNita Ballard. TeNita is an enthusiastic champion of diversity and inclusion. She shares the events she attends, the people she meets and what she learns through posts in Instagram, Facebook and more.
John Starkweather. John is a big advocate for business customers. He shared his experience at the company’s recent tech conference The Summit in LinkedIn and Twitter. His posts make you feel like you were there.
Jennifer Van Buskirk. Jennifer leads the east region of the company. She shares leadership lessons she’s learned in her career in LinkedIn, along with the events she attends and speaks at in the course of her work.
Sarah Stoesser Groves. Sarah is a digital marketer who shares news and information her network can use. At The Summit she posted insightful video clips and sound bites from many of the speakers in LinkedIn and Twitter.
L. Michelle Smith. Michelle is a multi-cultural marketer. She’s a great source for the latest research and thought leadership on inclusion marketing through her posts in LinkedIn and Twitter.
Reflecting on the last month, here are some of the professional activities I’ve shared in LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. It only required taking a few photos and videos of the events and sharing key messages in my social networks.
They tended to be squeezed into the nooks and crannies of busy days as well as evenings and sometimes weekends, forming the public side of work-related activities that can be shared in social media.
Attended The Summit in Dallas as a marketing leader and participated on a team of social influencers to amplify the event’s messaging and reach, thanks to Sarah Groves.
Joined the Women’s Sports Foundation‘s annual salute gala in New York, thanks to Fiona Carter who is a member of the group’s board. It was inspiring to see so many strong female role models and spend time with colleagues.
Spoke at #WeGatherLA, the second-annual women’s leadership experience spearheaded by Otter Media President Sarah Harden, thanks to an invitation from Jennifer Cho and Katelynn Duffel. It was an amazing experience interviewing Helie Lee about her project Macho Like Me, when she lived life as a man for six months. Truly incredible!
Talked with visiting students from Howard University and North Carolina A&T University about how to build a career through social media, thanks to Grant Reid, along with John Willis and Kaleb Pask.
Participated in events at USC as a member of the USC Alumni Association Board of Governors and USC Annenberg Alumni Advisory Board, thanks to Leticia Lozoya and Ashley Cooper.
Beyond building your career through social media, there are other benefits to documenting your professional life in social. You’re helping to build the brands of your company and your colleagues.
Employees are a trusted and credible source of information about their companies, according to Shel Holtz. Take that responsibility seriously and be sure you’re communicating in alignment with your company’s values, brand and social media policy.
And as we approach the end of the year and you summarize your key accomplishments, your social media feeds are a powerful input. They document many of your key accomplishments. You can add to quantifying their impact by the reach and the engagement of your posts.
As you head into a new week, what are you doing, experiencing and learning this week that you can share in social media?
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