by Caroline Leach | Oct 17, 2018 | Social Media
What’s the best day and time to publish an article on LinkedIn?
It’s wise to check the data frequently, because it often changes.
A year ago, studies suggested the sweet spot was 10 to 11 am on weekdays, and especially on Tuesdays.
In 2018, Sprout Social says the best time is on Wednesdays between 3 and 5 pm. Tuesdays through Thursdays are ideal, with the least engagement coming from Fridays through Mondays. That makes sense, given the cycle of the work week.
Co-Schedule aggregated several studies and concluded midweek from 5 – 6 pm, 7:30 to 8:30 am and at 12 pm. Essentially, it’s ideal to post before and after “regular” work hours (if there is such a thing anymore), in addition to lunchtime when people may be taking breaks.
Today and in the coming weeks I’ll test the Wednesday afternoon data with my own articles. Generally I post an article every Wednesday. Rather than posting in the morning, though, I’ll try the 3 – 5 pm window in Pacific Time, my local time zone.
I’ll post right at 3 pm since some of my network is in earlier U.S. time zones. Fascinating fact: almost 80% of the U.S. population lives in the Eastern and Central time zones.
My LinkedIn articles are based on my blog on how people use social media to build their careers and their companies. Sharing my blog post content on LinkedIn has been a valuable way of reaching a broader audience that is likely to find value in the content.
Wednesdays weren’t a data-driven decision in the beginning. Most of my blog post writing was on weekend mornings. My teens were sleeping in, and I had quiet time for writing. Wednesday became my reposting day on LinkedIn simply to give myself a few days to get it posted.
In the process, I began collecting and analyzing my own data. With my Excel spreadsheet of 18 months of posting an article roughly every week, I went back through my data to see if my experience aligns with the industry studies.
One of the questions when I shared my data six months ago was from a former colleague, Sarah Groves. She was curious about the ideal day of week and time of day to share LinkedIn content. At the time, there wasn’t a clear cut answer in the data, meaning that any weekday was fine. As I’ve collected more data, I’m curious if anything had changed.
Looking at my top 20 articles for views, likes, comments and shares, a few data points jumped out.
First, 60% of them were posted on Wednesday. But the highest scoring article was posted on Tuesday. And all days of the week were represented.
Second, 65% of them had strong headlines. They scored in the “green zone” at a score of 70+ in the Co-Schedule headline analyzer.
Third, 80% of the top 10 were posted in 2018 vs. 2017. They’re reaching a broader audience probably because my network has grown by 1,000 people.
What are the takeaways from this?
The quality of the content matters more than the day and time it’s posted. It’s ideal to focus on offering your network your best thinking in your articles. Write about the expertise and perspective that is unique to you that would be valuable to your network. Then to make sure it has the best chance of reaching the broadest audience, post it on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.
Headlines matter. You can write the best article in the world, but if the headline doesn’t pique people’s interest in clicking on the link, you won’t reach a broad audience. Write several headlines for every article. See how they score in a headline analyzer. It’s almost a gamified approach to headline writing, because you can keep entering headlines to try to get a higher score.
The size and quality of your network is important. Keep building a high-quality network of connections on LinkedIn. Connect with people you meet and want to meet. Be sure to personalize your invitations to strengthen your relationship. By increasing your connections and followers, your content will reach a broader audience, which is likely to increase engagement.
It’s wise to experiment with different days and times. All the data in the world is meaningless if it doesn’t improve your unique situation. You can try posting on different days and times of the week, and track the views, likes, comments and shares from your articles. What trends do you see over time? What are the patterns in your top articles? How might the engagement be affected by the local time zones of your audience?
What day and time for posting LinkedIn articles has gotten the most engagement for you?
by Caroline Leach | Sep 19, 2018 | Social Media
iStockphoto by BigNazik
Before you hit “send” on a critical email, do one thing.
And no, it’s not editing for brevity, spell checking and proofreading. Those are a given. For every message.
There’s another strategy that can increase the impact of your message – whether you’re asking someone for a favor, inviting them to speak at an event, requesting a reference, or making any number of asks. This simple strategy could tilt the scales toward a positive response.
What is it?
Check your recipient’s latest social media posts.
Why?
Here are 3 big reasons.
You may see recent updates that change your approach. Maybe your recipient has started a new job, been promoted, received an award, or spoken at a conference. Those are great accomplishments to congratulate the person on, in a genuine and authentic way.
For my regular readers, you know I advise never to send someone spam (a.k.a., an unsolicited pitch for business or a job) immediately after connecting in LinkedIn. These messages generally aren’t worth the time to read and respond to, especially the jargon-filled ones where it’s difficult to know what the person or business actually does.
But someone recently followed up his pitch for a meeting with a note that said, “I just noticed it looks like you left your company recently. I apologize for not checking that first. Congrats on your new venture! That sounds exciting.”
He had actually looked at my LinkedIn profile, I assume, and saw that I recently launched a business, The Carrelle Company. Born on Labor Day 2018 from this blog I began on New Year’s Day 2015, the company helps people grow their careers and businesses through digital branding in social media.
His message was kind enough and human enough that I decided to respond. His is one of the few pitch messages I’ve ever answered. The door is cracked open in a friendly way. That wouldn’t have happened if the sender hadn’t looked at my social media.
And who knows what might transpire in the future. We’re all connected and on paths that could converge in the future, in ways we can’t even imagine today.
You may learn something that helps strengthen your relationship. When someone you’ve worked with previously reaches out to you to ask what’s new, find out what they’ve been up to before you respond.
A few years ago I got a note like that from Karie Willyerd, who recently became Chief Learning Officer at Visa. She had been a fabulous speaker I’d invited to a few DIRECTV leadership events when I led Corporate Communications.
Was I ever glad I checked her social media before responding. At the time she had just released a new book called Stretch, about lifelong learning and future-proofing your career. That gave me the opportunity to congratulate her in my reply and learn more about her ideas.
In addition, you may gain insight into what’s important to your recipient, and you may be able to appropriately connect your interests with theirs. Maybe you share a passion for a charitable cause, have a colleague in common, or are reading similar books.
But don’t go overboard. Someone sent me a message recently that was over the top with praise for my blog, including examples from multiple posts. It was a bit jarring a few paragraphs later when the pitch for new business emerged. It had an inauthentic tone, and it did not motivate me to respond.
You may find out there’s a better time to send your message. Are you seeing beautiful vacation photos on Instagram? Ones that aren’t hashtagged as #latergrams? Then you might hold your message until the person returns home. They could be more receptive then.
Maybe they’re in the middle of a big work event and they’re sharing it in social media. That could mean they don’t have time to give your message the attention you’d like. When you do send your message, you could mention the event and your impressions of it, along with your congratulations.
Or maybe they’re dealing with a challenging personal issue like a family member in the hospital. That’s another reason to hold off on your message. If your message is urgent, at the very least you can acknowledge the situation and offer your support.
One caution – take a light approach in your message so it doesn’t appear that you’re cyberstalking the person or feel like you’re invading their privacy. Be friendly, sincere and brief.
There’s mostly upside to knowing your audience, what they’ve been doing lately and what’s important to them. This is what their recent social media activity can tell you.
How has social media helped you improve your email effectiveness?
by Caroline Leach | Aug 20, 2018 | Learning, Social Media
Do you ever wonder which people to mention in your LinkedIn posts to increase engagement through likes, comments and shares?
Here’s how to go beyond mentioning people who might be interested in your content, being more targeted in who may be most engaged.
Start by making a list of the people you’ve included in your article or your post.
(And if you haven’t included others, see how you can weave in a few people and credit their ideas. Why? That will broaden the group of people who may be interested in your content. Those who are included may want to share your content with their networks, extending its reach and impact.)
Next, look at your mutual connections. These display in the mobile app, in the Highlights section right under the person’s Summary. Choose some or all of your mutual connections to mention in your post, the area on the Home feed where you “share an article, photo, video or idea.”
This is a serendipitous discovery I made recently in my series of profiles on how professionals are boosting their careers through social media. The series began with photographer Jessica Sterling and will continue in the months ahead.
The mentions feature is currently available for posts, but not for articles on the LinkedIn publishing platform. So after I’ve published an article and shared a post about it, the next day I do a post on the article that mentions people. This calls attention to the article to people who might be interested in it and who might engage with it.
As I was doing this for a profile on YouTuber Angelica Kelly, I looked at our mutual connections. We had 78. The people we both know would logically seem to be the ones who might have the most interest in the profile. So I mentioned about half of our mutual connections, based on my assessment of each one.
And of that number, about 50% liked the article and 25% wrote a comment. All of the comments except for one came from people who were mentioned. It was exciting to see a community take shape in the comments.
This is something I look forward to experimenting with over time. As I do, I’ll share upcoming posts about trends and patterns in engagement with mutual connections. (Note: opinions expressed in this blog are my own.)
Speaking of mutual connections, here’s another article I wrote about how to make the most of them. You can understand the broader social network, get to know a new colleague or client, and discover opportunities for collaboration.
And since social media is all about reciprocity, I’m making an effort to engage in the content of the people I’m mentioning. When I see their content in my home feed, I’m more likely to like, comment on or share it.
One caution is to not mention people too often and wear out your welcome. Once a week is probably the max, making sure the content is relevant and likely to be welcomed by the people you’re mentioning.
How have you tapped into mutual connections to engage people with your content?
by Caroline Leach | Jul 6, 2018 | Social Media
Do you have a high school senior applying to college this fall? Or a sophomore or junior starting to gear up for college apps?
In any event, you and your student are busy. Academics. Athletics. Activities. Test prep. Community service. College apps. Family. Friends. And so on.
The Common Application for the 2018-19 college application cycle opens on August 1. It’s the same date for the University of California and many others.
As a high school parent, just thinking about it all makes me want to stop and take a break.
As a corporate VP with a side gig writing, researching and speaking about career building through social media, it gets my wheels turning.
There may be an aspect of college prep we’re missing. What is it? Social media.
No, this isn’t the post warning you about all the bad things that could happen on social media. You know about those. And your student isn’t the type of person anyway to disparage others or do things in poor taste, whether it’s on social media or IRL (in real life).
No, this post is all about the good things that can come from being active on social media, and LinkedIn in particular. (Note: opinions expressed in this blog are my own).
There are more than 560 million people on LinkedIn. That includes college admissions officers, college application readers, internship recruiters, corporate recruiters and many more.
That makes LinkedIn the perfect place for a high school student to tell their unique story … the one only they can tell.
Here are the benefits for a high student of creating a LinkedIn profile …
An unlimited opportunity to share interests, passions and accomplishments … in words, images, videos and links. That’s much more than the 650-word limit in the Common App essay prompts. A LinkedIn profile can become a supplemental portfolio of accomplishments, awards and interests.
The ability to explore colleges and demonstrate interest through University Pages. Beyond visiting a college campus, being active on a University Page shows interest. Students can engage in content by engaging in content on a university page by liking and commenting on content, as well as asking questions.
The chance to begin building a professional network. This can include friends, friends’ parents, community leaders from activities like scouting and athletics, and many more. Be aware that sometimes teachers must wait until a student is 18 before they can connect with them on social media.
What does this all add up to? A powerful ability for a high-school student to shape and control their narrative in our highly social world.
Why does it matter? Because “more than two-thirds (68%) of colleges say it’s ‘fair game’ for them to visit applicants’ social media profiles to help them decide who gets in.”
That’s according to a 2018 Kaplan Test Prep Survey of 388 admissions officers from top schools. CNN reported on the prior year’s survey, saying that social media can help a student’s college prospects.
Another study by AACRAO, the American Association of Collegiate Registrars Admissions Officers, says more than 75% of colleges are looking at social media, according to Social Assurity, a firm advising students on social media.
Of course, you never know for sure if an admissions officer or application reader will look at a student’s LinkedIn profile or other social media activity.
But students can certainly include a link to their profile in their application (tip: create a customized LinkedIn URL with the student’s name). They can be active on the University Pages of colleges of interest. They can share compelling content that establishes their personal narrative and a digital presence.
Anyone who’s 16 or older can start a LinkedIn profile. Several of my previous posts can help you and your student take the first steps:
And this post may turn into a series of posts specifically for high school students and their parents. What could be ahead? How-to info on:
- Starting a LinkedIn profile
- Building a professional network
- Telling a story through content
- Engaging with University Pages
- Bringing other social media into the mix
What else do you or your student want to know?
Let’s get started!
by Caroline Leach | Jul 5, 2018 | Social Media
What does organizing guru Marie Kondo have to do with LinkedIn profiles?
Starting with The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie is the author of four best-selling books. She “helps people transform their cluttered homes into spaces of serenity and inspiration.”
Many of her clients say she changed their lives for the better … gaining clarity about their life’s mission, improving relationships and accomplishing long-languishing goals.
If decluttering your surroundings can change your life, think what decluttering your LinkedIn profile can do for your career.
By focusing on the essential and eliminating the non-essential on your profile, your best attributes will stand out. People don’t have to spend precious time figuring out who you are, what you do and where you’re heading in your career.
As you establish an all-star profile, fixing these three mistakes can clean up and bring clarity to your LinkedIn profile.
- Keeping content more than 10 to 15 years old
Most content that’s not from 2000 or later is likely irrelevant. It can safely be removed from your profile. This makes more room for your recent accomplishments to stand out and point the way toward your future.
There’s no need to keep positions more than 15 years old. If the experience was formative to your worldview today, you can mention it (briefly) in your summary.
There’s no need to keep graduation years from college. If it’s been more than a decade or so since you graduated, you can take off the dates.
As the world continues to changes more and more quickly, removing dated information will become even more important. This keeps the focus on what you’re learning and doing now.
- Including content not relevant to your future
What do you want your next job to be?
You can use that question as a lens to decide what content is relevant to your future and what can be deleted. Look at all the sections of your profile and remove the extraneous.
Here’s an example. Recently I deleted that I’m a senior professional in human resources, or SPHR. At one time I reported to a Chief Human Resources Officer (one of many awesome bosses, BTW) and the credential was valuable to my work.
It wasn’t an easy test to pass. There were prep books and flash cards and practice exams. That’s why it was slightly painful to take it off my LinkedIn profile.
But my current work in marketing and communications is my future. The SPHR designation is now extraneous. I comfort myself knowing I’m well schooled in HR, which is ever valuable in leading teams and coaching people. But it’s no longer a credential that needs to be highlighted.
Another place to pare down is your endorsements. Choose the skills that most strongly support your current and future professional direction. Delete the ones that don’t.
Although I appreciate the people who endorsed me for “project management” and I like to believe my skills are strong in that area, it’s not something I want to be known for.
By removing the endorsements for non-essential skills, you’re making your most relevant skills stand out.
- Sharing anything too personal
LinkedIn isn’t Facebook. There’s no need to share your birthday in your contact information. Do you really want to get happy birthday messages in your LinkedIn feed?
While some could make the case that wishing people a happy birthday in LinkedIn is a good way to touch base with your connections on an annual basis, there are better ways to do that.
The best ways are to comment on people’s LinkedIn content, share information that will be of interest to individuals in your network, and offer to introduce people in your network who could benefit from knowing each other. On introductions, be sure to ask first if both people are open to it.
What other mistakes do you see in LinkedIn profiles?
Recent Comments