Podcast #230 – LinkedIn Made Simple – FAT Strategies in a Thin Book
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This week I am speaking with my two friends Ryan Rhoten and Andy Foote. Ryan is a brand specialist with CareerBrand and Andy is an Advanced LinkedIn Strategy coach with LinkedInInsights.com. Together they are the co-authors of the book LinkedIn Made Simple – Fat Strategies in a Thin Book.
I have had both Ryan and Andy on the podcast previously. Ryan in episode 42 and Andy in episode 191.
This will be a bit of a long episode and I thought about cutting out some of the dialogue but there is so much good material here that I did not want to cut anything.
This episode is sponsored by Career Pivot. Check out the Career Pivot Community. Make sure and pick up my latest book, Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life Third Edition.
Now on to the podcast…
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Why?
People keep asking the same questions about LinkedIn over and over. They needed an actionable book of what to do. Originally, these were training recordings that Andy learned needed to put into a book format.
He then needed an expert and Ryan was the one he knew could be a co-author to the book as Ryan had already gone really deep on LinkedIn.
Andy and Ryan both knew a book would be difficult because as soon as it was written, it would probably change. But because of the practicality of it and the way it’s written – full of blueprints and strategies – a lot of this will be a mainstay and be relevant and useable for a long long time.
Listen to the most recent episode
The book is not just a book of steps. It’s a book of strategies.
There are three main strategies:
Connect:
The problem with connecting on LinkedIn is the same as other social media platforms. People don’t have any kind of goals. They just connect with random people and have no strategy with why they connect with the people they connect with.
The book guides them on how to set goals, determine the audience, and really know how to connect right with people. If they do that part right, then they can convert with a lead, a relationship, or something else.
It’s a terrible idea to connect with just about anyone and then later cut loose those that are not producing for you. That’s not a great strategy at all.
There are different strategies for connecting. They can be based on commonality. If they’re in the same business as you, you would want to connect with them. You shouldn’t think of them as competitors. Think of them as someone that you can learn from and vice versa.
Also, you should be looking for people that you can meet in person (now that Covid is better). You should be interested in people who fit your client profile.
Converse:
Have a conversation.
You don’t have to be messaging someone directly. It starts with the content you put out, with your company page, your profile, etc.
That conversation starts in a multitude of ways.
Without the conversations, nothing is going to happen. That’s the key to LinkedIn. That’s the way to discover who the other person is, what they’re interested in, and where that relationship might lead.
Algorithms also look at your content and what kind of conversation that your content generates. Comments are “rocket fuel” for LinkedIn.
Also, your profile is extremely important. You don’t want boring headlines!
3 elements that are very important on LinkedIn are your headshot, your name, and your headline. There’s a certain amount you can do with the headshot, but your headline is the one that can do a lot of lifting for you.
The trap a lot of people fell into when LinkedIn increased the headline space, was the natural reaction to use all the space for keywords. They want to squeeze everything they possibly can into that space. The problem with that approach is one, they get cut because LinkedIn was not designed for that long of a headline, and two, they need to think of their name as the brand and their headline as the slogan. The headline needs to pull people to a website – short and snappy and memorable.
CONVERT:
Definition: Engagement in the right way. Most people think about getting into someone’s direct messaging. But they forget that they can convert people through their content. Convert is bring someone to your side so you can have a conversation with them.
The content is the groundwork that people lay for a future relationship. Content is a funnel to get the right people to you hopefully on a steady and regular basis.
Most people want to jump right to messaging right out of the gate. They don’t think about their audience or the story they want to tell. That makes them a spammer.
If they don’t have anything to show in their Activity section, that is a big, red flag. If there’s no content there then why not? Where does someone go to find out about you?
LinkedIn loves free content. Especially great content that has legs. As long as people can write and share great ideas, then they should grow on LinkedIn.
Also, people should write or post about what they want to be known for. Stay in their own lane. People want to see a common thread in the production of videos. If someone is all over the place, that sends a negative thought to others.
The book teaches people strategies that will help with all of the above.
It’s a plan. Follow the plan. Whatever your objectives are, the plan can work for you.
To Reach Out:
Mention this podcast in the personalized note if you reach out to Ryan and/or Andy.
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Loved this podcast and I immediately logged into LI to do some work on my profile!
I was guilty of using way too many words in my headline, so I chopped that back to 90 characters. I also tightened up my descriptions in the ‘Featured’ section.
I also really appreciated Ryan’s comment about the need to keep posting consistently, and that it takes months of consistent work before you start seeing some benefits. It’s easy to get discouraged if you have the wrong expectations.