I thought, on LinkedIn I would be different and rather than send a New Year Message, forward a message done by someone else. This is a good example of a New Year post for this platform (with qualities that could actually be relevant any time of year)
I didn’t pick this post because it’s author is a global personality, or because he is well known to me; there is no prevailing agenda. It is just one of about ten random posts in my feed at one snapshot of time on January 1, 2021. It’s not my candidate for post of the year 2020 award.
I didn’t pick it because I thought it would help me get a load of reactions or comments or get noticed, So why did I pick it from this random sample?
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Nigerian CEOs and business moguls 2020
When we look at the profile of Emmanuel Abara Benson it says he is a Business Journalist/Senior Editor working for ‘ Business Elites Africa’ based in Nigeria. Nothing in the post suggests this is his employers product.
This post ‘Nigerian CEOs and business moguls I admired in 2020’ has 100% alignment with his profession(s), sector/product(s) and market(s) on LinkedIn, which is a ‘professional network’ – no brainer and not rocket science.
Do I agree with all his choices? No. Do I agree with all his reasons? No. But he has gone to the second level of ‘great relevant content’ which is he has invested individual effort as a narrative. It’s not necessary to be a journalist to achieve this easily. It can be done by bringing individual understanding to bear on a third party article, or it can be done by drawing a collective conclusion or highlighting contrasts on multiple third party articles. Too often posts appear copying the title, or a few summary lines lifted directly from the attached third party article, with no investment from the post author.
Don’t be fearful of criticism of your own literary investment in the post. In terms of traction with the wider community, a comment of any kind, even adversarial, is worth approx. 50x a reaction. ‘Comments are the gold standard of engagement on LinkedIn’ John Espirian – dedicated LinkedIn ‘Guru’
If your feed isn’t serving you well, please don’t blame LinkedIn. At the very core product, LinkedIn is like a service janitor in a business that rents corporate meeting spaces. The janitor ensures the room is clean, that it is accessible on time, that refreshments are made available, and that reception/usher services guide arrivals to the meeting space. But it is your job to select your board members, it is your job to set the meeting agenda and it is your job to chair the meeting. Feed is an output of the meeting discourse, and if you have pulled in random passers-by off the street until you’ve got a mob like the Colosseum of Ancient Rome, it’s not LinkedIn’s fault the meeting is in chaos and for the most part you have useless feed.
- >> As far as possible, post, share, react or comment with 100% alignment with your profession(s), sector/product(s) and market(s) on LinkedIn,
- >> Add value by investing your own narrative and departures from any third party content.
- >> Service responses to your posts – failing to do this is like not replying to a sales enquiry left message, with the WHOLE WORLD watching. Perception: Lazy at sales = 100 times more useless product/service delivery and after-sales < Business Killer.
- >> Demonstrate a mutually beneficial approach by sometimes engaging with professionally relevant content you didn’t author – shows you have positive human qualities and are not a self-obsessed narcissist!
Caveat : I acknowledge some CEOs, product, brand and media engagement managers can be restricted by corporate protocols but encourage them to use the full flexibility of engagement that is possible within corporate confines.
In 2021 my resolution for the LinkedIn platform is to wage a war on my feed so that it announces relevant opportunities, heralds new advancements, opens me to deep technical understanding, or engages in debate on key critical issues directly related to me professionally. I invite you to join in the battle and lets win the war together!
Wishing you all both a productive Tekedia and LinkedIn experience for 2021!