Doug Cohen Says Use LinkedIn As YOU - Not As A Brand Profile So Much
This is a (relatively strong) opinion piece by me, Doug Cohen. I’m not sure I’ve been able to gather a true consensus among my social media peers on this - and frankly I didn’t really go out and try before writing this. This piece came to me in a bolt of thought one night recently and I typed a stream of consciousness about it into my iPhone. It’s my opinion without any specific research and I’m lettin’ er rip. I suspect I’m right but feel free to debate…
Full disclosure - LinkedIn isn’t my GO TO platform, but I am active there and I do check the feed a few times per week. I read the occasional post, engage with folks I’m connected to, post content here and there and before I had this website I used to blog there once in a while using the LinkedIn blog platform with some degree of success. I’ve built relationships on LinkedIn and gained clients there. So I know enough to be dangerous, but I’m not a power user, and I don’t even have the premium account - just the free one.
Use LinkedIn as YOU
In my experience you’ll be more effective on LinkedIn as you building connections, not as a business profile looking to build a following. Sure there are exceptions but I think this is the rule.
People want to connect on LinkedIn and support each other. Do many want to be found by a potential employer? Sure. Are many just trying to promote themselves or even come right out and sneak-attack-solicit other LinkedIn users? Yep. But hear me out - I think at the core people like to connect slightly outside the same shared lanes with corporate, especially when it comes to the social aspect of networking. Sure companies / brands are hanging around and that’s fine - we want them there to find us if we’re looking for employment so we’re cool with that. But we’d all just prefer they stay out of our conversations. That’s why you’re better off connecting with people if you want them to see what you’re doing. If you own or manage a brand you may not want to network there AS the brand. Network as you. People will figure out what you do if they feel you are actually contributing to the dialogue there in a meaningful and valuable way, and they’ll want to connect. That’s my take on LinkedIn.
So what’s the difference from say, Facebook?
So why is this different than Facebook for example? I’ll put it like this: Because your customers are on Facebook. Your colleagues are on LinkedIn. There’s a difference. Build a following and community around your brand on Facebook for your customers. The brand-to-customer relationship is a little more natural there because of the sheer volume in the number of people on Facebook in my opinion. The platform is more conducive to setting up a virtual storefront and getting business. LinkedIn isn’t a storefront - it’s a networking event, an after work professionals happy hour, a water cooler. You don’t go there to find all your customers. People can visit you AT your store and are more prone to doing so on Facebook so to speak. You’re not AT your store when you’re at a networking event. There’s a difference.
What do you think? Do you disagree? Comment below! I would caution you before you jump in and school me that I have gotten exactly out of LinkedIn what I hoped for. I’ve gained clients for M10 Social and Frameable Faces by engaging as Doug Cohen. And I get that there is no single correct answer - different goals, different strategies. This is just my sense of what works well if you’re trying to figure out how to jump into LinkedIn.
M10 Social is owned by Doug Cohen in West Bloomfield, MI and provides social media training and digital marketing services from the Frameable Faces Photography studio Doug owns with his wife Ally. He can be reached there at tel:248-790-7317, by mobile at tel:248-346-4121 or via email at mailto:doug@frameablefaces.com.
******************************************************************************************
Tune in to the 📷Doug&Ally📷Morning Show T-F between 8:30 & 11 EST UTC-4 on Periscope by following them on Periscope or Twitter at @frameablefaces!
Don’t forget to check out the Doug & Ally Morning Show PODCAST available on most platforms where you get podcasts including Anchor.fm, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts & I Heart Radio!