Ep 59: How to master LinkedIn as marketers
Welcome to The Built Environment Marketing Show.
In this episode, taken from a LinkedIn Live a few months ago, property writer Stacey Meadwell and talk about how marketers can get the most of out LinkedIn.
So many of us focus on the companies we work for or in and not the amazing insights that we too can provide. So this one to all the truly inspirational marketers and there.
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Stacey Meadwell
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Transcript
Ayo Abbas 00:05
Hello, and welcome to the latest episode of the Built Environment Marketing Show. And I am your host Ayo Abbas, a marketing consultant, speaker and trainer who specialises in working with architects and engineers. Today's episode is all about getting the most out of LinkedIn for marketers. LinkedIn is important to me, because I think it's the social media platform for business. And it's too easy for ourselves to neglect ourselves as marketeers and the professionals that we really are, and all the things that we know. So I'm all for more of us taking to the airwaves of LinkedIn and actually doing more than shouting about what we know. Today, my podcast is taken from a live that I did with Stacey Meadwell a few months back, where we talked about how marketers like ourselves, marketers professionals can actually get the most out of LinkedIn. It's packed full of lots of kinds of insights on what we do, how we do it, the types of things that have worked for us. And it also talks about, I guess, how we use LinkedIn ourselves to help build our community, our visibility, to help us win work. So it's a really, really good action packed episode. Anyway, I'll let you get on with listening. And let me know what you think. Thanks so much. Take care. Bye.
Ayo Abbas 01:16
Hi, and welcome to the fourth before have we done this four times that we have B comms breakdown. And I am I guess I am What I am a marketing consultant content creator and general all round good egg, hows that.
Stacey Meadwell 01:39
That's brilliant, well done. I'm Stacey Meadwell, I'm a former property journalist turned content creator working with businesses in the built environment sector was that good.
Ayo Abbas 01:52
Good egg too! say so I guess starting off with our topic today, which is about getting the most out of LinkedIn. So when you work in marketing and communications, it's so easy to use your personal LinkedIn account, just to talk about what your company's doing. And I guess toeing the party line and, and being that person. But for me, there is definitely a point in kind of why you should be writing your own content as you, there's the idea of stepping out from behind the company brand seems scary to you, which I know is quite a few people. So
Stacey Meadwell 02:26
we're going to be talking for about 15 to 20 minutes, and we're going to be looking at points, sharing why we think that using your personal LinkedIn account and to, you know, boost your presence on LinkedIn is good for you and for your company. And we're also going to talk through some ideas to get you started, if you are a bit nervous about stepping out from behind the veil of the company brand and the company logo, you know, have been there. So yeah, have some experience of that. So let's get going.
Ayo Abbas 03:04
Right, so let's get cracking. So, question one, Stacey is How Can LinkedIn Help Marcomms professionals such as us? That's the question.
Stacey Meadwell 03:15
Well, we've both got lots to say on this. I mean, the obvious one is it It boosts your visibility, and we're gonna come on and talk about how that can help your company brand. In the next, in the next section, but it I think it's also an opportunity to broaden your network. If you're posting people are more likely to look at personal, personal LinkedIn accounts than company accounts. So yes, that's a reason why you're going to share your company stuff. But it also elevates your visibility. There's a practical element here that if you're getting traction on your personal account, people will tend to follow personal accounts more closely. That will help elevate your company stuff. But if you're posting other stuff that then helps that as well. And I'm pre empting, what we're going to say sorry, I think there are other elements, it's an opportunity for you to explore ideas and topics outside of what your company is posting about to set out your store for what you're interested in, as well as what your company is interested in. And I think it can open other ideas, other opportunities, you know, maybe speaking opportunities, I've got some other ideas, but I'm not going to I'm gonna go to you Ayo. As I'm waffling,
Ayo Abbas 04:45
It's like a really long list. That's why she's like, Yeah. I mean, I think in terms of marketing communications professionals, when I think about when I started my career, like 22 years ago, which is quite scary, um, But like, we've always as marketers, you end up with senior level access from a really early stage, right? You're networking directors, and you actually learn a lot. And you see a lot of an organisation that a lot of people don't see. And I think that insight and those views and that how we actually see the world, I think is worth sharing. And I also like what helps you to position how, you know, externally, you're putting your view out there also helps to position yourself internally. So like, oh, everyone's listening to her outside, let's, let's listen to her more inside it gives you more like gravitas, I think. I think. But I think there's also the horrible fact that when leads are down and pipelines down, people are looking at costs, who's the first kind of area that I always look to kind of restrict and spend, it's us, it's marketers and marcomms people. So for me, having your voice, having your own personal brand is more what is like your own kind of security net and safety net, and it'll give you access to a hidden job market as well. And just help you in terms of having networks and communities who can support you. So for me, I think yeah, those are some of the reasons why being a marketer being a marcomms person and actually having your own voice and LinkedIn, quite important. It
Stacey Meadwell 04:45
gives Yeah, I completely agree, it gives you people insight to who you are as a person. And you know, we have both been in positions where we've been made redundant hate to say the R word. But we've both been in positions where, you know, we have been made redundant. So there's this, there's a selfish or not, there's a selfish element to this, in terms of protecting, you know, building your profile, as slightly separate to the to the company brand. I mean, there was a couple of things that I also wanted to throw into the mix. It's also an opportunity to experiment and try different styles of content and things maybe that you were aren't doing with the company account, and the company company page. And, you know, might be an opportunity to prove different types of content. And that also helps you develop your skills. And you know, it's personal development as well. So shall we move on, we've kind of started touching on a few of the things now. So this sort of segues very nicely into how building your own personal brand, using your own personal LinkedIn account and posting your own content, outside company content, how that actually helps your company.
Ayo Abbas 07:31
Okay, so from a company perspective, I like having individuals that have their own profiles, people do business with people, which is, you know, the fact that we always talk about, and I think there's that whole thing of actually, if people are engaging with your people, your people are thought leaders, they're seen as you know, the thinkers, the changemakers in the industry, and look who they also work for. And I think there is a knock on effect of your, the firm that these people are working for, and want to be involved in. So therefore, you kind of get the benefit of that, of that kind of credibility. And I think as well, you can't get away from the whole fact that people engage more with people than they actually do of a company page. So therefore, there's also the visibility aspect. But you know, I think as well, it's just, you know, proving that there is value kind of in what you're putting out, it adds variety. So, you know, from your company page, you might put out one version of a piece of content, but actually, you know, allowing your staff to kind of put their own take or individual spin on something is a great way of having getting more and more bang for your content buck as well. So I think there is that whole thing around your individuals make up your company, and therefore their voices are about, I guess, amplifying your company and what your company does, and it's a great chance for kind of make your company seem way more human as well. So I think it all kind of builds.
Stacey Meadwell 08:57
Yeah, and that's a good that's, that's a great point. And I just wanted to highlight that if you do have a question or an idea that you want to share, do pop it in the comments and we will come to we will come to that if there are any questions, we will try and answer them to the best of our ability towards the end. And I would I would add to that I agree with that there's there's power in the association in the association and I also think it's important to have variety in LinkedIn feeds. I think if you are if your entire LinkedIn feed is just sharing company, company content it you know, you aren't reaching a different audience. And there might be people different people that will engage with your own content that again benefits the company because you're reaching reaching a bigger network. Companies see human as you know, companies versus the human angle, as you've already mentioned, Ayo and in If you work for, and this obviously works if you are in house at a company, but also if you're working for an agency, setting your stall out as as a as an expert, as somebody who is knowledgeable and and experienced is good is good for an agency because you know, you're reaching potential new customers and new clients, and it doesn't necessarily have to be all about what you share, as as, you know, as a company. So yeah, I think there is, it's a magnifying effect. For you know, from the individual account for the company account, there is that really strong association. So we know we've both talked about this sort of off camera, and that you know, that some of the fears that are around posting on your own personal account, you know, is it going to is it going to upset people, you know, how's it be if you're posting if you're sort of starting to go your own way a little bit, you know, there's time issues, that sort of thing. It can be very nerve racking, putting your head above the parapet, I had this when I when I came out of having worked in a corporate environment for pretty much all my working life, to suddenly being self employed. I didn't have anything to hide behind. You know, I wasn't, Stacy, Meadwell, the journalist anymore working for a well known brand.
Ayo Abbas 11:24
Was it easier being like, because you're in Property Week, like, you know, people want to speak to you?
Stacey Meadwell 11:40
Well, it was, it was because, you know, yes, there is a big there is a big power to being a being a journalist, particularly if you're in one of the big trades, you know, whether that's Estates Gazette, or property week, or any of the other sort of property titles that are out there, not where, you know, the property titles are available. Because people want people want to get their name in, they want to talk, they want to talk to you. But for me, it was more about all who, what do I talk about and why would anybody pay any attention to me because I'm not a journalist anymore, because there's nothing in it for them kind of thing. So that was that was very difficult to get over. So let's talk a bit about how we get how do you get started, Ayo, what would be your tips for how you kind of step out from behind the company profile.
Stacey Meadwell 12:06
Estates Gazette, I would say rather than rather than Property Week?
Ayo Abbas 12:32
Do you know what I would say start small. So it's like, take incremental steps. So, I mean, I normally say don't reshare company posts, but actually at first, if you don't feel comfortable, then just add in a line of what you think and share that reshare, that company post, I think it's a good way to start, it's relatively easy, you know, just adding a line of what you think about something. And I think the thing is just getting your own spin and getting used to your own voice, and actually what you believe in what your thoughts are. So that's a nice way of doing it. And it's a very, very gentle way to start, I think the other thing you can either do is just one of the favourite things I do when I'm quite busy is actually, I just look at different publications for like an article. That's interesting, that's just come out. And again, I will just add my own spin on a link to that. So it might be a marketing related angle, articles, on social media, you know, depending what it is, and actually just give my own spin on that. And some of those probably bring some of the biggest engagement that I've actually had in terms of use on LinkedIn. So I think those are kind of relatively simple ways to get started. And then I guess it's like, then you can kind of go from there. I mean, initially, what how would you start?
Stacey Meadwell 13:48
I would say yes, to sort of adding your own spin when you share stuff. But the I think the other key area is commenting. And actually you can get that can be a nice stepping stone. And I'm not talking about commenting on your company posts and your colleagues, your colleagues posts, but just stepping out and commenting on other content that's outside of that area. You know, it could be stuff that you're personally interested in, it could be stuff that you know, related to the end related to the industry. Yeah, but that's a really good way and it's really good for your visibility as well. I think commenting isn't used enough by enough people on LinkedIn and it's it's really good for your visibility because it go it comes up in notifications in people's feeds that you have commented. So it makes it increases your visibility, but it is, you know, you can write a couple of sentences, add value I mean don't just say great post or this is really interesting to say something meaningful but it, it's like it is a little stepping stone and from there, once you've got used to sort of having your voice out there in the world, sort of commenting on other people's posts, maybe think about, okay, I actually have more to say on this, perhaps I could do my own post and just expand on it a little bit. And, you know, take it from that, use, use it like that. And think, you know, you shared your idea Ayo for the stuff that you you know, commenting on stuff that's happening in the news. But some other ideas is to think of, you know, if you were working in sort of marketing and communications, think of stuff that you know, that you've seen, that you really liked, or maybe fails. I mean, a brilliant example of this was the I forget her name, the Education Minister, who really messed up in a press interview left her mic on, so many. She left how she left us, it was, yeah, it was really recently, and she left her mic on and got off and got a little bit sweary, which wasn't good. And I saw somebody I sort of saw, you know, a PR that I know, share that and just share a few thoughts on sort of the mistakes that she'd made. You know, it's about sharing your expertise, which is a bit different to sharing what your company is, is doing. So, yeah, if you've, if you've observed something, you've seen a bit of good marketing or you know, I mean, it depends on whether whether you want to go down the route of trashing, try trashing other things other people done, and that's can be a little bit a little bit risky.
Ayo Abbas 13:48
You can do it in a positive way, Stacey
Stacey Meadwell 14:45
yes, you can, you can, there are ways there are ways of doing it, there are ways of doing doing it in a nice in a nice constructive way. But maybe start with sort of good things that you have, you have seen. You know, that was a really great bit of marketing. I know a lot of people shared the apple sustainability ad videos that they that they made, which was really good. And a lot, I saw that shared by quite a few people. So it's that sort of thing. So you know why you're sharing it, the I saw this, it was really, really good.
Ayo Abbas 17:15
Hi, it's Ayo here. And as you're a listener to the show, I just wanted to tell you a bit more about how I can help you get your built environment marketing done. If you're looking to set up a company podcasts are trying to figure out what content you want to create for an amazing campaign that really engages your audience. Or even if you want to get your business more up to speed in terms of how they approach digital marketing, and how you get kind of senior level people on board with workshops and training, then do bear me in mind, I'm actually a marketing consultant, content creator and trainer. But I work specifically with built environment firms just like yours. So I know the best practices and approaches, but also most importantly, how to apply them to our sector, you can find out more about my work at abassmarketing.com. Or feel free to email me at Ayo, which is AYO@abassmarketing.com. There's also links in the show notes too. Thanks for listening. And now back to the show.
Ayo Abbas 18:09
I think the whole commenting thing is a huge one. But I also think, like, if you're not sure what to comment on, like you can there's like little tips and tricks you can do. Like you go to the search bar, say hashtag marketing, hashtag built environment or hashtag construction. And then you can see all the posts there. And you can literally sort by the most recent, and then you could just say right and then pick five of these. And I'm going to comment and that's your commenting done. So I think there's things like that where you can kind of break out of your own echo chamber as well. So look at the wider industry or those topics that are relevant to you. And I often talk about having like content pillars, which are the things that you tend to talk about. So like mine, for example. I talk about myself, because I love myself. And I also talk about marketing or the built environment. So that's, that's my genuine umbrellas from my content. And I think having those it means I've got a focus. I know I know what I write about, and, and what are the key things for me and my business and my profile and what I want to talk about. So I think it's just having a kind of framework that you use and what's pertinent to you, and what things are interesting to you. I think some of the interesting stuff I also get, sometimes it's just experiences. So if I've been walking to school or see an ad, or I'll have a conversation with a client meeting, oh, that's really interesting. So I tend to kind of take notes as I'm going along. So I like have an Evernote doc, where I would literally just jot down an idea because otherwise I will literally forget it in an hour. So that's kind of how I tend to do things. And I also do things like sometimes if I get an idea, I will literally just take it out on my phone. So I literally i'll speak it into Otter and things like that. So it's just trying to find different things. I can talk about different things. I can share things that have inspired me, and it's just finding those things and also it could be interests outside work. and things like that, which I post about sometimes not that often, but I think it's that kind of the observations, the PR campaigns you like the people you like, you know, talking about your peers and your community. So there's absolutely tonnes of stuff that you can kind of talk about. And I think as marketers, we see it all. And don't ever think that your views aren't relevant or important, because really, they are. And I think more of us kind of just need to find that voice. Because it's good fun. Yeah,
Stacey Meadwell 20:28
Definitely. And I think that comes back to the point I was made earlier about mixing up mixing things up. And actually, yes, having the, you know, having different types of content, you know, is there something that you're doing outside of work? That you, you know, that you want to talk about something, you know, do you have outs outside interests? Are you involved in a local charity? There's all sorts of stuff that you can, you know, you can drop in on occasions? If there are, if there are any questions, do pop them in the comments now, because we're going to be wrapping up, wrapping up soon. I just wanted to come back about back to your point Ayo, about sort of, you know, sharing your learnings and things that you d have learned along the way. And one example of this, which I'm seeing people do very effectively, is AI and people who are trialling AI and sort of talking about how, you know, how they've used it, what the problems they've had, the successes they've had, what they've, what they've learned from it. So it could be something like that, is there an area that you are exploring, you know, it's part of your job, that you could share knowledge and expertise. And, you know, that's good, that's good for you. But it's also good for the business because it's you're visible, you are associated with your with your company, you're showing that your knowledge and you know that you're innovating. You're a hate Yeah, shouldn't I just I want to kind of I just said, innovating, and I hate that word. I didn't say that. We'll bleep bleep that out. On the on the on the replay. But you know, shows that you're, you know, you're inquisitive, you're exploring, it just shows the sort of direction direction of travelling. So there's a lot of material. Sorry, actually, we know we have a question from Aceale. Hi, so when does personal brand become too annoying?
Ayo Abbas 22:18
You're not annoying?
Stacey Meadwell 22:21
you're definitely not? You're definitely not annoying? I think it's important
Ayo Abbas 22:26
it's hard though, it's a barometer. And that's very personal. Yeah.
Stacey Meadwell 22:30
Yeah. And I, I think there's, you know, fight you find your own, you find your own balance, and I think it's, you know, it's always part of the mix of what you're putting out. You know, so it doesn't I think if you're only publishing your own stuff, and talking about yourself all the time, then yes, that's gonna get very, you know, tedious, but it's what you were saying is about having your content pillars, and actually thinking like, these are the key areas I'm going to talk about and making sure that you mix between between all your different content pillars. And
Ayo Abbas 23:04
also, I think sometimes you when you do look at posts that might come across as being more annoying. I always find it's going to be stuff that's either more extreme views, or some Yeah, like you said, there's a kind of self centred stuff. And then it gets a bit to say me and to me, like I always say to me, me and I think, yeah, that does that can get really annoying. But I do think and also, I think there was like there was a trend wasn't there early on in like lockdowns, but like, posting four times a day, it's like, come on. That's ridiculous. That's so much stuff. And that was that did soon become very annoying. And I think actually, I'm gonna just keep going on about annoying now, but also doing it positively. But also, I think it's, you know, like, sometimes when everything on your feed is the same, you know, like, because nobody's really kind of sat there and thought we're all doing exactly the same thing. Let's face it a different way. So I don't know, when does posting become to annoy I keep thinking about this, it's really, where it's horses for courses, but I think it's a balance. And I think you have to just be aware yourself that you're not just posting all the same stuff that is me, me, me or sell, sell, sell or too much. And it's a personal thing that you kind of, I guess it's inherently new. I think. So. Yeah. So sometimes I sit there and think, am I promoting too many too many events. So like, that went through my head, for example, this week, because I thought, it's a lot to keep going, I've got this live and doing this, I'm doing that even though it's interesting or is to me, but then if you're looking, you might go oh, I don't have time for all of that, you know, so you do need to be wary of your own personal individual what you're putting out there. But that's up to you to have that.
Stacey Meadwell 24:44
But the flip side of that is if you are sharing if your main tactic is sharing stuff, you know, company related content or talking about, you know, company related content, actually adding in Some stuff that's not that, you know, if that's you know, you only have so much of that to share, you might not have, you know, stuff happening sort of three times a week to post about or however, you can actually increase your frequency of posting and how you use and that, again, is good for overall for LinkedIn, you know, it likes, doesn't like people being too regular, like, you know, three times a day or anything like that it's not a good idea. But actually, if you can consistently put out you know, content every week or a couple of posts a week or something like that, actually introducing your own, you know, some content that is more relevant to you personally. Stuff that you're interested outside of outside of the company can actually help you post more regularly and more frequently. So that's the flip side. That's the flip side of that.
Ayo Abbas 25:49
We actually answer your question. Yes.
Stacey Meadwell 25:55
No, know, let us know, let us know.
Ayo Abbas 26:00
answer that in a way or just talk about what was annoying, do you have any more questions for us.
Stacey Meadwell 26:08
Otherwise, we'll move on to our final actionable tip. No questions. Okay, well, maybe if one comes in while we're while we're doing our actual final actionable tip, then then we'll answer it. But if not, let's go to our actionable tip, do you want me to go first, Ayo?
Ayo Abbas 26:26
you go. You go first.
Stacey Meadwell 26:30
There was a slight look of panic on your face. I don't know.
Ayo Abbas 26:34
That's my brain trying to work.
Stacey Meadwell 26:36
So my, my actionable tip is that if you if you aren't used to posting your own stuff, you don't have to write long posts, actually LinkedIn now. It rewards short posts, just as much as it used to be a case of you must write 300 words, it's not it's not the case case at all. Now, so you know, you only need to write 2,3, 4 sentences, it doesn't have to be a long post. So that would be my kind of actual tip to take away. Just think of something that you can write about in three or four sentences.
Ayo Abbas 27:15
My one tip, what would that be? I think my one tip is just to just find your voice and do it because I just think we've all got to start doing that, especially with the whole kind of rise of AI and things. I think we've all got to find our own voices. And I think now's a great time to start. We actually have a question from Olivia. Could you touch on trialling AI even though
Stacey Meadwell 27:39
is that Olivia is that trialling AI for on LinkedIn or just general? Generally,
Ayo Abbas 27:44
it can be either just let us know. Yeah,
Stacey Meadwell 27:47
I mean, I would say for LinkedIn, I just think for your personal account. If you're really really stuck, and you find it find coming up with content really hard, then yeah, use use, you know, use AI to get you started. But do edit, because you want it to sound like you and there's no point having content on an on your personal LinkedIn account. That doesn't sound that doesn't sound like you, you know, you people would know, Olivia would never say that, like, never use that phrase and of use that term. So that that would be my that would be my thing on AI.
Ayo Abbas 28:26
AI prompts that are coming in on LinkedIn itself, like, which have you liked suggested posts, and they're also doing like collaborative AI articles and stuff, which is all interesting stuff that is trialling itself. But I think also, I also think in terms of AI, it's like just, you can see there are some comments where people are using AI to actually create their comments, and it just comes off really weird. And it doesn't sound normal human, I would I would shy away from that. But I think using AI for idea generation, if you are not sure what to post, I think that's completely valid. And we've used it ourselves for idea generation. Also, it's good for sometimes like I can sometimes I use AI. If I do a LinkedIn poll, you could actually put all your comments and responses into AI and ask for summaries, just to kind of what they find what the key themes are. That stuff it can do really, really well. So I think there are kind of ways you can use AI to kind of help you in terms of LinkedIn and what you're doing. But ideas for summaries and things like that. But like Stacy says you really need to edit because it sounds like a robot. Yeah, so it has a certain structure and once you start using you start to see the structure on LinkedIn. You start to see how people are like wording things weirdly and you like just doesn't sound right
Stacey Meadwell 29:43
yeah, yeah. No, I'm I'm all for that. And you know, the whole coming back to a point you made earlier Ayo, is that it's about human to human and sounding like sounding like a human being and you know, sounding like you and people engage with for more than they will engage with something that just sounds a bit odd and robotic.
Ayo Abbas 30:09
Thanks so much for listening to The Built Environment Marketing Show. Don't forget to check out the show notes which will have useful links and resources connected to this episode. You can find that on abassmarketing.com And of course if you liked the show, please do share it with others on social as it helps more people to find us. See you soon.
