Figuring Out LinkedIn

[Andy Black]

I spent a couple of weeks last year posting daily short videos to YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, and a Facebook page.

I got more views on TikTok and YouTube, but business came via LinkedIn (a €3k/mth consulting client) and Facebook (a €250/mth productised service client).

I started posting daily text posts on LinkedIn and it's been interesting seeing engagement and the occasional VC repost something.

I've so much written content in the forum that I think I'll have no problem posting daily on LinkedIn (and maybe Facebook and other places too). Maybe the posts that do best will be ones I turn into video?

Here's today's post. I created it based on reading some of what that VC posted to his own timeline about startups needing to validate. I'd posted it years ago on the forum Inside.

Andy Black on LinkedIn: #googleads #startup #validation

Using Google Ads to "validate" - on a whiff of spend... (This is from 5+ years ago. Numbers will be different but the principles are the same.) 1)…

www.linkedin.com

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Andy Black]

Great results.

Link to the post:

• Alex B Sheridan on LinkedIn: #linkedin #linkedinmarketing #linkedintips | 37 comments

Screenshot:

• Note the engagement on this post in only 29 mins too.

Andrew Brown's LinkedIn account:

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-brown-b1736a5/

@BigRomeDawg ... are you posting client videos to LinkedIn? Can you also get clients from LinkedIn like Alex does?

 

[BigRomeDawg]

Andrew Brown's LinkedIn account:

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-brown-b1736a5/

@BigRomeDawg ... are you posting client videos to LinkedIn? Can you also get clients from LinkedIn like Alex does?

Thanks for the tag, that's a great example of LinkedIn done right. Throwing it in the inspo list!

Yep we post to LinkedIn for clients. No, I'm not currently prospecting on LinkedIn, but will be soon.

From my personal experience, LinkedIn is one of those platforms that really likes you to be active and engage with others. Posting vids is a great way to start that conversation but you really have to be on there, interacting with and commenting on other people's posts pretty diligently. Versus YT Shorts and TikTok where you can just post vids and be more hands-off. Do you agree?

 

[Andy Black]

Thanks for the tag, that's a great example of LinkedIn done right. Throwing it in the inspo list!

Yep we post to LinkedIn for clients. No, I'm not currently prospecting on LinkedIn, but will be soon.

From my personal experience, LinkedIn is one of those platforms that really likes you to be active and engage with others. Posting vids is a great way to start that conversation but you really have to be on there, interacting with and commenting on other people's posts pretty diligently. Versus YT Shorts and TikTok where you can just post vids and be more hands-off. Do you agree?

Yes, I think LinkedIn and Facebook reward interacting with people. I think that's the power of those platforms compared to YouTube and TikTok - you get into conversation more easily and it then can go to PM, Zoom, and then a new client.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[BaiAnrui]

Currently have 11k plus followers on LinkedIn. I made it a habit to send links and a personal message to everyone I invite. The result is really great , many people appreciate this and you have direct contact . The only thing I don't like is to respond to everything ... that's a pity because that's where LinkedIn's great strength lies

 

[Andy Black]

View attachment 46675

Currently have 11k plus followers on LinkedIn. I made it a habit to send links and a personal message to everyone I invite. The result is really great , many people appreciate this and you have direct contact . The only thing I don't like is to respond to everything ... that's a pity because that's where LinkedIn's great strength lies

Good work. I've a similar number of followers and connections. I don't send connection requests at the moment, but did a few hundred a day years ago (without any personalised message). I don't think I'd be able to do that now.

Do you post often? What's your typical impressions, likes, and comments?

 

[BaiAnrui]

Good work. I've a similar number of followers and connections. I don't send connection requests at the moment, but did a few hundred a day years ago (without any personalised message). I don't think I'd be able to do that now.

Do you post often? What's your typical impressions, likes, and comments?

I try to post 1 time a week, the best posts so far is still with a personal photo ...so that remains the same as the other socials.

We will soon be launching a campaign with friends who have a very successful e-commerce buseniss. Hope that works better.
I Recently launched a new product and notice that the traction is disappointing when I post by myself. With a campaign you gain more insight into companies that are interested and you can therefore market more specifically

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Andy Black]

I just came across an interesting LinkedIn profile:

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/milesmcnair

I think he's only been doing Google Ads since 2018. Good for him building out this account, newsletter, and Discord community.

Seeing this makes it obvious what I do NOT want to do.

I'm happy with a handful of consulting clients, and a trickle of people buying my Google Ads courses because it helps them.

I've a few other side-things I'm working on that use Google Ads to get the visitors/signups/sales. I'd rather use my shovel than sell shovels. (Not saying that's what he's doing. No doubt he's getting a lot of business via LinkedIn and fair play to him.)

 

[Andy Black]

Interesting, but not sure what to make of it (aka do about it).

I'll just keep posting daily-ish and see what happens. It's easy... I just repurpose something I posted in the forum!

 

[Andy Black]

Thought I'd share this to inspire folks.

A month ago I posted a 5 minute Google Ads tutorial to YouTube and it's resulted in a €1,500/mth client signing up (and paying) this weekend.

After posting to YouTube I off-handly figured I'd post it natively on LinkedIn and to my Facebook page (by natively I mean I uploaded the video to those platforms rather than linked to the YouTube video).

I replied to a couple of comments and forgot about it.

A founder PM'd me via LinkedIn a week or so after posting. He'd watched the video on LinkedIn, we ended up in PM conversation, then on a couple of Zoom calls, and he paid an invoice this weekend.

Looking at that video...

• 1,556 impressions
• 21 reactions (none were the guy who reached out)
• 8 comments (half of which was me replying to people, and none were the guy reaching out).

I believe our new client was already connected with me on LinkedIn, but we'd never interacted (I've 11k+ connections so that's not unusual).

I've attached below a screenshot of what I posted, and the post stats as of today.

I'll list my own actions below the screenshots.



Here's some interesting stats about the video:





My own observations/thoughts/actions:

• I didn't think a 5 minute tutorial video would be watched on LinkedIn, but posted anyway in case it might help someone. Who'd have thought it would have got 214 minutes viewed?
• Some people don't give reactions to posts, or comment, but they saw it and could link out or refer you on.
• It's a really concise tutorial that took me HOURS to create, but it's missing an intro and outro. I've been meaning to create an intro and outro and reloading to YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Maybe I can create a version worth putting ad spend behind?
• If you think it can help someone then publish it. You're doing people a disservice if you don't.
• I didn't expect to get a client out of it. I'm still a bit taken aback and will have a think about how to lean into it. I don't see anyone else posting tutorials like that on LinkedIn. Everyone is currently posting text, carousels, (business) memes, or talking head videos.
• I kinda think I should take LinkedIn a bit more seriously.

Here's the video:

MARKETING - The Shortest Google Ads Tutorial Ever

It took me HOURS to create this. Let me know if you have any feedback or suggestions. Hope it helps! View: https://youtu.be/7z7kx3kJC4M EDIT: Once you're running watch these two short videos to make sense of the metrics...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Andy Black]

I like this profile.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattjbarker1/

Here's the Carrd.co page. Note that it's not even on it's own domain... it's just on a carrd.co subdomain!

https://30templates.carrd.co





Oh, and I found a 7 day email series he has:

WRITE FASTER, MORE ENGAGING CONTENT IN 7 DAYS

mattbarker.ck.page

 

[Andy Black]

Blimey...

 

[Andy Black]

1) I had a call this evening to review a client account for an agency. Thought I'd write it up and post it to LinkedIn and a few other places.

Writing about what you've done is a simple way of creating content. Sure, it's a wall of text, but it would be interesting to the right people.

I do need to work on my written posts. I think that will help my video ones too.




2) This is a good post about creating text only posts:

Nigel Thomas on LinkedIn: My text-only LinkedIn posts get 300,000 views. Steal my secret 8 step… | 295 comments

My text-only LinkedIn posts get 300,000 views. Steal my secret 8 step process below: (+ examples for each step) 1: Select My Audience I write for 3 core… | 295 comments on LinkedIn

www.linkedin.com

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Andy Black]

To date I posted whatever came to mind and get a lot of people following who want to start freelancing, which is great, but not who I serve as a consultant.

I decided to change my bio (and posts) so I'm focused on helping founders. I enjoy working them and they often move faster than more established business, especially if I end up dealing with an employee in those businesses.

Here's what my amended profile currently looks like:




And I just posted my second carousel ever:

LINK

 

[Andy Black]

Don't just accept connection requests. Thank them and ask a question. Get a conversation going.

 

[Andy Black]

After a bit of DM'ing with the person above I linked them to the carousel I published a couple of weeks ago.

He liked it and asked when we could hop on a call sometime so I shared my Calendly.

Here's the carousel:

Andy Black on LinkedIn: How we Tested a Business Idea with Google Ads

We ran an initial Google Ads test for £10, then generated 46 leads for £460.

www.linkedin.com

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Andy Black]

Lol. "Pitch slapped" is such a great term.

Andy Black on LinkedIn: A friend said he usually gets "pitch slapped" when he accepts connection…

A friend said he usually gets "pitch slapped" when he accepts connection requests on LinkedIn. LinkedIn seems to have cleaned that up and we get much fewer…

www.linkedin.com

The rest of the conversation:

 

[Andy Black]

I was chatting to a friend this morning who was deciding between going freelance or getting another job.

He asked how important the business name was, and what's involved with creating a website.

I told him the business name doesn't matter. People hire me, Andy Black, and only find out my business name when I invoice them.

I also told him to not get hung up on a website.

I have andyblack.net which is just a collection of links to content I have on various social media platforms. (Linktr.ee is a nice simple platform for creating something similar.)

For the longest while andyblack.net just redirected to my LinkedIn profile. If I emailed anyone from andy@andyblack.net and they wanted to check out my "site" then they’d learn what they needed from my LinkedIn profile, and I figured they’re more likely to believe what they read there.

I suggested he build out his LinkedIn profile so word-of-mouth referrals can check it out and get to know, like and trust him.

Post a few times a week to show you're human, and that you know what you're talking about.

Don't worry about people not seeing them when you post. Those posts are there initially for when people come check out your profile. Creating posts that get seen by people who don't know you yet would come later.

Then I suggested he find large and active accounts or pages that his peers and market follow and engage with. Read their content and, if you like it, press the Like button and thank them saying why you liked it. Add to the conversation in the comments and start building relationships.

Pro tip: See who responds often to big accounts posts with well thought out comments. See who reposts. Think of them as "engagers" and get into conversation with them. If you did both like each others content then you'll likely both comment and both your networks will see that.

The beauty of a social media platform like LinkedIn is you can see who Liked your post and go check out their profile. You can send a connection request and/or send a DM just to thank them for reading and engaging.

I've been doing that for years and instead of people thinking you're spamming them, they now think you're incredibly diligent for going out of your way to thank them.

Oh, and my final piece of advice was to post stuff you've helped people with that day. Like I just did here.

 

[luminis_]

Don't just accept connection requests. Thank them and ask a question. Get a conversation going.

Just taking that one tiny extra step that nobody else does (AKA being a human and starting a conversation) - love it!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Madame Peccato]

For the longest while andyblack.net just redirected to my LinkedIn profile. If I emailed anyone from andy@andyblack.net and they wanted to check out my "site" then they’d learn what they needed from my LinkedIn profile, and I figured they’re more likely to believe what they read there.

I suggested he build out his LinkedIn profile so word-of-mouth referrals can check it out and get to know, like and trust him.

Another pro of doing this is that most business people (at least in the digital realm) are familiar with LinkedIn's UI. They know where to look in a profile to get the information they seek. You're making it simple for them to check you out.

 

[Andy Black]

Thought I'd spend less time on social media so am "just" posting updates of work we're doing.

So far the impressions and engagement is lower than for other posts.

I don't mind. I think it's better than posting nothing, and it's easy to copy/paste what I'm sending to clients anyway.

Here's today and yesterday's posts:

Sign Up | LinkedIn

500 million+ members | Manage your professional identity. Build and engage with your professional network. Access knowledge, insights and opportunities.

www.linkedin.com

Sign Up | LinkedIn

500 million+ members | Manage your professional identity. Build and engage with your professional network. Access knowledge, insights and opportunities.

www.linkedin.com

 

[Andy Black]

I've added some of my clients to my LinkedIn profile.

Apart from the charity these are household names here in Ireland.

In the New Year I'm going to start connecting with people in Local Enterprise Offices and Startups Ireland (government bodies responsible for helping businesses grow in Ireland).

I'm good at consulting and training so if I can get on the radar of the right people here in Ireland I think I can have a much bigger impact.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Andy Black]

On a spur of the moment last night I sent connection requests to various business journalist here in Ireland.

One accepted and sent me a message and we're now in conversation:

 

[Andy Black]

I just got Verified on LinkedIn. It was painless enough and involved taking photos of my passport and looking at my phone camera.

I've no idea what difference it will make but thought I'd log it here.

 

[Andy Black]

I'm trying not to post as much on LinkedIn as it felt like a time-suck.

I've also still not figured out what to post.

I never wanted to just post Google Ads how-to content as I find it dull as dishwater, and mostly attracts people doing Google Ads. That could be to do with what I'm posting, and I've nothing against helping peers, but still...

I continue to get business via word-of-mouth and find it easier to think of LinkedIn as someone's first port of call when a referal wants to check me out.

So I'm not trying to post content that will get me found by new people but am posting for when ideal prospects get referred to me and check me out.

What do I think they want to see? Posts from someone they'd want to work with. You know, someone who has one head not two, can string a few words together, isn't a complaining minny, has manners, tells stories showing how he's helped people, and doesn't format their posts like the LinkedIn influencers.

Yeah, I like that.

Just post stuff I think will help people and log off again. Feck all the advice from LinkedIn influencers and creators. Doing good work outside LinkedIn (aka doing the fecking work) will keep generating referrals and they can check me out on LinkedIn and decide for themselves if they like the cut of my jib before they reach out.

I give myself permission to post what I want, when I want.

To that end I changed my bio headline a bit. I'll change my banner later once I figure out what to put in it.

Here's a screenshot of my bio headline for posterity, till I have another brainwave next week and change it again.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Andy Black]

Someone reached out on LinkedIn after doing a search (probably for a Google Ads specialist).

We had a chat yesterday morning where I looked over his account and gave him advice.

I pointed him to my featured post on LinkedIn where I link to free resources.

I then sent an email, and asked for a recommendation on LinkedIn.

I must have talked to hundreds of business owners at this stage and it's only just dawned on me to ask for recommendations. Doh.

I told him on the call that he's welcome to circle back if he wants me to build and manage his campaigns.

The emails:



The recommendation:

 

[Andy Black]

I posted in another thread how I got my son into Google for a tour. I publicly thanked the guy who did it and that ended up the post with my most Likes. Go figure. I've no idea what to make of that.

Here's where I posted about it, and there's interesting feedback from @rpeck90:

HOT! - CHAT - Random Chat, Thoughts, Posts, and/or Rants Thread

 

[mattes]

I've had a few chats with business mentors in the past few days (all subsidised by the Irish government so check if there are similar programmes in your country and make the most of the opportunity).

One of my tasks this month is to get more active on LinkedIn by dripping out content and staying top of mind.

The last few years I've avoid LinkedIn because of all the inbox spam. I think I have some LinkedIn threads in here already but will start this one anew.

FWIW, I currently have 11,347 connections. That’s a bit high and untargeted I think, but over the years I accepted all connection requests because I didn’t want to spend time reviewing them.



1) If we're not connected then feel free to reach out and connect.

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyblackjnr

2) I've decided to post a meme a day with favourite business quotes or thoughts. I like that it will be an image and that I won't have room for many words.

Just set you a connection request from https://www.linkedin.com/in/mateusz-wis/

It's also my goal for 2024 to grow there. I post pretty much 5x a week.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Andy Black]

Just set you a connection request from https://www.linkedin.com/in/mateusz-wis/

It's also my goal for 2024 to grow there. I post pretty much 5x a week.

Ooo. Cool. I'll check my connection requests. There's a master LinkedI thread somewhere where people have listed their profile URLs.

 

[Andy Black]

Am I onto something here?

My posts that seem to be doing better for me (engagement wise at any rate) are ones where I don't have a one sentence "hook" but just launch into a story and let LinkedIn cut off my first paragraph prior to the "Read More". (See two examples below.)

I'm personally tired of all the first sentence hooks, and the bullet point lists where the length of the sentences get longer/shorter.

I wonder if doing the opposite of what the LinkedIn and content marketing gurus recommend means we stand out more?

Maybe writing naturally with an eye to grabbing and keeping attention but without looking like a copywriter beats applying clever copywriting tricks? Who'd have thought...

@LightHouse ... which posts in your own feed attract your eye?