LinkedIn sales pitches
While I’m really loving LinkedIn and the opportunities it is offering these days, I’m also increasingly getting frustrated with people using it poorly. How about you? I’ve been known to be a bit of a “LinkedIn snob”, meaning I generally only connect with people I’ve actually met and know, or who share a common connection that I respect. Occasionally I will accept requests from complete strangers if it appears to be a quality contact. But recently I’ve had several high profile, respected and professional people want to connect, and within hours hit me up with “their pitch”. One recently has been rather relentless with direct messages, and finally after a third attempt where she was asking rather pointedly if I was actually reading her messages, I replied back: “Yes they’re getting through. But we don’t yet know each other. You asked for a connection, and without a relationship established, started selling hard. It’s not my preferred approach. Sorry.” It’s the old, “let’s connect so I can sell you crap” and I’m just tired of it! It’s entirely possible that these folks have a legitimate service that I should be interested in, and in the end it could well be my loss. But in an age where relationships increasingly matter, and the customer controls your marketing, why would you approach people this way? Anyone else with me on this? Message or email me your horror stories. I suspect it might make a great blog post in the future. Good marketing should be based on relationships. And relationships need to be developed and nurtured.
Facebook’s new Social Issue and Political ads regulations
Facebook has been under a lot of pressure recently to clamp down on political advertising and ensure there is a transparent connection to who is paying for it. They profit hugely from political ads, and will continue to do so leading up the the US 2020 election. But I recently experienced what it’s like to be on the receiving end of a post which was caught and rejected. I was boosting out the Peloton marketing #adfail and Aviation Gin response post last week, and because I had used a Saturday Night Live screen image, it was likely then classified as political or endorsing a social issue viewpoint. But the text copy and topic was entirely about Peloton’s marketing. While I started down the path of validating my identify, I stopped short of submitting a scan of my passport as requested. That just seemed like too much personal information, which could be used against me in the future at a border crossing, just for the sake of running an ad. The audience selected was entirely in Canada. I honestly didn’t care that much (since LinkedIn organic reach had already exceeded my expectations), but this does show how it will be very difficult to actually decide fairly what should be classified as political or social issue advertising. I fear this will put us in really messy territory for the US 2020 election.
And now the RAVE…
LinkedIn organic
Have you noticed how LinkedIn organic reach is offering great opportunity these days? This sentiment seems to be echoed in anecdotal conversations with others as well. I’ve had a post hit well over 4,000 views recently, and regularly get content reaching over 1,000 with little effort. When you consider that those numbers are extremely well targeted to include your connections and their circle of contacts, it’s amazing value. Assuming you build out you connections with strategic intent, this is a gold mine of exposure. And I can attest to it leading directly to new business recently – a speaking gig in 2020, a couple possible consulting projects, and curiously a content creation opportunity for CarryOnQueen.com And while the organic exposure is great, its the objective of leading them to my website as the measurable piece which is valuable, since that leads to expanded exposure, sign ups and retargeting opportunities to further nurture relationships.
Here’s are 3 things I’ve observed which might be useful to you:
1. Organic reach expands with engagement, so you need to provoke it and respond quickly. Catchy headlines, great visuals or video, and thought provoking copy really help.
2. Comments within the first 24-48hrs are critical since that seems to “unlock” the extended organic reach.
3. Posts last easily for 1 week and continue to expand reach if they are receiving active engagement. Whenever someone comments, it gets pulled up in the feed again, and others who receive the notification of comment, as well as their connections, are prompted to look. Existing engagement provokes further comments, and it continue to feed itself far better than other platforms like Facebook.
And if you want to be the first to see videos when they’re published that support my weekly insights, be sure to subscribe to my YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
