100 responses: See behind the curtain of the humble LinkedIn Voice Note — an absolute EQ gamechanger

You might not know but I love a voice note ????.

I use them extensively in my personal life and in my professional life.

I have written extensively about why I use them for work and what I have learnt from sending bucketloads of them.

They have been a gamechanger for my business.

I’ve been on podcasts sharing the impact they make; I’ve been at festivals talking about their power, I’ve run multiple polls about them and I rave about them to everyone I know.

When do I send them?

I send one to every new connection and one for everyone’s birthday, as a minimum on LinkedIn.

It is connected to my mantra and approach to social media.

I love meeting new people and being more personal; it’s all part of wider desire to spread more joy.

By my estimate I sent over 1500 LinkedIn voice notes in 2023 and undoubtedly 2024 will be at least double that.

Sometimes the volume can be intense, particularly around the month of September but I won’t stop doing it.

For the most part I get a really positive response; with an 80% response rate during Covid.

That said, I often get reminded that they are not everyone’s cup of tea and many times people don’t even realise that I have sent them.

How do people respond?

I get asked so many questions by people fascinated by the voice notes that I thought I would share the responses to the last 100 voice notes I sent.

The findings are:

• 63% response rate, 37% no response
• Most responses are really positive, with less than 3% that are negative
• 8% were replies using a voice note [these tended to be younger connections]
• There was an equal split between male and female tendency to respond
• Longer term/stronger connections were more likely to reply than newer/looser connections
• Voice notes sent in the evening tended to get a better response rate than voice notes sent in the morning or afternoon

Quotes from the 63 (out of 100) people that replied

1. “Yay, I finally got one of the famous Faris birthday voice messages”
2. “That was an unexpected, although great message to receive late on a Friday afternoon”
3. “What a nice way to start off a conversation; I wasn’t even aware you could send voice notes on LinkedIn”
4. “Love the voice note!”
5. “Thanks for the voice note! I LOVE the concept!”
6. “It’s rare to get such an amazing voice note after connecting with someone on LinkedIn”
7. “You have the most amazing voice, have you considered doing radio?”
8. “I 100% agree that the voice note makes such a difference”
9. “Thank you for the lovely message”
10. “First of all, I love the voice note! How do you even do that? I need to do this from now on as its 1 million percent more personable”
11. “I’ve never used this method of communicating on LinkedIn; it’s a great way!”
12. “It’s nice to hear people on here instead of just reading the words”
13. “It’s so nice to hear from you; I love the positive way you engage”
14. “Thanks for the sweet voice note”
15. “I love the voice message, oh my god, totally more personable and if you don’t mind I am going to steal it.”
16. “The voice message gives a nice personal touch, especially in the world of AI and automation”
17. “Really love your energy!”
18. “You amaze me that you remember my birthday every year”
19. “Loved the note. You said my name correctly!!”
20. “That’s the first voice note I’ve received on LinkedIn! I appreciate the personal touch ??”
21. “What a difference! You’re energy is amazing!”
22. “Honestly, after hearing you speak at the festival, I couldn’t wait for my voice note”
23. “What a revelation”
24. “What a lovely message to wake up to”
25. “To be honest, this is the first time I’ve ever received a voice note from a connection and I am delighted. It really gave me a nice way to get to know you”
26. “I appreciate the more personal approach on LinkedIn”
27. “Thank you for the lovely intro ??Love the idea of being more fun on this platform!”
28. “That was an incredibly sweet voice note”
29. “You really are a beautiful ray of sunshine”
30. “I’m trying to get over my impasse on sending voice notes and you have inspired me, so this is my first one ever.”
31. “What a truly beautiful message!”
32. “Thanks for the voice notes and birthday wishes — it’s a novel, personal approach. Love it!”
33. “How nice to hear your voice, it brings back good memories”
34. “Finally listened to your voice note — it was nice to hear your voice — here’s me eating my words”
35. “I just played your voice note to my partner and she enjoyed it too”
36. “Thanks for sending a voice note because now I don’t have to feel guilty sending one back; I am definitely more a voice note person”
37. “Lovely to receive a positive and reinforcing message to start the weekend”
38. “WOW! I haven’t had a voice note on LinkedIn before. It definitely feels more human”
39. “I refrained from leaving a voice note since I am a voiceover artist so did not want to overshadow your efforts ??”
40. “Thank you so much Faris! xxx I really appreciate it”
41. “Thanks a lot”
42. “Now I definitely have to meet the person who sent me that”
43. “Thanks Faris”
44. “I appreciate your message”
45. “I’m not reciprocating [with a voice note] as I’m at the gym waiting for a class”
46. “I would reciprocate [with a voice note] but I’m writing on the tube”
47. “I love how you sent that on the go; was that a London bus in the background?”
48. “I would send one back but given the industry I work in and my background, I have a bit of a hang-up about putting my voice out there”
49. “Like the voice note, but currently surreptitiously using phone in a waiting room so texting fitter for purpose!”
50. “Ok, after your 3rd voice note in a row without me responding, I felt I really should respond”
51. “I’m not in a voice note mood today so I’m going too respond in writing”
52. “Thanks for the message, and impressive enthusiasm for this time of day; being a morning person I don’t think I could return a voice note with quite so much energy”
53. “Catching up on calls on the train, so typing instead of talking”
54. “I see you’re a voice note kind of person, while I’m more of a typed message one”
55. “I confess that I tend to be more of a visual person, so forgive me if I respond by text instead”
56. “I was not expecting a voice note on this platform”
57. “I genuinely didn’t see your voice note so apologies”
58. “Voice message outreach is an interesting way to outreach sir!”
59. “Voice notes are intriguing. I have a question: Have you noticed any demographic based differences in how people respond to them”
60. “Honestly. listening to a voice message is not that often convenient (whilst I can appreciate the personal factor), so it was on hold for a bit”
61. “Stop sending me voice messages”
62. “I will not listen to this!”
63. “What are you selling?”

Clearly you can’t please all the people, all the time but I’m dead chuffed with those responses??????.

Like I said, voice notes could be an EQ gamechanger not just for LinkedIn but for building relationships in general.

If you want to learn more, or want to get a voice note of your own, then don’t be afraid to contact me ??

Faris

Faris is the CEO and Founder of Shiageto Consulting, an innovative consultancy that helps firms and individuals sharpen their effectiveness. Connect with him here

Success = IQ x EQ x FQ

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