1,000 posts later.... what I've learned

On September 1st 2020 I decided to take on a “pandemic hobby”: posting on LinkedIn things that were happening around me and that I got to have a front seat to thanks to my role at Endeavor .

This was mainly instigated and/or motivated by 5 people, who I need to give credit to: Ignacio Isusi Garteizgogeascoa , whose amazing posts from a beautiful beach in Florida inspired my pandemic days; Carlos Emilio Gómez , who would always tell me, "I wish I were a fly on the wall seeing what you see" (Oh! How the times have changed... Now it's me who wishes I saw what you are seeing as an entrepreneur); both Pablo Fernández álvarez and Carlos Rivera , who instigated that first post after a visit to the then-new headquarter of Clicars ; and my wife, Carleth Keys , who is a true "content-creator" and the one that got me more exposed to social media (insights, metrics, algorithms and other fun stuff).

It’s been 3.5 years, which does mean an average of 286 posts a year, which essentially covers all work days and a couple of weekends. There are weeks in which content just flies into my inbox and days in which I need to try to find a story or an angle, but I do have the help of both our amazing Marketing team (a special thanks to Laís Grilletti ) and our teams worldwide that feed me content (thanks Manny Ayala , Marco Rampazzo , Camila Salamanca , Rory Guinan , Leah D. Barto , Maria Angelica Enriquez , Paloma Vila , Caela Tanjangco ...).

Now to answer some questions (and provide some tips):

A. Why do I do this?

1. It gives me an excuse to engage with our founders, investors and some key reporters, but more importantly it allows me to (a) be part of the conversation, and (b) start new conversations.
2. I had/have a need to communicate the “amazingness” of what I witness at Endeavor. From aquaculture in Indonesia and Kenya to AI out of Ireland and Tunisia, sprinkled with some bourbon from Louisville and tequila from Mexico. These are all scalable entrepreneurial ventures that are tech enabled and/or extremely innovative within their sector.

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B. Who am I speaking to? At the beginning, “anyone that would listen” (I initially wondered, “will anyone even want to listen?”), but now I’ve refined it to:

?1. Our teams (my colleagues) spread around the world, whom I’m hoping to inspire with stories of amazing global founders from remote places and in unlikely sectors. I’m hoping they’ll read and figure there is a similar founder in their network or in their pipeline, or they’ll want to reach out to the founder I’m speaking about as a mentor for one of theirs.

2. Our entrepreneurs, in the hopes they’ll want to connect with peers that are doing the same thing half way around the world or in a neighboring country. Yes, this has created more work, but there have been some amazing connections behind the scenes.

3.?Our network / my network, to increase awareness that what we do at Endeavor is relevant. They aren’t cute founders from developing economies, but outstanding innovators that are based out of the not-so-typical-hubs and taking on the world.

4.?The entrepreneurial ecosystem as a whole (and people interested on the topic). Hoping these stories can reach other founders (potential Endeavor entrepreneurs), investors (who either don’t know us or might’ve not considered emerging markets), talent (who will take the leap)...

Tips after 3.5 years of a ton of trial and error:

1. Consistency is key. I know some of my posts cannibalize one another, but I want to post current things happening in ALL our markets not only post about the things that will get most views/likes (I more or less know what might work by now).
2. Cadence: I’m set on doing this daily, although I’ve been told ~3 times a week would be the ideal, but there’s just too much going on!
3. Be yourself: this was one of the first tips I got and one of the reasons I’ve kept on doing it myself.? Yes, I do write my own posts, but it’s a 10-15 minute routine I’ve gotten myself into. Of course some posts do take significantly longer (ie: this one).
4. Track the data: don’t rely on third parties. Download your data and analyze it (what works, what doesn’t, what messages…).
5. Don’t let the algorithm get to you: there are times my posts get very low traction and days they go viral… It’s all fine.
6. Is it worth it? In all YES, but I won’t lie, there’s a ton of work one needs to put in (specially at the beginning), but I’ve made it my “routine”.

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Any surprises along the way?

1. I can’t believe 3,800 followers have turned into 32,000+. Thanks to everyone that has “tuned in”!
2. I’ve connected with some genuinely amazing/inspiring people along the way: Timothy Motte , Caleb Maru , Sophie Schmidt , Tage Kene-Okafor , Irina Obushtarova , Rory Eakin and Olga Maslikhova come to mind, plus it gave me a great excuse to connect/reconnect with many of our entrepreneurs (and future entrepreneurs).

Don't know if what I've stated above is the obvious, but it's a "more-or-less" structured way of putting my main conlusions into a few buckets. Always glad to learn other tips as I get my feet wet in "social media".

PS: Huge thanks to Endeavor México and to LinkedIn & LinkedIn News , for allowing me to be a Top Voice, and being able to expand my message.

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