A Black Business Owner in Germany facing ?Social Homophily“ on LinkedIn

Today I read an article online that triggered my emotions so hard that I decided to sit down and write this article on being a black business owner living in Germany and facing "Social Homophily" on the business platform LinkedIn.

Hi, my name is Brent Armstrong. Not related to Lance, Neil or Louis Armstrong. These are celebrities that the whole world knows.

I am a Jamaican, father of five and living in a town, that people say doesn't exist. That's an insider story ;)

Although I traveled to Germany from a poor background, my goal was never to stay here. I couldn't even speak the language. I'm still learning until this day ;) You've got to admit. The german language is very hard to learn. Don't you think so too??

Before I tell you what a great person I am and how much potential there is in all of us, please allow me to start this article directly on the scene of facing “Social Homophily” as a black business owner in Germany on LinkedIn.

When I started probing LinkedIn als a business owner searching for clients, I believed that success would only come from delivering expert Knowledge. My strategy back then: "Create content that delivers value, show my expertise and stay consistent". Back then, this sounds like the right thing to do.

I still see other Solopreneurs and small business owners making the same mistake even today.

I was getting attention. The other members on the Platform understood what I was talking about. They praised me for my work and for the way it was delivered, but at the end of the Month the numbers didn't add up. Don't get me wrong, I did win over customers, but in ratio to what is possible, that was nothing. I knew that I had to make a change.

One day I decided to sit down and analyze, what I was doing wrong and the reason why I wasn't getting the results that I wanted. I started asking questions to myself, my peers. Questions to potential customers who were brave enough to connect with me on a free consulting call.

"Brent, you're a nice guy. You're doing a great job here with your content. It's crystal clear and very easy to understand. The problem is, I think a lot of people here just don't know you very well yet."?

"You have a very strong accent, which is charming. Your Germany is not perfect and maybe for some people here, your skin color is a problem."

"Just another black salesman, who is just after my money." Just to share a few feedbacks and things I have heard. What? We are living in the twenty-first century!

At first, I was shocked. Then again, it didn't surprise me. Especially been black, living here in Germany and not been able to speak the language perfectly.?

Just for the record. I have been living and working here in Germany for over 20 years now and I have never encountered racism personally. Ok, once while playing soccer. The opponent, who was loosing called me Bimbo, after I have scored a Hattrick against is team. Thank God that I haven't encountered racism like other brothers and sisters out there. Racism is real. Anyway, I acknowledge the criticism and decide to do something about it.

Sometimes you have to stop being scared and just go for it. Either it’ll work out or it won’t. That’s life.

"If I could get potential customers to know, like and trust me, this could make a big difference." So I started thinking of ways to make this possible. I started asking myself questions like:

• Who am I?
• What are my values?
• What do I want to be known for?
• Why do I do, what I do?
• What makes me different from the rest?

"I was afraid to open up." "Why should people care?", I thought. "I am just here for business reasons." And that was when it hit me.

I was creating content around, numbers, data and facts and zero emotions.

I found out where the problem lies and why people didn't really know who I am. I was only showing one side of me. One side of who I am. And there was little or no humanity to be seen or feel. There was definitely not enough strong emotions, that could help to build a relationship-bridge.?

They knew what I do, but didn't understand fully why. They new my name, but not who I am. They knew that am black and have an accent, but so are many others here on the platform.

I was only concentrating on the surface and not going deep. The iceberg model comes to mind right? I was creating content around, numbers, data and facts and zero emotions. I knew then and there that I definitely needed to start creating emotions and thus building bridges to potential customers.

This can easily be done by telling or sharing stories about my past and emotionally creating a bridge to my potenial customers and my offer. So that they get to know like and trust me. Talking openly about my privat life, things I have personally learned, mistakes I have made, just simply showing more humanity changes a lot, but not everything.

For this, I definitely had to leave my comfort zones. I have been doing so before, by making videos in a foreign language, but this would need a higher-level of bravery. I accepted the challenge.

Have you ever heard of the term ?Social Homophily“?

I still find myself not getting the business opportunities like my peers who are of different skin colour . Even though I have a longer track-record with proven results. Have you ever heard of the term ?Social Homophily“? Have you ever encountered this?

Social Homophily means?the tendency for people to seek out or be attracted to those who are similar to themselves. That means, forming connections are easier within one's own group than they are across a demographic boundary such as racial background. This is big on LinkedIn and I have felt it in many ways than one. Knowing this as allowed me to understand, why I am forced in a situation to do and show more than my peers. Taking on this challenge as elevated me to higher heights.

Over the past 3 years now on LinkedIn, I have created hundreds of videos, that's my favourite content format, on LinkedIn and other different platforms. Embeded with a strategy that build pyramids and emotional bridges. This strategy I have cemented in my own signature method called the social media visibility pyramid. I have creatded different formats like, ?Breaking News and my first LIVE event format called #LateNightLinkedin. Currently am working on the Brending Experience.

Conclusion:

We all want to create long and lasting deeper relationships. Over time, deeper relationships depend on people’s opening up about their personal lives. For that to happen, potential customers must be intentional about getting out of their comfort zones and connecting with people who are different. That may feel like a risk, but it’s one worth taking.

It is now 2022 and my journey continues...

PS:?Like this article? Share it with a friend! Thank you.?

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