Creator Content Calendar, Vulnerability on LinkedIn, and The Power of Images

Editor’s note: Newsletter published on Monday, February 28 instead of Thursday, February 24 as planned, due to processing the news surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Lea Turner is hosting a LinkedIn masterclass webinar with several LinkedIn experts on Monday, March 7 at 1 p.m. GMT (5 a.m. PST / 8 a.m. EST), with 100% of proceeds going to Hope4, an organization helping women and children refugees of Ukraine. Please consider purchasing a ticket (which gets you access to the recording) for this class, or donating directly through the link in this post from Lea .

?Here’s what you can expect from this issue:

• Content Spotlight
• Gold Standard Content Creators
• Hear More from Heather
• #TLBClub Tip of the Month
• How Heather Helps
• Calls to Action ?

Content Spotlight

The post I’m spotlighting this month is actually my second-highest viewed piece of content on LinkedIn to date, second only to this post of mine that got picked up and featured by the LinkedIn News team. The post from January 26 features a wedding photo of my husband and me. Click this link to read the original post .?

The Strategy

Following LinkedIn for Creators Content Calendar?

Why it Works

Did you know that LinkedIn for Creators produces a quarterly content calendar ? Not only does this give LinkedIn users a great way to plan out content ahead of time, but with more than half a million people following the page, your post is more likely to get more engagement since you are posting using the same topic, hashtag, or writing prompt as other content creators.

Since?the post was for National Spouses Day in the U.S., I made sure to use #nationalspousesday since hashtags are searchable on LinkedIn and users can search a hashtag to see all posts using it.

Additional Considerations

Photos do well, especially when they elicit emotion. I heard some great advice about this last month from @Chris Do in a LinkedIn Audio Event hosted by @Vinnie Posetivo and @Judi Fox. Here’s my original post from last month sharing that tip with my network.

What the Numbers Say

Powered by?IMPULZE, an analytics platform built by?Daniel Hall ?to export data from LinkedIn content into an Excel spreadsheet. The only thing you need to get the data is the post URL. Thank you to Daniel for this wonderful tool!

This post is from Jan. 26, so I had a month’s worth of data to review. While post views grew over time, I don’t recall receiving notifications for the post after a week or so. IMPULZE shows me a total of 59 comments on the post, including the commenter’s name as well as the posting date, local time the comment was left, and the comment text. A link to the comment on the downloadable spreadsheet takes me back to their comment so I can respond easily.

One of the most exciting new features to IMPULZE includes a sheet listing with a hyperlink each attendee’s last engagement activity on LinkedIn. In this instance, an attendee is defined as a LinkedIn user who commented on my post. This addition is great so I can easily engage with users who made the effort to comment on my content and return the favor. Many people call this “social karma.”

In total, this post received 322 reactions (227 likes, 63 hearts, 31 claps, 1 support) and 24,303 views, really great reach for the number of connections and followers I have (1,945 at time of posting). ?

Want to learn more about IMPULZE? Check out this video from Daniel .

Room for Improvement

I spent a long time deciding what wedding photo I wanted to use. I wanted to use a picture-perfect image because I love our wedding photos, but what I didn’t say in my original post was that working under the same roof has not been easy for us either.?

Maybe I should’ve used a side-by-side photo from our wedding along with a more vulnerable image from a time we were struggling during the pandemic, like how before we moved from our 600 sq. ft. apartment into our current two-bedroom, we had to share our tiny kitchen table as a two-sided desk, and how if we had a meeting at the same time one of us had to run into our bedroom or sit outside on our balcony.?

I know posting more vulnerable content can still feel uncomfortable or taboo for many LinkedIn users, and you don’t have to post something like this if you don’t want to. However, I do encourage you to think about each piece of content you put out and ask yourself what message you want to convey to your audience.?

And speaking of posting content, I want to introduce a new segment in my monthly newsletter…

Gold Standard Content Creators

Each month, I plan to feature three people in my network who from my perspective are putting out the gold standard for content on LinkedIn.

1. Jalonni Weaver

I was introduced to Jalonni through a LinkedIn Audio Event hosted by Danielle Farage . Jalonni’s profession is in talent acquisition, but I wanted to highlight a series of posts and updates she made regarding her missing sister (now found) and the importance of taking mental health seriously for Black women. Click here to read the below post in full .?

I can’t begin to imagine how Jalonni felt going through this experience, but the fact that she turned to LinkedIn during this time says a lot in my opinion about the power of community on this platform.?

2. Sumana Jeddy

If you don’t know Sumana, I encourage you to check out her profile immediately. I connected with Sumana initially through our involvement in the Thought Leadership Branding Club community, but then I found out her expertise lies in evidence-based workplace wellness and burnout prevention strategies, something I needed help with. In addition to taking a workshop with Sumana, I find additional support in reading her content, including her February series on sharing one of 28 workplace wellness strategies each day.

Sumana does a great job of utilizing the document upload feature that many refer to as a “carousel” of content, since you can click arrows to move between multiple pages. This is a great visual way to showcase content and build brand recognition.?

3. Bobby Umar

I met Bobby in LinkedIn Mastery no. 12 on Clubhouse, a recurring flagship room under the Thought Leadership Branding Club that has now been going for more than 365 days. Bobby knows how to lift others up and build relationships, which is why I think Bobby is someone who sets a gold standard for content. Bobby has taught me so much in the last year about what it means to be a thought leader, so I was really grateful to be included in Bobby’s alphabetical list from December 2021 of 100 Thought Leaders to Follow .?

Hear More from Heather (aka Social Audio appearances)

I love social audio. I’ve been a fan since I first learned about Clubhouse in January of 2021. While I am more balanced with how much time I spend on social audio than I have been in the past, I want to highlight some upcoming rooms/events/spaces I speak in regularly:

Clubhouse

Under Thought Leadership Branding Club: NFTs for Newbies - Wednesdays @ 7 a.m. PST (10 a.m. EST)

Twitter Spaces

Hosted by Bobby Umar: NFTs, Crypto, Metaverse & Web3: Learn, Share, and Grow w/ our Community - Saturdays @ 10 a.m. PST (1 p.m. EST)

#TLBClub Tip of the Month

As a member of the Thought Leadership Branding Club’s leadership team, I want to highlight a tip each month from our incredible thought leaders. This tip comes from the weekly LinkedIn Audio Event edition of #TLBClub LinkedIn Mastery, hosted by Rachel Simon .

“Don’t be afraid to bring your personality to LinkedIn.”?

How Heather Helps

You may or may not have noticed the #OpentoHelping frame on my LinkedIn profile picture. The frame is actually the result of a viral LinkedIn post I discovered thanks to Michelle Griffin , and the idea is to show your network that you are open to helping! Here’s a link to the Canva template if you are interested in adding your own “Open to Helping” frame.?

Here are three ways I can help; feel free to send me a direct message with your ask:

1. Resume review
2. Introduction to someone in my network
3. Referral to my employer, after you review what role you are interested in through https://www.honda.com/careers

Calls to Action?

? Don’t forget to?subscribe!

? Follow?#HeatherHelps ?to see more of my content!

??Share this newsletter?with two connections you think would gain insight from it.

??Engage with Me! Comment below with questions you have about content strategy.?

??DM Me! See a piece of content on LinkedIn you think is awesome? Send it to me via LinkedIn messenger so I can take a look!

??Tag me?in a post you want feedback on by using the hashtag?#HeatherHelps ?so I know to reach out via LinkedIn messenger.

??Follow me?on other social channels including?Twitter ,?Instagram ?and?Clubhouse !

??Share your e-mail address ?with me to join the list for a special edition of my newsletter with bonus tips!

Stay Golden?