Are followers our new currency?
Flights have always provided a perfect environment to consolidate thoughts and ideas; as I fly home to Spain after the official launch of CloudStream at our London HQ, I have the perfect 2.5 hour reflection window.
As you would expect, the 9 month run up to our launch date was chaotic to say the least; a new cloud based CRM & operating system, new website www.cloudstreamglobal.com ,5 international offices opening their doors to our technology network and of course rolling out our LinkedIn homepage.
As the CEO, I’m constantly studying P&L’s, digesting analytics and fielding all sorts of ideas and plans from our teams, and this flight was going to be no different. That was until I realised that rather than firing up the management accounts, I had subconsciously opened my LinkedIn Analytics and was studying our company follower numbers and our employee profiles.
In fact when I took some time to think it over I realised that this had become a daily occurrence and was fast becoming an obsession. My last action of the day had turned into checking the latest corporate follower numbers and seeing if they had increased and even setting mental targets and goals as a guide for success!!!
Which raised many questions:
- At which point did LI followers begin to mean so much?
- What impact does this have on the market?
- What follower numbers correlate to success?
- Do PE or Corp Finance houses utilise these stats in their assessment folders and valuations?
- Are LI followers a barometer of success?
- Am I obsessing over nothing????
I am sure Tony O’Hara our outstanding LI Account Manager has a number of presentations on exactly these topics which he will send me once he reads this – but I would love to hear the thoughts of the market???
Sales Manager @ Linkedin
7 年Hey Adam, It's a really interesting question and one many business leaders, particularly in recruitment are not asking enough. Why would anyone choose to follow a recruitment business? its either to get a Job through them or to use them to recruit. Your followers are a virtual room full of people that want to hear your message. Whilst it is important to fill that room with as many people as possible the next question is what do you say to them? A lot of companies I work with will want to grow there follower numbers as quickly as possible, when I ask why reasons are often ones of perception, Vanity or competitiveness. Where the true value of a follower comes is how they engage with your brand. Are you as a business producing valuable and incite full content your audience wants to consume and then subsequently share with their own network? Are your consultants tracking followers and reaching out to them when they hit the follow button? These followers are likely one of the warmest leads you will get so its so important you engage with them. Congratulations on the start so far, Almost 2,000 followers in such a short space of time is very impressive. I'm looking forward to seeing your content for the rest of the year and working with you to continue this rapid follower growth.
Agile Coffee Drinker | Global Citizen
7 年Currency as it relates to you and your organization, absolutely. The key is building momentum and meeting expectations of your currency holders, continue to nurture and build through effective and consistent communication and that investment will grow across LI and other platforms.
Managing Director - VP Sales - GTM - Revenue Growth - Launch & Scale - Advisory Board Member - Investor
7 年Adam, fantastic to see this post and to see your follower growth over such a short period of time! In my 5 years at LinkedIn I have witnessed a direct correlation of LinkedIn followers to how successful a business is. This is just the beginning! Looking forward to catching up again when you are back in London. Best regards Rebecca