The good and the bad of being a LinkedIn obsessive

Almost a year ago I wrote an article titled: “Why I had to change my relationship with LinkedIn and how I did it”

In it I reflected on my changing way of using LinkedIn; I was moving from being someone who would spend almost half of each working day on LinkedIn reading every article, skimming every post, wishing everyone I ever knew a Happy Birthday and sending congratulations for each job change.

In the early days of my business I thought this was vital for building a viable business (and to keep me busy and sane) but once my business actually took off, I physically didn’t have the time anymore so I switched my approach.

Out went the above and in came a more surgical, enjoyable approach where I limited my interaction to less than an hour per day.

Previous-Faris felt like he had to keep on top of everything on LinkedIn (which is physically impossible when it comes to social media btw) and only led to me experiencing massive amounts of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) when I didn’t read every post or send messages to everyone on each celebration.?

Instead, I switched to an approach where, each day, I would post once, send a handful of messages to connections and pick 5–10 posts at random to read and engage with.

It was very much about embracing the mantra of: “Life is about what you did do, not what you didn’t?do .”

So, how has my LinkedIn 2023 been?

As a person who describes himself as being like a Sh*t Magician (I’m more than happy to show you how all the tricks I do actually work); I thought it would be beneficial to share (warts and all) how my LinkedIn year has been.

1: It hasn’t been as easy as I thought it would be.?

Sure, in general I absolutely love LinkedIn but there are days I absolutely hate it and can’t be bothered to engage with it (even with my streamlined approach)

2: Even with my new approach, I find LinkedIn highly addictive and obsessive.?

I find myself fascinated by my overall impact on LinkedIn.

For me, this basically means tracking the number of impressions and followers I have. [I have also deliberated about tracking the number of engagements I have with my posts but I have come to realise that so many of my followers will never engage above the line with my content (i.e. give it a thumbs up or write a response) but that doesn’t mean they don’t read it?—?I know this because they tell me all about it when I speak with them)]

3: In terms of metrics, it’s been great.?

You can see from the picture above that I have doubled my yearly impressions from 430k in 2022 to over 880k in 2023.

I also pushed through the 15k followers mark and that continues to grow on a daily basis

Just as importantly, more and more clients reference my LinkedIn activities.

4: I still can’t really predict which posts will take off and which ones won’t

Generally personal posts do better than business or technical ones; posts with photos do better than posts without and posts posted earlier in the day do better than ones later in the day.

My most viewed/engaged post has been this about being Palestinian during a time of conflic t whilst my least viewed have been reposts (even if the content is amazing like this one )?.

I like mixing things up each week so each week you will see me share some technical knowledge (like this ), a bit of info about my company (like this ) summarise a fascinating article I have read (like this ), conduct a poll (like this ) and generally share what’s been happening for my business and me (like this ).

One thing that is apparent is that LinkedIn hates external links and wants to keep you on its platform (hence why I have started dual posting all my blogs to Medium and LinkedIn).

5: I have expanded into sharing more of my personal (and dating) life

Acknowledging that I don’t really have a work-me and a non-work-me anymore I have begun to share more and more of my personal life on LinkedIn .

This seems to have irked a few people but ultimately if it’s not for them, its for them.

What does 2024 hold for me on LinkedIn?

6: I’m looking onwards and upwards

Even with the gripes, I absolutely love LinkedIn and I actually do look forward to my daily post. I love trying to set new Personal Bests for posts and next year I’ve set myself a task of hitting 20k followers and breaking through the 1 million views barrier.

I am also keen to contribute more to communal articles/videos and try some of the new tools that LinkedIn continues to roll out.

It goes without saying that I will use the platform to continue sharing my journey and to gain knowledge.

Most importantly of all, I look forward to being a follower, seeing the amazing things that are happening to my connections and staying connected with my awesome network because ultimately LinkedIn is just a tool and, as an EQ specialist, it is always about the people.

Conclusion

I hope your previous year on LinkedIn has been just as fruitful as mine and that you too are looking forward to the year ahead.

As ever, if you want to discuss LinkedIn, effectiveness, or any other topic, then drop me a line.

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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