Here’s What Happens When You’re In A Social Experiment With Daymond John, Claude Silver And 68 Other Leaders

What do you get when you cross a beatboxing American branding expert with a rapping Australian wealth advisor and mix in cameos of 71 of their leader friends from around the world?

The most epic (and quite possibly, the first and only) music video in LinkedIn history. 

Earlier this week, self-described “kindred spirits” David Brier and Ahmad Imam blew up LinkedIn when they premiered a social experiment that included 71 LinkedIn personalities from eight countries and six continents, with over 3.6 million followers collectively.

As Brier shared, “It all started a few months ago when I called Ahmad after seeing him rap. I thought, ‘How cool would it be if we created a music video?’ After all, when I was in my teens, I played drums and love music to this day. And I actually beatbox.”

“I thought he was kidding!” joked Imam. “After the initial shock wore off, I realized that we had an opportunity to do something really cool and unique on the LinkedIn platform—and include others in it as well.” 

Full disclosure: I was one of those “others.” 

Back in mid-June, Brier reached out with a simple invitation, asking if I was interested in participating in the creation of a music video with 40 or so other LinkedIn community members; I accepted.

My contribution? Recording a 4-second video of myself saying the word, “hey.”

This same invitation was extended to Brier and Ahmad’s respective networks, and to their surprise and delight, nearly everyone said yes. Those original 40 quickly grew to over 70 collaborators.

As Brier and Imam explained, their aim was inclusivity. “It was important to us to have a wide range of contributors,” said Brier. “We have influencers with massive followings and those early in their LinkedIn journey, and we have diversity of gender, ethnicity, age, and geography.”

Their connections on LinkedIn are not just numbers to them. “We consider those in our networks to be our Linkedin family,” Imam stated. 

And what a family they’ve amassed—and continue to draw in—with their infectious video.

Synched with Brier’s beatboxed rhythm, Imam delivers a toe-tapping rap performance of lyrics that touch on themes of building community, the power of connection, the importance of branding (and of course, LinkedIn), and include shout-outs to Gary Vaynerchuk, Grant Cardone, Daymond John and Jeff Weiner.

Brier knew properly branding the video was vital, and stressed the importance of building anticipation and desire for the video’s premiere. “We were very deliberate in our taunting and teasing of this project.”

A week before the video’s launch, the creative duo began posting thumbnails of provocative screenshots, even claiming it to be the “most epic music video in LinkedIn history.”

Their savvy approach worked.

In the first hour of its premiere on September 10, the video had over 7,500 views. And the response doesn’t seem to be letting up. As of this writing, the video had garnered nearly 140,000 views, 1,600 comments and 3,200 reactions, with words of praise from video collaborator Claude Silver, Chief Heart Officer of VaynerMedia, who commented that, “This was so much fun! Amazing to be a part of this!”

The video has also been shared globally more than 240 times, including a hat tip by FUBU CEO and founder, Shark Tank favorite, and video collaborator Daymond John, who announced, “History is made!” 

Not bad for a 4-minute, 48-second project that had more than 45 hours of editing and was three months in the making. 

But Brier and Imam insist that it was a labor of love to create this magical content. 

“Going into this, we hoped it would be received well,” said Brier, “even though at times we made our perfectionist selves crazy!” 

“We wanted it to be a breath of fresh air for our current LinkedIn tribe, and for it to foster even more community,” Imam added.

If you happen to be one of the few who haven’t yet watched this viral video, you can check it out here. But be forewarned: it may inspire you to you create your own original LinkedIn content, which would be just fine with Brier and Imam.

“We hope that this video gives people the confidence that they can be professional and creative at the same time,” said Imam.

“And the beauty is that by doing that,” added Brier, “you’ll successfully break through the noise and differentiate yourself.”

Just like their video.

This piece was first published on Forbes.com. Find it here, and Amy's other articles here.

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?Amy Blaschka is a social media ghostwriter who helps leaders craft their stories and communicate and connect better.Contact her if you'd like her help.?

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