How Reaching Out To "Humans" Pays

Musings on Contacts, Friends, and Followers...

Okay, Linkedin is a professional networking platform, right? Most people would say isn't a place to make friends and be social, but what happens when the lines between professional and personal connections become blurred?

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” –?C.S. Lewis

At the end of 2021, I had maybe 600 Linkedin connections and very little engagement. I'm not the type to accept random connection requests from people I don't know, and for a long time, I kept everything I did on this platform strictly professional. My posts were mostly about professional achievements and sharing business-related articles/posts I found insightful. It didn't feel like I was making any meaningful connections but at the same time, Linkedin was the last place I'd consider making "friends".

All of that changed early this year when I started to post about my mental health. Understanding that LI is a place where expertise is valued, I figured an area where I was definitely an expert was my mental health struggles the strategies I was using to try overcoming them. It was nerve wracking at first, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't overwhelmed by the response I received...

It Goes Down In The DMs!

I noticed really quickly that even though my posts weren't getting a "viral" amount of public engagement, my private messages inbox started filling up with people pouring out support and solidarity. The amount of messages I received from people saying, "I'm in the same boat" was truly eye opening for me. We all know Linkedin shares our activity with all of our connections so it became obvious to me why so many of these people were messaging me privately with commentary that would have been perfectly suited for the comment sections of my posts.

I get it, nobody wants their boss, clients, or competitors to know they are struggling. Some of the hesitation can be attributed to our egos, but I think it's really largely a symptom of the toxic work culture we all live in that looks to constantly increase productivity at the cost of snuffing out our humanity. I mean, how would our personal issues affect our work?

Here Come The Bots: AI In The Workplace

It should come as no surprise to any informed professional that artificial intelligence is here and is now touching all aspects of business culture more each day. Business owners and managers are seeking to automate as much work as they can with technology that promises to lower labor costs and improve efficiency for their organizations.

Like me, many of you probably long for the days when a call to a customer support number allowed you to speak with a person who's sole job it was to fix your problem. Today, most of us dread calling/messaging customer support lines where we know we will be fighting an uphill battle against an automated prompt system that will likely take longer than expected and often times without the result we'd hoped for.

It's in these times, when we need help, that we realize how important human-to-human contact truly is.

So back to the point of this post...

What Are Linkedin "Connections"

So like I said, I had about 600 connections at the beginning of this year until I started posting about the human side of business and entrepreneurship. Today, while still a modest amount, I have just over 1,600 followers on Linkedin and growing...

I don't accept connection requests from just anyone, there's a "follow" button on my page for a reason. I'm only looking to connect with humans; not sales reps, marketers, or consultants whose automated messages and ineffective commentary can be easily replaced, and probably done better, by AI...

We can all do a better job of connecting with the humans on the other side of our communications platforms. From a growth and personal branding perspective, I think showing who we are as human beings is our best bet at separating ourselves from the pack on an often dry and sterile platform such as this one. The people I often remember most on this network aren't the ones posting about amazing promotions or other professional milestones, it's the ones that share about stuff I can empathize with in my own personal journey.

A Word To The Wise: Do It for Your Career

So with all this being said, has this push to make myself more "human" created new business opportunities for me?

The short answer: Yes, 100%

The long answer as to why: Many of the connections I've formed here over the last last year are more than professional contacts, they've become friends. My human posting have garnished me so many people all over the world that I can directly reach out to for help in my professional life. Being more than business contacts, I can be nearly certain they will respond with support or helpful suggestions. When I share that I'm looking for new work or new freelance opportunities, these friends respond with recent postings they've seen related to my search. Some even follow up again weeks later with messages like, "Not sure if you were still looking for work, but I saw [insert opportunity] and thought it may interest you...". Outside of job hunting, I've also been offered invites to events I had no business attending, some of which have been monumental for my professional development. There is no limit to where your connections can take you, but you need to start making meaningful ones to reap the rewards of networking.

Conclusion

Linkedin can be a place for more than posting a glorified resume or echo chamber "insights". I'm not suggesting you start digging through your closet to find skeletons to share with the world, I want you to know you should only share what you're comfortable with sharing. I'm a weirdo who is comfortable showing my skin to the world when it comes to mental health, you will have your own story to tell...

Nobody wants to live in an echo chamber and we all become easily bored of regurgitated content. If you found some content that interests you, I encourage you to share it! But if you found it interesting, it's likely you aren't the first person to be sharing it on LI. You are unique, your experience is unique, and social network algorithms like Linkedin's are always evolving to push unique and engaging content. Yes, my posts don't get 1,000s of likes or comments, but you better believe Linkedin is tracking the number of messages I get directly after they are published. LI wants to promote what keeps users engaged, hence why my LI impression analytics are always climbing despite my considerably stagnant public engagement numbers.

We're all on Linkedin to network with professionals in our industries and the business community at large. Sure, we could create new opportunities for ourselves and our businesses with creative marketing, paid advertising, and implementation of automated funnels but those can require investments of our time and money, which can get pricey quickly. It's been my personal experience that forming true "human" connections with people is the most cost effective way to level up your career and generate new business.

I hope if you find this article and we aren't connected that we can connect in the future. Send me an invite with a note about this post!

About The Author: Anthony Carnevale

Anthony is an experienced content writer having worked in and with numerous industries including wine, cannabis, IT, startups, and government.

A digital marketing mercenary of sorts, Anthony offers paid content writing, blogging, and consulting services that drive Social and SEO performance to small and medium sized organizations in Canada and The USA.

His content creation clients have included various brands, retailers, recruitment agencies, blog sites, manufacturing companies and design agencies. He also consults with and helps with writing for individuals looking to improve their resumes, cover letters, social presence and other written communications to increase their hireability and better achieve their professional and personal branding goals.

If you'd like to speak with Anthony about his services, he can be reached through his Linkedin account or by email today.