Is LinkedIn becoming Facebook? Does it matter?

The comments that bothers me more than anything are things like, "That belongs on Facebook not LinkedIn." "Isn't that more suited for Facebook?" "That doesn't belong on LinkedIn."

Last time I checked there was no LinkedIn Rulebook. It is a social site that people go on to seek out content. That content could be something that benefits them in their everyday life, a job search, business development, or just leisurely reading. I want people to know who I am, where I come from, what motivates me, and what I do. To do this, I put out content the reinforces those values. I love movies and sports, so I post a lot about those two things. Do they have anything to do with what I do for work, most of the time no, but guess what, they are engaging and engaging is what leads to new conversations and new relationships.  Professional posts are very boring and get skimmed over very easily. You must relate those business posts to the people who need to see it. Play off common interests such as schools, locations, hobbies, and even job history. When people see, buy this, buy this, buy this, it shows them that all you care about is selling them something instead of having an interest in their lives before providing any value to them. Posts should be a heavy dose of filing the funnel. 

Top Funnel posts are all about showing your audience who you are and what makes you tick. If you can connect with people using these posts it will only benefit you moving forward. These posts right here are what is going to keep you top of mind when people log on to LinkedIn. The biggest compliment I can get is, “Every time I log on to LinkedIn you are right at the top of my feed.”

Middle of the Funnel post are all about sharing content of the people you value. This could be a prospect in which you need to spark their attention, or just someone you respect and love what they are putting out there. This could act as a, “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch your back,” type of situation.

Bottom of the Funnel posts are getting real professional, business content out there. Now we add value to our audience in a business sense. Here is what my company can do to solve this problem that you may be having. These posts are great because the engagement will be low, but those people who do engage with it either really like your post and are loyal to you, or they have a problem that you can potentially solve.

Funnel courtesy of: Derek Laliberte Defending the LinkedIn Selfie with a Social Funnel

LinkedIn is a social site that just happens to have lots of business people on it. The content is the same, don’t fall into the trap of saying, “This isn’t Facebook.” Adapt and keep providing value to the people in your audience. If they don’t like it they can always hit “Remove Connection”

If you have any advice for me I would love to hear it.

Payton Bieker

Pbieker@apterainc.com