The LinkedIn Dispatch #5
Dennis Buckley
Founder at Founders Ink | helping experts and entrepreneurs write, publish, and distribute thought leadership | Ex Demand Curve (YC S19)
Happy St. Patrick's Day ??
May your green drinks be satisfying and your hangover merciful.
Welcome back to The Dispatch, your weekly digest of top-shelf LinkedIn posts.
Today's topics:
Let. Us. Roll.
— Dennis
1. LinkedIn engineers reveal latest algo changes
Via Marty Kausas
Lots of LinkedIn users noticed declining impression counts starting around Nov 2023.
I noticed it myself:
Since then, I've read a lot of speculation about algo changes, but nothing official.
That is, until I saw Marty's post last week where he summarized a recent podcast interview with two senior LinkedIn engineers who explained the inside dirt on the feed algorithm.
Marty's TLDR:
What doesn't work
What does work
My takeaway:
I think LinkedIn is taking a page from Google's EEAT playbook:
Notice how "LinkedIn EEAT" instantly filters out platitudes and opinion-based content. I.e., content that used to perform very well on LinkedIn.
As of writing this, EEAT seems like a solid framework to apply to your LinkedIn content strategy—stay in your lane and write educational content that helps your peers and potential customers get better/solve problems.
2. 2 types of defensible content
Via John Bonini
Defensibility is the cornerstone of good content.
When your message holds up to scrutiny, then it was more than likely written from a place of thoughtfulness, honesty, and intellectual rigor.
The 2 most defensible types of content include:
1. Original Thinking:
“Here’s how I think about and/or solve the problem".
领英推荐
This is a shortcut to creating content that is uniquely your own.
2. Original Research:
“Here’s how they think about and/or solve the problem"
This is why podcasting is such a smart content strategy: one 45-minute conversation can yield a dozen pieces of content that cover both original thinking and original research.
"Where you don't want to be," as John notes, "is somewhere in the middle. "Creating content that is not uniquely you but also not uniquely…anyone’s."
This is exactly the type of content generative AI tools excel at: high-confidence but low substance. And zero defensibility.
3. 4 reasons why ghostwriters don't work out
Via Dennis Buckley
LinkedIn ghostwriting is a trendy gig. But not all ghostwriters are created equal.
I spoke with the CEO of a YC-backed fintech recently, and he graciously shared his experience working with ghostwriters.
"It's been extremely hit or miss," he said.
"I've tested 4, but none of them worked out.."
Based on our conversation, here are 4 reasons why ghostwriters don't work out:
1. Voice mismatch
2. Lack of industry insight
3. Inconsistent content quality
4. Poor alignment of goals
What's the solution?
Understand that writers ≠ experts. You as the subject are the expert.
If you're asking someone to ghostwrite for your personal LinkedIn profile, then it's in your interest as a founder or CEO (and the writer's) to collaborate; provide the writer with stories, industry insights, experiences, and perspectives they can use to write on your behalf.
These details enable the writer to capture your voice and point of view in the content, which makes it authentic and defensible.
//FIN//
About Dennis Buckley
After 8 years of working in startups, I struck out on my own to build a new life doing the work I love. I started Founders Ink, my founder-led content marketing agency, to help growth-oriented founders and CEOs:
I previously ghostwrote for a New York Times bestseller, led content marketing teams at both bootstrapped and venture-backed startups, and taught founders and operators how to grow companies at Demand Curve.
How I can help you become a thought leader in your industry:
See you next week.
— Dennis
Turn Your Email List Into Pipeline | Founder at Copy TG | Contributed to $1.5M+ in Revenue and $150M+ in Funding | Schedule a Call Below ????
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Founder at Founders Ink | helping experts and entrepreneurs write, publish, and distribute thought leadership | Ex Demand Curve (YC S19)
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