Linkedsummit 2023 Review
photographer: Mads Bordinggaard

Linkedsummit 2023 Review

A special episode of the podcast this week as I talked through my recent experience of the LinkedIn conference in Odense, Denmark.

I can only give my feedback on the English language sessions from Ruben Hassid and Richard van der Blom for obvious reasons but they both provided plenty of gems in their presentations.

Here's the podcast.

But before all that...

New Features

LinkedIn have added a few new features since the last LinkedInformed (maybe more... let me know) and they are quietly testing others as discovered bt Nima Owji

No alt text provided for this image

This has been hinted at previously but now it seems it's soon to happen. As with all things AI, it could be great, or a complete disaster depending on how well it works but mainly how people use it. PLEASE don't let AI make you lazy...it's a tool that should improve your content but it will take time and effort to ensure that.

In addition to that, this one looks very exciting!

No alt text provided for this image

This could be amazing if they implement it correctly, especially as any templates should be set to the exact correct size...no more need for Canva?

The next one is much more unclear.

No alt text provided for this image

There are suggestions that this relates to composing InMails but if you look at the screenshots, it's clearly at the top of the feed so I wonder if this is a form of content search that provides an answer to your question by searching LinkedIn content for the answer, I guess we will have to wait and see.

Nima states that they are also working on the AI assistant being able to summarise articles or posts you see - that will be fascinating to see (and pretty awful I reckon).

LinkedIn & Microsoft are going crazy with AI aren't they?..so many new AI related features, I just hope it doesn't turn LinkedIn into a network of bots!

LinkedIn have also announced a few new things in their marketing blog. The one of interest being Pages Messaging. I've seen some people suggest this is a game changer...I'm not sure exactly how though. If page admins are as responsive to messages as they are @mention tagging then you could be waiting a long time to receive a reply!

Discontinued features.

LinkedIn have announced that they are not going to continue with Carousel posts (not Document posts, Carousel was a new format they had run a very limited beta on) and embedded links into video and image posts. I'm not bothered about those at all but they have (again) dropped a real clanger by getting rid of Profile Video as well!

No alt text provided for this image

Once again they are stating that this decision is based on feedback...Who are these people they are asking? Profile video is a great feature and definitely brings your professional story to life...more than most profile features. Either they are asking numpties or they are being economical with the truth!

As AI created content increases, encouraged by LinkedIn with all these new features, they decide to dump one feature that really helps us prove that we are real and not created by a bot!

Honestly, the decision making process adopted by LinkedIn baffles me!

Anyway, if you want to add or update your profile video, you've got until the 26th June, it remains on your profile it's just that you won't be able to add one after that date.

Linked Summit 2023

Firstly I want to start with the amazing and incredibly hard working organiser of the conference Mette Will . Seeing her in action, before, during and after the event showed me just how meticulous she is whilst always remaining calm and collected. Well done Mette, you should be very proud of yourself and your team.

No alt text provided for this image
Sharing a lighter moment stage with Mette during the content talkshow

I also got to meet some long term Danish listeners to the LinkedInformed podcast. It was great to finally meet Greete Eluri (who I can thank for suggesting me as a speaker), Leif Carlsen who has been a regular contributor for years and the man himself Tonny Mikkelsen . Danish people are so warm, friendly and very genuine.

I loved Odense (pronounced "ooh-den-sa"). it's a beautiful little town and well worth a visit.

Now to the two speakers I had the pleasure of seeing in action

Richard van der Blom

No alt text provided for this image
photographer: Mads Bordinggaard

Richards talk was great, packed with useful tips and information and delivered by a clearly very accomplished speaker. I'd never met Richard before but we enjoyed a great time together with our partners the night before - I've always enjoyed reading his research and advice but I enjoyed his company even more!

I go into much more detail in the podcast but for now, here are my takeaways from his presentation;

  • Be unique on LinkedIn, both in your profile and content
  • The 3 A's of LinkedIn - Be Authentic, Active and Approachable
  • Profile banners should not all look the same for employees of an organisation. Brand consistency is important but let employees choose which they use from a selection.
  • Profiles should be customer centric (I'm a bit wary of this one which I discuss in the podcast)
  • Only 34% of your feed will be from 1st tier and 12% from different connections. This is definitely not the case for my feed!
  • 3rd party news is good content as part of a mix. I agree but don't use links for this.
  • Use an ending paragraph on every post with your details an encouraging viewers to ring your bell. I don't do this but it's a decent idea, I doubt many actually read this...but it only takes one to make it worthwhile!
  • Video content is poor for views but great for conversions
  • Posting at the weekends can work well for some (this depends on your audience and whether you are prepared to engage at the weekend...I'm not!)
  • Likes have very little influence on a posts distribution.
  • New - You can now edit and comment on your post with no penalty from the algorithm.
  • Senior exec content is underutilized but a growing trend as organisations realise their Page has very poor reach
  • Consistency is really important for content but this is not the same as frequency. 1 post every wednesday morning for a month is better than 5 in a month but delivered inconsistently.
  • Don't use a CTA in your profile, it's far to salesy for LinkedIn, instead focus on CTT (Call to think) and CTF (call to feel)

Ruben Hassid

This was Rubens first ever public speaking engagement...you would never have guessed though, he was fantastic and had a real stage presence. When we chatted beforehand we both realised that he was 11 years old when I delivered my first LinkedIn workshop! That made me feel very old!

Ruben Hassid is currently the #2 creator on LinkedIn...which is quite an accolade, although I don't really know what that actually means! Either way, his content is fantastic and he's well worth a follow if you are interested in understanding and keeping up to date with all things related to AI and ChatGPT...I'm finding the pace of new developments and apps is a minefield and hard to keep pace with, Rubin's content makes it all so much easier to cope with!

No alt text provided for this image
photographer: Mads Bordinggaard

My summary of Rubens talk 'The Great AI Marketing Takeover. Embracing the Inevitable'

  • ChatGPT sources it's information from Wikipedia, Reddit and over 3 million books.
  • Chat Prompts are a real science! Ruben explained how you really need to master this skill to get the most from AI and it's important to spend a lot of time giving ChatGPT lots of relevant information and then fine tuning your prompts. He made it clear that AI is not about being lazy and cutting corners.
  • The best way to prompt is to be as 'human' as possible
  • The 'Tree of thoughts' is a technique he demonstrated for ChatGPT where you ask it to brainstorm 5 ideas, then pick one and ask it to provide 3 ways to do this. This gradually works through to a solution. You're the boss and the AI tools are doing what you want, you decide what you want by filtering and refining through the process.
  • All the images used in his presentation were created by Mid-Journey.
  • He also showed us a video of how AI can interpret brainwaves which may result in us being able to see our dreams on video...insane!
  • He showed us how he created a brilliant Vogue cover from scratch by combining different AI tools (see below)

No alt text provided for this image

Summary

Why don't more countries run LinkedIn specific conferences? Richard travelled to Norway to present again at Linkedify, an equivalent event in Oslo but I'm not aware of other conferences elsewhere. In the UK we have generic social media conferences and events that will include LinkedIn but surely the LinkedIn community is big enough to justify an independently run (I wouldn't want LinkedIn involved at all!) LinkedIn specific conference. Denmark only has 3m+ LinkedIn users and Norway even less! Surely the UK (35m+), France, Italy, Canada and the US should be doing something similar!

Post of the week

I saw this in it's first hour and it had already attracted loads of engagement.

It's clever because it combines and entertaining video with a commercial message with a sprinkling of sarcastic humour...what's not to like?

Well done Andrew McIntosh a well deserved winner!


That's it for this week, take care and keep the suggestions and questions coming in.

Take care

No alt text provided for this image


MARK LEE FCA

Biz dev (incl re LinkedIn) for Accountants | Pragmatic insights, support and advice | Mentor, Speaker, Debunker | Chair of Network of specialist tax advisers | Received Outstanding Contribution award at Accountex 2024

1 年

Another insightful and useful edition of your podcast Mark. Re why there is no LI related conference in the UK? I have some thoughts. I agree it’s odd that this can be done in Scandinavia but not in the UK (yet). Would need an experienced conference producer and a plan to be profitable (or at least cost neutral). That probably means big name sponsors who would anticipate a decent ROI for their investment. To help inspire potential organisers and sponsors perhaps you could share how the Summit you attended was arranged? Do you think that’s replicable here? Did attendees pay for tickets? Were there sponsors? Exhibitors? Paid speakers? Any idea what the budget was for the organisers and how they covered their costs? Would it be cheaper or more expensive to arrange such a conference in the UK? What sort of attendee numbers would be required to make the financial investment/risk worthwhile for the organisers?

回复
Leif Carlsen

Jeg hj?lper dig med ?get synlighed og nye kunder p? LinkedIn?? via social selling metodikken | B2B-relationssalg | Sales Navigator | Employee Advocacy | Personlig branding | Sparring | Kurser | Forl?b | Foredrag

1 年

It was great to see you in real life, Mark Williams ?? and talk about LinkedIn, company pages (??) and many other interesting topics. Hope to see you again in Denmark and as mention you and Louise are always welcome for lunch or dinner next time ??

回复
Mette Will

Linked Summit & Email Summit Arrang?r. G?r som +21.000 andre: Connect med mig, og f? st?rke tips i dit feed.

1 年

Looking forward to listening to your podcast ???? And you are right: Why don’t more countries have conferences specifically about LinkedIn? Go, go, go, organisers around the world ???? Thanks again for coming, it was such a pleasure having you ??

Angus Grady

Linked In marketing services starting conversations that convert into sales. ?? Lumpy Mailer that gets sticky doors opened

1 年

The LinkedIn Summit has delivered in terms of this post alone with the overviews from the two speakers you cite. Will your speech be available at some point or is it a pay wall to get them?

回复
Calle Walla

Gruvguide. Maskinoperat?r. Utbildad automationsoperat?r/processoperat?r. Geovetare. ?ver 10 ?rs erfarenhet som truckf?rare och lagerarbetare.

1 年

Thank you for the update, Mark! I'm also pleased that you learned the correct pronunciation of Odense. ??

要查看或添加评论,请登录

Mark Williams的更多文章

  • LinkedIn?? invest in offline networking

    LinkedIn?? invest in offline networking

    So the worlds largest online business networking platform has decided to invest in offline networking! LinkedIn's new…

    3 条评论
  • The Power Of Comments

    The Power Of Comments

    This week I want to talk about engagement, not the quick Like/Reaction or Reposting but the action that really counts…

    38 条评论
  • The Video Feed

    The Video Feed

    In this episode I cover the positives and negatives of the new(ish) mobile video feed. Plus a brilliant post of the…

    28 条评论
  • One Hour A Week

    One Hour A Week

    What would you spend your time doing if you only had one hour on LinkedIn?? per week? Is it possible to have an impact…

    28 条评论
  • What will happen this year?

    What will happen this year?

    In this weeks episode I discuss my predictions for LinkedIn?? this year. I've always said that there are 3 LinkedIns;…

    19 条评论
  • Louise Brogan

    Louise Brogan

    We often come across people on LinkedIn?? who look interesting and produce content we find valuable..

    9 条评论
  • Video Killed the LinkedIn Star: How the New Feed Is Quietly Stifling Engagement

    Video Killed the LinkedIn Star: How the New Feed Is Quietly Stifling Engagement

    I love the new video feed but is it discouraging engagement, especially comments? Is this potentially damaging to the…

    23 条评论
  • How not to prune your connections!

    How not to prune your connections!

    Has your network grown out of control? Do you think it might be time to disconnect from a few? Does it make sense to do…

    14 条评论
  • The LinkedIn?? TOFU Myth!

    The LinkedIn?? TOFU Myth!

    This may be an unpopular opinion..

    32 条评论
  • Disappearing Connections!

    Disappearing Connections!

    Apologies for skipping a week, I had a family medical emergency that required me to leave and travel the day before…

    11 条评论

社区洞察