The next digital gold rush

With everyone and their mother getting access to the LinkedIn newsletter, I find myself writing this article bemoaning the fact that I didn't.

Looking at the current criteria for LinkedIn newsletters access, I felt confused:

1. Members with more than 150 followers. I think 3,400 followers is adequate.
2. Members who have experience creating original content on LinkedIn. I certainly qualify for that!

It wasn't that long ago that I posted my last article, was it?

It was just... 15 months ago...

The new gold rush

Before it was cool, I found LinkedIn's article feature as an easy gateway to starting a blog. Given that I wasn't looking to monetize a blog or drive leads for a company, it felt like a great starting point.

I toyed with the idea of starting a newsletter. But I did not want to be another guy cluttering your inbox because I told you I'll be sending you exclusive information.

Nothing I say is exclusive. In fact, you've heard it every single day from people around you. I was just the only one saying it online in a structured manner. I had nothing to lose back then.

It's arguable that things have changed. I have a lot to lose now.

It's true that I have gainful employment in a different country now, but that is not what is at stake for me.

And that is the reason why I suddenly stopped creating content online.

You thought I was going to give some insightful comments about how to use the latest LinkedIn feature? How can I claim to have mastered it like those other people that are bombarding you with invites to subscribe? I can't.

Because unlike others that extrapolate from prior knowledge and assume how new features will work, I test things and try to understand how they work.

I know that LinkedIn newsletters behave like a recurring piece of content that you choose to opt into receiving. But they do not land in your email inbox where they are competing with your amazon receipts, fad diet pill ads, and other newsletters you've been subscribed to without your consent.

They are competing with the LinkedIn feed, on a platform that deprioritizes long-form content.

Not 2 weeks ago, everyone was banging on the short-form vertical video drum and telling everyone to repurpose their video podcasts for Tiktok and repost on Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.

Suddenly, the gold rush has shifted, and the only ones who are suffering are you, the consumers of LinkedIn content.

Let's talk about Tiktok

Yes, there is a lot of dancing and a lot of ephemeral content. However, there is also a lot of good informative content on there. You know... the kind of content that content marketers ought to be making. Yet we are still trying to assume what content consumers want versus trying to listen.

I went from refusing to open the app to spending too much time, scrolling and feeding the algorithm my likes and dislikes. It's hard to keep up with full-time creators who leverage the platform for fame and fortune. It seems like they crank out over 3 videos a day, 7 days a week. That's not sustainable for someone using short-form video as a part of an overall marketing strategy.

And you don't have to. You are not looking for organic growth on Tiktok.

Why not? At least for B2B, the search doesn't start on Tiktok. If users don't signal that they like your style of content, they will never organically find you.

Reports indicate that Google is working on a deal with companies Bytedance and Fac... I mean meta, to have access to the needed data to index Tiktok Videos and Instagram Reels on Google search.

You know Google search? that website that you use to learn more about a problem you're experiencing, or about a potential solution for your problem, or a vendor of the solution to your problem. If you haven't picked up on what I'm trying to insinuate, you're one of the lucky ones that don't suffer from funnel vision.

I know, the pun is awful, but so is the world around us at the moment, so bear with me.

Anyway, Tiktoks right now are a great tool for awareness-level content. But you need to treat them as if they were self-hosted videos at first. You gotta drive traffic from external sources until you hit a critical number of followers where the Tiktok algorithm will start picking up your slack.

While you're at it, offloading these same videos onto Youtube Shorts and to an extent on Instagram Reels would not be such a bad idea.

Wasn't this about LinkedIn newsletters? How did we end up in TikTok?

At one point, I was making LinkedIn content about using LinkedIn. Now that Zuckerberg is claiming Meta content as his own, it's no longer cool to make meta content.

Am I wasting my time creating friction for people to consume my content? Possibly. But I won't know for sure until I test it out.

So for any of you that lasted to this point, I'll be writing LinkedIn articles again. However, they will be more humorous and less educational. And if you're liking what you're reading, I'll be hiding on Tiktok, trying to figure out short-form video for B2B.

Hope to see you there. B.Y.O.B.