The Professional Influencer: Who decides what content is valuable

If you are pushed for time, jump to the ‘final final thought’ for now, and maybe come back later…….

You may laugh, but when I joined LinkedIn the focus was two fold: connect with professional candidates and connect with peers. Once connected, have a relationship, which consisted of sharing jobs or sharing ideas.

I’m coming around to the fact that LinkedIn is now just another social media platform.

Audience

Before recording a podcast I was asked what my ‘audience’ expected. Which got me thinking, do we really need to think about who we are posting to, before we produce content.

When I started preparing this article 4 weeks ago, I laid out my initial premise, which was to explore the difference between Influencers, Practitioners and Thought Leaders. I’ve spoken to 30+ people, asking what their take was.

Then I sat down to write this article, and tried to make it a worthwhile piece of content for my audience.

But the irony is, NO ONE REALLY CARES. Or that’s what I thought, if solely measured on impressions or likes.

LinkedIn algorithm

The more time you spend researching and preparing content, has little or no bearing on how it trends on LinkedIn. In fact, even using the word ‘trend’ makes me jolt, like I’ve somehow been listening to the backstory of a Love Island contestant.

So how do I know this?

Because I’ve run some AB testing, as any sensible practitioner would do.

On the one hand (A) I’ve taken hours to prepare valuable content (peer reviewed) which has fallen at the first hurdle. Some might even say, it fell flat on its face (harsh but fair).

And on the other hand (B) I’ve posted absolute drivel with a particular hashtag or buzzword, which LinkedIn has pushed to the front of everyone's feed. In fact, throw in the word ‘Crap’ and it’s somehow trending at 500,000 impressions. Just using a very minor swear word in this paragraph might boost its trend-ability (contrary to sound advice from my father).

Some suggestions

So what insights might I be in a position to share.

Think about your audience - but more importantly their time. When writing a post convey only one simple message or idea, and make sure it's enough for someone in your target group to tap a like - which they might if they agree with your statement. The more likes/thumbs/hearts/lightbulbs in the first hour, the more it will trend in the daily feeds.

Post regularly - don’t necessarily listen to TikTok influencers advising on LinkedIn trending, and certainly try to avoid those who say ‘You MUST Do These 3 Things’. But similarly don’t expect one post every 6 months to reach an audience outside of your current employer or lifelong connections.

Be sincere - don’t lose your voice. Whether that is a super serious mega corporate tone, or a more jovial one, try to maintain your identity and stay true to yourself. This will help you respond to comments and have a conversation about the subject matter. Your peers will respect you for it.

Share a link - if you have written something you are proud of, or you feel needs to be heard, ping the link to a few trusted sources and ask them to like, comment or repost. This will certainly help to get something started.

Experiment - try a few different angles and see what works. I’ve been AB testing for 12 months, and I’m still AB testing with this article.

Own your voice and underlying principles

It’s important to know your own voice and to stand by your principles. You don’t need to get drawn into every debate, but it’s also worth remembering that if you like a post it doesn’t mean you agree with each and every word.

I stand by these guiding principles.

I will post about: Best practice, poor practice, observations, industry theories, protected characteristics, employment law.

I won’t post about: Politics, religion, cross border events, sports teams, family, pets, food, holidays, personal feelings or personal views (without a balanced argument)?

Unlike most, I publicly call out poor practices in our industry, especially if I feel they are damaging to the success of the profession or the wellbeing of our colleagues. This approach is not for everyone, so it’s important to understand and defend your own principles and not get drawn into the noise.

I was raised to show fairness and equality to all (including the underdog), and don’t mind taking one for the team. I don’t expect others to do the same, but would appreciate the same latitude.

Influencer v Practitioner v Thought Leader

I’ve toyed a lot about how I was going to present this article. Mainly because I didn't want to alienate my peers or teach LinkedIn grannies to suck eggs. Some people take a lot of pride in how they present themselves online, others prefer to stay almost silent on the matter, and I’m supportive of all camps.

So here goes…….

Influencers: Generating content to create a reaction, that in turn fuels the algorithm to bring more exposure to other things they want to say. In some instances this is regurgitated nonsense, usually beautifully crafted, designed to create a following or springboard for other endeavours.

I did want to go a little further and say ‘monetised noise’, which I’ve borrowed from one of my research calls, but I’m not sure if this holds true for the majority.

Practitioner: Someone who is happily cracking on with valuable TA work, with a major focus on client/employer delivery. They often wonder why others have so much time to post, why their own posts get very little traction, and usually question what they should be posting about.

For most practitioners, a safe bet is to post about awards, conference attendance, company success, starting a new job or welcoming a team member, as it builds a solid practitioner profile for R2R or anyone doing a ‘social media reference check’ (more on this another time). It’s a solid plan and represents maybe 98% of the market - remember we are only seeing maybe 2% of the market in our feeds on a regular basis.

Thought Leadership: Practitioners in the workplace who are posting about something different, a step change, a new way of working or looking at something from an alternative angle. However, thought leadership needs to stand up to peer review or public scrutiny (not to be confused with public support or agreement). I would say it also needs to be semi regular, or cyclical, and not just a one off.

To conclude

If you read this whole article, thanks for taking the time out of your busy day. I’ve enjoyed the process and hope at least one person reads to my final thought. In my heart I know a picture of the fruit on my breakfast would have trended better.

I would love to hear from Influencers, Practitioners and Thought Leaders. Please comment, throw down a statement or feel free to ignore. I would actually like some feedback and input to properly conclude this piece.

And if you have an idea for a post/article, or want to share in some research, please get in touch.

Final thought

I would like to see more curated content making its way into more feeds. Or maybe we should leave highly created and professional content distribution to the likes of Hung Lee & Matt Alder , who do it far better than us mere mortals.

Final final thought

Please give this post a lightbulb. You have guessed it, it’s another AB test.