Top trends on LinkedIn: Weekend work calls, shoppers keep spending, more. Plus: How finance creators grow a niche audience

It can be tempting to go broad as a creator and try to get as many people engaging with your work as you can. Clicks, not quality, becomes your true north. But if your goal is to create and achieve real world opportunities — which is what I'd always recommend — you’re better off building a community around areas in which you’re passionate or where you're an expert (or building an expertise).

One of my favorite sectors to watch this play out is in finance. In the wrong hands, the finance industry —?with its heavy regulation and oblique language — can generate content more likely to put you to sleep than to get you talking. If creators can make this sector come alive, anyone can do it in their niche.?

So how do successful finance creators build community and start conversations? For that, I talked to three pros: Portfolio manager Tiffany Kent; retirement plan consultant Jeanne Fisher (aka. #401klady); and financial-advisor-turned-fintech-CEO Derek Notman. They candidly share their experiences from the initial trepidation and feeling of exposure after their first post to the thrill of getting positive responses from their followers and inquiries from prospective clients.?

One common theme: It was only through continuous trying that they found their voice.

What were the early days like as you were figuring out what your audience wanted and what you wanted to give them?

Tiffany: Scary. It was like trying to figure out your personal brand out in the open, almost like performing on a stage. You don’t know what you should be talking about, what’s going to resonate with the right audience — and then you’re always afraid that you forgot to put your pants on. I quickly learned that no one wants to read an article on taxes, IPOs, or inspirational quotes unless they are from a famous person like Sara Blakely from Spanx. I had very low engagement but kept experimenting.??

Soon I learned that what works well on LinkedIn is storytelling. No one remembers facts and figures; they remember stories. I learned this through experience when I posted about my own teenage experience when my father taught me how to fill out a 1040 tax return because it was important to him to make sure his daughter was set up for future success. This post was very popular as it showed my community how they should financially empower their daughters by teaching them about taxes.???

How do you approach content creation and adding value for your community, particularly for those who may share your expertise??

Derek: Content creation is part art, part science, with a dash of spice! I look to create content around things that are top of mind for people, whether that be current events or pain points my audience has that no one else is talking about. I want to enter conversations and questions they already are having in their minds and spark them to have dialogue around these topics with others. Asking questions, giving free advice, education, and asking for their opinion all seem to be what resonate most with my audience. The spice part? I like to say things that challenge the status quo in a respectful yet edgy manner. I find this is a great way to capture people's attention, drive conversation, all while still leading with value to help improve someone's day.?

What kind of content do you lean on the most??

Jeanne: I try to link timely news content to relevant experience. What are we talking about on the nightly news and how does that pertain to 401(k) plans? A large part of what I try to provide is education. So I take a news headline, try to break it down into easy to understand language, explain why it is important and relevant and then I close with my opinion or what the end viewer should do/know.

What’s worked and what hasn’t as you’ve worked to build a following?

Tiffany: Sometimes followers really appreciate me sharing the inside scoop on what goes on in the investment world. Women enjoy the stories I tell about my kids, because I’m admitting they are smarter than me and so the lessons I’ve learned from my kids are pretty entertaining. I try to encourage conversations and have people share insights and experiences they have had in similar situations. I also have had success with posing a question and using a poll to get people to engage, and tagging people in my network or companies that I mention. I try to engage and respond to people throughout the day, and comment back to them or thank them for sharing their thoughts.

Jeanne: I try to give back as much as I am given. This means providing thoughtful feedback on others’ posts. Or engaging in private messages. Of course, LinkedIn is always my ‘go to’ connection request when I meet or am working with someone new. Also, because I like to ask questions with many different answers, I push myself to be empathetic and open-minded when it comes to other’s opinions and viewpoints. I’m not hesitant to share mine, but I’m always respectful and thoughtful when it comes to opposing perspectives.?

Derek:? Lead with value, lead with education, lead with community. It is the long game but will benefit you exponentially.

What have you learned along the way?

Derek: People are hungry for information that helps them think, grow, learn, and do what they are doing better.?If we remember this in the content we create then amazing things can happen, if we forget then the lack of results will speak for themselves.

How do you measure the ROI of your efforts??

Jeanne: The creation and growth of the brand via LinkedIn has drastically shortened the sales cycle and improved the percent of prospects that eventually become clients. The other part of that equation is the cost of inputs. Given that most of the tools I use are free or minimal cost, the real variable is the cost of my time. On average, I spend 3-4 hours on content creation per week. (The bulk of that being my weekly video). That is a significant time commitment although much of the material is re-usable in other forms.? While I would love to better quantify that… intuitively, based off of business growth, I know it is well worth the investment!

LinkedIn took me from a nobody advisor in Kentucky to a well-known thought leader in the industry. I would never have had the presence in my industry without the social networking. Prospective clients trust that I do have experience and knowledge in the industry. Industry peers freely share ideas and comments with me, and this has grown my knowledge base and perspective.

That makes sense about business growth. Are there any particular opportunities you've been able to tie to the work?

Derek:? I have had multiple opportunities come out of simply creating content. I have been given over 15 speaking opportunities, been on numerous podcasts as a guest, wrote a forward for a book, been featured next to Schwab and Fidelity, formed amazing partnerships (one even with a large corporation on the other side of the planet), and recently was asked to be a paid brand ambassador for another company because of the social presence I have created (stay tuned on this one). The opportunities are almost endless where I now have to be very strategic in what I say yes to.

What do you say to peers who say “I couldn’t do what you do; I’m not creative”?

Jeanne: My advice is to be true to your natural talents. Years ago I started doing video because I found it more natural and easier to just talk. I’ve never been great at writing blogs and articles! I found a medium that I’m comfortable with. If you aren’t comfortable on video, don’t force it! Find another medium that will allow your natural talents to shine.

I always try to end these interviews by amplifying the voices of others. Who do you look to for insights and inspiration?

Derek: Adam Holt has become a close friend yet we have never met in person.? His content is funny yet thought-provoking and very encouraging of our industry. ?Jason Wenk has been a content creation inspiration for almost 10 years and was an early influence in helping me find my voice.? Of course I must mention Michael Kitces who is one of the OGs in creating content for the financial advisor community, he is a content creation machine and his insights are priceless.??

Tiffany: I follow a wide range of people, Jason Feifer, ?Jon Youshaei and of course, Stephanie Stuckey.

Jenna: I look to JD Carlson with Retireholiks, Nevin Adams ARA and Jonathan Palmer.

Here are the topics generating attention over the last 7 days. Leverage these to spot audience demand and to start identifying trends. Then write your own post about one of these subjects; share an interesting video that riffs off the topic; or add commentary to a conversation. Anything with a ?? is likely to continue to trend for another 2 weeks.?

?? Million dollar mortgages: U.S. government expected to announce a higher home mortgage limit up to just under a million dollars in high-cost markets.

?? No more calls after work: To respect worker privacy, the parliament of Portugal has banned bosses from contacting employees after work hours. Work/life separation is going to continue to be a hot topic.

?? Price surge isn’t stopping shoppers: October spending beat pre-pandemic levels with holiday shoppers starting early. We continue to see supply chain posts do well.

?? #DisabilityInclusion: Elizabeth Ragan's viral post on how she showcases her disability helped set off a wide-ranging conversation.

Each week, I highlight creators who are initiating meaningful conversations on LinkedIn. These members use a variety of tools — from live video to polls — to nurture their audience. See if any of their actions work for you or engage with them directly by leaving a comment and sharing your insights.

1. Co-Founder of 100x Entrepreneur, Nansi Mishra offers tips to help workers choose their deep work hours to become smarter workers.?
2. Nielsen’s Bashel Lewis shares data and offers advice to Black creatives on the value of a niche audience in his latest post.
3. Nas Academy CEO Nuseir Yassin has high-octane tips for professionals, including this video reminder about the importance of Parkinson's Law: work expands to the time allowed for it.
4. Host of EntrepreNerd, Max Mirho lays out this entrepreneurship hack using two simple tools to build a website and make edits from your phone.
5. Director Curtis Taylor, Jr. M.Ed provides a behind the scenes look at his first foray into stop motion filmmaking from storyboards to claymation in his recent video.