What creators have found to be the essential driver of economic success. Plus: What's trending the week of March 7 and who to follow now

Trust has become the “ultimate currency ” in the relationship between businesses and their stakeholders, whether you’re buying from a company or working for it.?

We’ve seen this trend just go stronger year after year, as measured by Edelman, the PR and marketing consultancy, in their annual Trust Barometer (I wrote about the 2019 report here ). According to the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer, 88% of consumers surveyed value their trust in a brand and factor that into their buying decisions even more than their love for the brand; a consumer is seven times more likely to make a purchase from a highly trusted brand. In 2022, they found nothing to indicate that this wasn’t continuing.

It sounds like common sense, right? People want to buy from, work for, invest in, and be surrounded by others who share their values. Edelman’s research shows us that younger consumers, millennials and Gen Z in particular, feel this way.?But even with the preponderance of data, businesses still get stuck trying to figure out how to lead with trust.

One group that gets it: creators. I’ve been thinking a lot about the role of trust in business success as it comes to the Creator Economy. There’s a lot of talk about the monetization options open to creators today, but less about why consumers are buying in. And I think understanding that why — which at some level is all about trust — is what will enable entrepreneurs to succeed today, no matter the tools or content types that are being launched.

For today's Creator Weekly, I talked to LinkedIn creators about how that kind of trust and transparency in their work leads to business success. In every case, creators talked about how their voice and openness is what made people want to hire them, buy from them, or team up with them.?Consumers want to know who they’re putting their weight and dollars behind. And creators, by their very nature, are letting people inside how they think and what they believe.

A great person to start with is Susan Walsh , aka The Classification Guru , Susan helps her clients get reliable insights from their data. As soon as she switched from sending lead gen emails to creating content, she saw the difference immediately. Here’s what she shared with me: “I’ll never forget the first time I posted a picture of myself with the phrase ‘I love data so you don’t have to,’ and getting 1k views. I only had a small number of connections so it was huge!? And I saw an opportunity to do more. My goal [then] was only ever to raise the profile and awareness of my business; I could never have imagined what it led to.”

“I post all types of content, I have animations , picture posts , documents/resources, articles, a newsletter , some text only posts AND songs that I’ve reworked to fit data, for example, data ladies and datalicious.? And then there’s #lipsyncsundays! … I like to post what I feel, or a reaction to something that’s happening in the news, and I’ve never really tried to figure out the algorithm, I just post content I enjoy and that my audience seem to enjoy as well. I’m very open and honest, I share all sides of what it’s like to run a business and they’re all on the journey with me which makes it very special, they’ve seen how far I’ve come, especially in the last two years.”

“My followers are really invested in my success and that’s because I involve them in everything and try to support them as much as they support me – we have fun together.? I have been asked to appear on many webinars, podcasts and speak at events to speak about dirty data, which has really resonated with audiences around the world.”

What does that look like in terms of business returns? Susan says she’s seen her business grow 500% in a year — and is forecasting another 80% this year —? all thanks to her content here. How? Trust.

There’s a saying that trust equals consistency over time. That’s the formula Susan has been investing in. “There’s no instant business from LinkedIn, what I do is plant seeds and share my knowledge, build that trust and reputation and then companies contact me. It’s the long game, sometimes years, but it pays off.? And because of my style and content it’s a great way to filter out people I wouldn’t want to work with… I get to be myself, share my data and business life, do crazy lip-syncs and data song rewrites, and yet that still encourages people to do business with me. I really thought that could damage or hurt my reputation and business, but it has done quite the opposite… By being personal and authentic it has really helped to grow my business and have made genuine friends and deep connections on the platform with people I have yet to meet. It’s very special.”

Max Pashman , runs a fee-only financial planning company. You’re not going to see him do finance lip-syncs, but he builds trust in another way: Vetted information that is tied to his reputation, plus a consistent posting schedule that let’s people know that he’s always reacting to whatever the world is throwing us. He said that when he first started posting, he’d see people post finance articles, but offer no commentary; he knew he could stand out. “I started to see the long term opportunity as one of the few financial content creators posting every day on LinkedIn. That early entry definitely played a role in the success of my presence today.”

Max shares financial education in the form of mostly text-based, conversational content that “makes complicated topics easier to understand.” Then he keeps the conversation going in the comments — he’s not a broadcaster, he’s a community builder. “Prior to LinkedIn, I was just another financial advisor. Once the online presence started growing, it was amazing seeing people resonate with how I was communicating financial education to them. Suddenly, you go from another boring advisor to a reliable resource for daily financial information. Makes a massive difference when you are building relationships online."

This past October, Max left his job to launch his own business. He says it was a nerve-wracking experience building a business from scratch. Here’s how he said creating content has helped him: “When I announced on LinkedIn I was taking on new clients, I was overwhelmed with the amount of people who reached out to learn about the financial planning process. In only 3 months, I hit my annual goal for total households and quickly grew the book of business. All of which came organically through LinkedIn. Currently, I'm on pace to both exceed my second year goals and build a 6 figure business in less than a year.”?

Those inbounds, he says, are tied directly to his content. Authentic creation builds trust; trust builds business. “This process is almost unheard of in the financial industry,” says Max. “It's pretty awesome how taking the road not traditionally ventured has paid off. Years of building a community without asking for anything in return has completely rewarded the business as it's earned the trust of my followers over time.”?

Like Max, Amanda S. Muhammad , a global stress management and psychological safety consultant, started ramping up her content in 2019. She decided that Linkedin was where her target audience was most active. This is what Amanda shared with me: “The ultimate goal was to be on people's radar where/when they were thinking about stress at work and show them that I had resources available to support them. I have a variety of content that I post from long form content, short form videos , audiograms, testimonials , and even quick animations .”

Amanda highlighted an important distinction of this new economy that often gets lost: it’s not just that the creator is more accessible, the purchaser is, too. She said many of her followers have become clients; and they’re the right followers: “It's been amazing casually interacting with the decision makers you would have needed to bust down doors to get to just a few years ago. It's also made the networking and sales process easier because of the rapport and relationships you build leading up to the inquiry for training and resources.” That’s how trust develops: Humans connecting with humans vs companies contracting with companies.

I could list a zillion examples, but I’ll end with one last one from Raj Kunkolienka , a co-founder of Stoa School in Goa, India, where they offer a more accessible and affordable business education compared to a traditional MBA. His approach to creating content is a good example of creating out of generosity. He told me: “We strive to offer educational value to working professionals without expecting anything in return. We treat the resultant trust and business that we generate through putting up content a very desirable, positive side-effect. It feeds into us doubling down on our mission of helping people understand the world of business and get a better grip on their careers. Knowledge workers in India primarily hang out on LinkedIn. The platform and our presence on it has been a critical part of our efforts in building out our brand through our stories, questions and advice."

"I've had adventures, made mistakes in my career as I transitioned from being a physicist to being a marketer-entrepreneur.? I use the platform to be vulnerable with my audience, sharing with them the pain I went through and what counterintuitive lessons they can apply to their own careers. I am also pretty blunt with my audience, I spare no words when it comes to shaking people up from the myths that are peddled around on the job market."

Here are my takeaways:

1. I’ve said this before, being authentic, letting people hear your true voice almost always pays off. Be open and honest.?
2. Start with what you know and go from there. Add value for your community. Try a variety of content and formats and see what resonates with your audience. Give back, always.
3. There is a human side to your professional self that will resonate with others. Being generous by letting people get to know you will lead to new connections, and although it often takes time, can result in economic opportunity.
4. Take your time. Trust requires relationships and relationships take time. Be consistent, open, and patient.?

The Creator Weekly newsletter will be on a brief hiatus next week but will be back the week of March? 21.

Audio Events week of March 7

March 10

Beth Granger , Your Boring Brand is Putting People to Sleep, RSVP

Jessy Grossman , Influencer Marketing & Social Media News, RSVP ?

March 11

Robert Hanna , Debut for Neuroscience and Parenting, RSVP

Odalys Jasmine Garcia Arce , Hella First Gen, RSVP

Raven Solomon , The DEI ER: Compensating & Rewarding DEI Volunteers, RSVP

March 15

Tiankai Feng , DESIGN YOUR FUTURE SELF - Applying Design Thinking to Your Self Development, RSVP

Here are the topics generating attention over the last 7 days. These give you clues about what the audience on LinkedIn is looking for; use the insights to help you with your own posting ideas. Anything with a ?? is likely to continue to trend for another 2 weeks.?

?? Aiding Ukraine Nothing has captured our collective hearts and minds this week more than the Ukraine war and the plight of the more than 1.5 million refugees who have fled the country since it began, according to the UN refugee agency. Here are just some of the ways you can help support the Ukrainian people.

?? #WomensHistoryMonth : It’s Women’s History Month. LinkedIn members are highlighting great women in history as well as women around the world making an impact in the workplace.

?? When the doctor isn’t in: As COVID cases decline and people make a move towards normalcy, a shortage of healthcare workers has created delays in appointment and treatments. Have you experienced this challenge? What long term impact do you think this may have on the industry?

Expected to trend: SXSW is always a huge driver of conversations around tech, music, and film and we expect the same this year when the event kicks off, which is Friday, March 11. If you’re attending, watching, or otherwise, weigh in with updates using hashtag #SXSW .?

Each week, I’ll 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. ?As a proponent of transparency, in this video attorney Erika Kullberg reveals the progression of her annual “Big Law” salary when she was working in corporate law.
2. Veteran advocate Paul Lawrence offers guidance about opportunities for veterans in videos like this one about USDA farming programs and resources.
3. In posts like this , transgender rights activist Kalki Subramaniam highlights the personal success stories of the many transgender women she’s mentored.?
4. With this addition to her series, The Blueprint, nail artist Gracie J pays homage to the women who have continuously impacted mainstream pop culture with contributions from urban styling and hood aesthetics.
5. Founder and proud “working mom” Jackie Hermes explains here why she wants to change the narrative around the standards set by society for women once they have children.