Why Do I Create on LinkedIn? + a LOT more!

I have always thought of Social Media as an adversary rather than an ally! ????

Although, I do have accounts on almost all social media platforms. Social media for me was everything minus the ‘Social’ bit. I would just lurk on these platforms, seeing updates and posts from other people and keep my screen time to a minimum. It never affected me if someone had X number of followers, Y numbers of like and it still doesn’t, to be honest (shouldn’t bother you as well). But our digital consumption habits took a major turn when the pandemic hit. I was spending way more screen time than before and most of it seemed like a waste of time, but there was this sliver of creators that I came across on these platforms that changed my perspective towards social media and more importantly, content creation. ????

Now, with the sudden increase in screen time and me coming across inspirational creators, I thought why not take this opportunity to start diving into this entirely new segment. But my analysis-paralysis and imposter syndrome took over and I shelved my content concept soon after. During this time, my agency had taken a massive hit with the music industry considerably slowing down and I had just started building out a tech platform along with a brilliant team and co-founder, so it seemed taking on more work would be counter-productive. ??

In 2021, this wave of inspiration hit me again but this time I did not allow myself to second-guess it. I made a short story post about my newsletter and put it there for the world to subscribe to. Within a day, I had more than 100 subscribers to my newsletter without even a single issue and that was motivation enough to begin this journey of content creation. Fast forward to 2022, I have taken out 20 newsletter issues and several smaller ones, the first season of my podcast in association with a program from Spotify and now the LinkedIn Creator Accelerator Program. ??

Coming back to what I discussed earlier, social media for me was minus the social all these years but LinkedIn is the one platform that changed this perspective entirely!

Why do I create content? ??

Before I answer why I create content on LinkedIn, I’ll spend some time on why I create content, to begin with. I have written about this before and what I wanted to do with my concept of Perfunktory but I’ll quickly take you all through it once again.

The word ‘Perfunctory’ means to carry out an action without real interest, feeling, or effort. I know it is a negative word but I love the meaning behind it. I have always appreciated content that I pick up at random and effortlessly learn from it, not spending too much time going into details about every aspect which is mentioned. That is what I want to achieve with Perfunktory, to break down technical concepts and jargon down to the basics which makes the content accessible to a wide range of audiences who might be beginners or experts in that particular topic. I believe there is so much gate-keeping with knowledge, tips, tricks and advice that we need more channels which give out information in a way that reaches more people. ??

Now, coming to the part on why I create on LinkedIn? ??

I have always been a huge fan of LinkedIn, since the early days of my college year when I discovered the platform. I have always been a work-oriented person and I still very much am so LinkedIn seemed like the perfect place to connect with new people since everyone here is for work, mostly. But let me quickly tell you why I owe a ton to LinkedIn’s platform though:

?? It provided me access to conversations and people that I would’ve never come across IRL.

?? Provided me with a space to showcase everything that I do without talking about myself.

?? Taking a chance on me with their first Creator Accelerator Program for India.

?? But most importantly, when I quit my job at EY back in 2017 and started afresh in the music industry, with absolutely no contacts or connections, I give LinkedIn the entire credit for helping me find the right people to reach out to and learn from.

I mean, it is one of the pillars on which my entrepreneurial journey stands and I would always be grateful for that! ????

Thanks to LinkedIn for the article feature, I believe this is turning out to be longer than I intended, but I want to leave you with just a quick thought. Content creation is a vital key to your success in today’s scenario. While I still face challenges to be consistent due to various reasons, I would recommend every one of you, whether you’re an operator, a student, an entrepreneur or even on a sabbatical, START CREATING CONTENT NOW! ?

It is not too late, you don’t have to adhere to the structure set by others, you don’t have to make short videos to stay in front, and you don’t have to feel bad about the performance of your content, you just need to start and put out that piece of content that you have been thinking about. ????

If you’re still here, thanks a lot for taking out the time to read this and I hope you have a brilliant weekend. Please do reach out to me if I can help you in any way to start your content creation journey. I am still very much a beginner but I can share a lot of my learnings from the mistakes that I have made!