Informed: the podcast for LinkedIn® users

It's a common belief that the answer to poor (and getting worse) organic content reach from a company page is employee advocacy. So why are so many organisations getting it horribly wrong?

That plus:

• The new video feed and how it impacts the videos we post
• Multiple image posts - new dimensions
• Images on external links are shrinking and it really doesn't matter!
• An outrageous post of the week

The New Video Feed

I was chatting recently with Lynnaire Johnston about this new feed (she doesn't yet have it) and she made the valuable point that this new style of delivery might necessitate a change in the way a video is produced.

Because the scroll has audio enabled (unlike in the normal feed) it puts more emphasis on the opening few seconds of the video and less emphasis on the words you type to accompany the post – these appear at the bottom of the video in this feed. This doesn't mean that you should worry less about the words because they still play an important role in the normal feed on both mobile and desktop (see image below).

In addition, the new video feed appears to zoom in somewhat which creates an issue with text on the video or even captions if you add them yourself.

How a video is displayed in 3 different feeds

As a reminder, this video feed is only enabled once you tap on some video posst you see on the main mobile feed, at the moment this is only for about 40% of the videos I see in my feed. Once you are in this feed you can the scroll to see more videos and those videos all autoplay with sound.

I suspect that LinkedIn will fix the zooming issue but that will probably take some time so it's worth ensuring your text does not go near the edges of your video for now.

Multiple Image Posts

The way images are displayed in a multi-image post is beginning to change as you can see here in these example of 2 and 3 image posts.

LinkedIn™️ have provided this helpful document which can be downloaded here.

I've had this change for a while but apparently more the majority of users are now seeing this in their feeds.

Images On External Links

LinkedIn™️ have announced that images on posts with external links are shrinking unless you sponsor (advertise) that post, in which case the image stays the same size as it has always been. Lots of people are up in arms about this! Why? External link posts are seen by very few people anyway so not seeing a larger or small image results in the same...it's not seen!

OK I'm being a bit cynical there but honestly guys, have you not learnt yet? Don't post external links, unless you really have to.

Employee Advocacy

Earlier this year I was a panel member on stage at UpLift Live when a question about employee advocacy on LinkedIn was asked. My slightly cynical response was to state that asking employees to Repost or Like a company page post was not employee advocacy in any sense yet that is as far as most organisations go.

I stand by that answer but it did occur to me that it was worth trying to explain what a more productive method would be.

Firstly I am not a fan of the phrase 'employee advocacy'. To my understanding an 'advocate' is someone who promotes someone or something. This leads to a belief that employee advocacy is all about encouraging employees to promote the company that they work for.

And for the most part, that is what happens. Employees either repost company page content or directly promote the organisation that they work for either to other potential employees or customers.

This is highly ineffective.

Below is a classic example. Robert Half have published an article (ironically about employee advocacy) and then asked their employees to post it...so they do!

This is merely a distribution mechanism and, as you can see by the lack of engagement, not a very effective one!

Whilst this might be employee advocacy for some organisations, others 'ask' their employees to post about the amazing work environment or how they are so happy working for them or how impressed they are with the products or customer service etc etc.

It just comes across as forced and hollow...frankly nobody is buying it!

We all know that promotional content does not do well on LinkedIn, it is difficult to attract engagement and so typically achieves poor reach. So why do companies do it? It strikes me as being nothing more than a 'ticking the box' exercise.

"employee advocacy...done!" ✔️

All that said, we know that company page content has extremely limited reach and this reach seems to be getting worse so it does make sense for organisations to use their employees personal accounts for their benefit.

If, however, the objective is promotion, it simply won't work. The problem is that the objective is wrong, if the objective was greater visibility then employee advocacy could work, if done the right way.

When an employee of an organisation becomes influential on LinkedIn then the organisation will benefit from their greater visibility. To become influential on LinkedIn though, the employee shouldn't be posting about how amazing the company is, that's not great content.

The trick is to identify individuals within an organisation who have the motivation and ability to gain a following and influence on LinkedIn. This does not need to be many employees, just a few with the right mindset and desire.

The second part of this is about what employees are asked to do and many organisations will be deeply uncomfortable with what is the right approach - to encourage employees to develop their own personal brand by producing content that is helpful, interesting, entertaining and focussed on the audience.

This is usually seen as a threat in most organisations and that is the heart of the problem.

In the podcast I also get into the topic of recruitment and how this strategy will impact the sort of people that are recruited.

Tip: Start small by encouraging a few select employees to comment on company page content. Make sure the content is focussed on the audience and not the company and let the employees contribute to it by adding meaningful comments that add value to the piece.

These same employees should also be encouraged to comment of many other posts (not from the company) that are focussed on topics that will be interesting to your target audience.

Let them build their confidence and credibility this way first.

Then give them the tools and skills to start posting great content designed to encourage engagement.

Once they have gained a strong following and influence, they can occasionally post something about their employer or it's products/services but the main objective is to increase visibility and influence.

Ultimately, the power of employee advocacy lies in authenticity. By encouraging employees to share their unique perspectives, you can create a more compelling and genuine narrative for the organization.

Post Of The Week

This a belter from Lara Bywater and mainly because the topic is just....well, unbelievable really!

How on earth could anyone be so stupid as to think that this business card is OK? Maybe they would defend it by saying it's just harmless banter...if you believe that then just read the comment thread!

It's not clever, it's not funny and it shows a complete lack of empathy or understanding of how a woman would receive this.

The post is also well structured with a great hook line.

Well done to Lara for a great post and for having the courage to call out this sort of behaviour.

That's all for this week.

If you are in Odense in Denmark at Linkedsummit this week, come and say hello!

Until next time...

Published by Mark WilliamsMark Williams People call me 'Mr LinkedIn™️' · LinkedIn™️ visibility · Informed Podcast host · One to one online coaching · Speaker · Social Selling · Online sessionsPeople call me 'Mr LinkedIn™️' · LinkedIn™️ visibility · Informed Podcast host · One to one online coaching · Speaker · Social Selling · Online sessions Published • 4d 181 articles So the organic reach for company pages has gone from poor to almost non-existent...so what do you do? You turn to your employees (who have better reach) and you call this employee advocacy! Sharing company page content is not employee advocacy, it doesn't really help either the company or the individual...but there is a better way. More of that plus; 🔶 The new video feed and how it impacts the videos we post. 🔶 Multiple image posts - new dimensions 🔶 Images on external links are shrinking and it really doesn't matter! 🔶 An outrageous post of the week from Lara Bywater Want these articles delivered to your inbox automatically❓ Simply subscribe to the Informed newsletter Follow me 👊 Ring the 🔔 on my Profile

Mentioned in this episode:

This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.

This week I had a thoroughly enjoyable and thought provoking chat with Copywriting expert and author of the modern classic 'A self-help guide for copywriters' Dan Nelken

I've been a follower and admirer of Dan's work for several years, so I was delighted to finally get him on the podcast to talk about copywriting techniques, LinkedIn™️ and Bunions!

Plus a post of the week about gender equality!

Here are the topics we covered:

Dan's Journey and Overcoming Self-Doubt.

Dan shared his early days working as a forklift driver, his later studies at copywriting school, and his subsequent work as a copywriter at various ad agencies, working with massive brands

Authenticity in Professional Content

We chatted about how people find it challenging to really be themselves on LinkedIn™️ and how we need to become 'an expert in being ourselves' and why our inner critic is a 'ding dong' - I wrongly assumed this was a Canadian term!

He also shared his struggles with self-doubt and the importance of remaining true to oneself in communication.

Balancing Personal and Professional Content

We discussed how sharing personal experiences can effectively engage the target audience by illustrating overcoming relevant challenges. Dan emphasised the importance of authenticity and using language to impress oneself rather than others.

"Your audience is you"

We also discussed the trend of using complex vocabulary in professional settings and debated its effectiveness as a means of communication.

Content Creation Strategy and LinkedIn Success

Dan admits to being no expert in LinkedIn™️ content strategies but he has, through trial and error developed a style using images, quotes and carousel templates that resonate with his audience.

He also discussed his 'list and twist technique' as demonstrated in this 2 page carousel post.

AI & Creativity

Dan does use AI and is impressed with its capabilities but he "prompts it to prompt him to be more creative", not to answer questions or create for him.

Book Rankings, Deals, and Course Launches

Dan revealed his challenges with the competitive element of launching a book and bestseller rankings and how with that and marketing his course he stuck to his values and accepted that he is not going to appeal to everyone and that being helpful to others is more important than maximising sales.

Embracing Self-Expression on LinkedIn

Everyone has to start somewhere and Dans advice is to start small and develop a habit for content, even if it's just 15 mins a week brainstorming ideas for posts. Figure out who you are and how you want to communicate and develop the habit of creating content ideas.

As mentioned earlier, above really is a very brief summary of a 55 minute conversation so I strongly recommend you listen to the full episode to gain the most from Dan's expertise.

Thanks again to Dan for taking the time to share so many golden nuggets.

Post of the week

Plenty of good nominations this week including this highly impressive video post from Farouk Bacha in support of Lara Acosta

This weeks winner had less impressions and engagement but I've picked it because I think we can learn more from it.

An attention grabbing and recognisable image of a film star couple with a brilliant hook 'My new man!!' followed by...

Well icon…. Well screen saver.. ok not even screen saver… look I took the image from Google!

and then the (now irresistible) 'See more' link

Great structure, a great use of image and even more critical to it's success, an important and potential controversial topic.

Congratulations to Jo (although you would be much easier to tag if you used your full name...just sayin!) and thanks to Katharine Robinson for nominating it.

That's all for this week, feel free to say hi to Dan and let him know what you thought of the episode.

Until next time.

Mentioned in this episode:

This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.

Organic content reach is on the decline again!

"It's inevitable, this is what social media companies do" and "All they are interested in is posting more ads" I keep seeing people comment but it really isn't as simple as that. LinkedIn is not an advertising company like Meta, they are a business that primarily generates revenue from subscriptions so the reasons for the decline in reach is more complex.

Also in this episode:

• Creator mode confusion
• LinkedIn™️ Games
• AI-generated content screening
• The new immersive video feed mystery
• Post of the week

Mentioned in this episode:

This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.

LinkedIn™️ Groups. Once heralded as a cornerstone of professional networking, their prominence has waned over time. However, amidst the shifting tides, could membership in these groups still hold untapped value? Tracy Bedwell certainly believes so. In this compelling episode, we delve into Tracy's firsthand experiences and unveil the strategic tactics she has wielded with remarkable success, shedding light on the enduring potential of leveraging LinkedIn Groups.

Mentioned in this episode:

This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.

We often come across people on LinkedIn™️ who look interesting and produce content we find valuable, so we follow or connect and over time we feel as though we get to know them better.

But do we REALLY know them?

Interesting People interviews are designed to reveal more about the background, personal lives and characteristics of some of our favourite people on LinkedIn™️.

This week, it was my immense pleasure to sit down and chat with the UK accountants mentor and speaker MARK LEE FCA.

Mentioned in this episode:

This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.

Bruce Johnston has been helping people use LinkedIn™️ more effectively for the last 13 years and I've been a follower for 8 years. Bruce is a great wordsmith and one of the more original thinkers out there when it comes to LinkedIn™️ so I thought it was about time to bring him onto the show to share some of his insights.

Mentioned in this episode:

This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.

LinkedIn™️ seem to love it, more and more posts are created by it and comment threads are becoming infested with it, so I thought it was time to revisit the topic of AI and try to answer this important question: can AI be used in a credible, authentic and ethical way on LinkedIn™️?

That plus:

• New - Company page premium inc' Who viewed your company page'
• An improved 'Premium benefits' page plus a special offer
• Why the new 'Recruiters verification badge' is a disgrace!
• Post search results now favour Articles
• A great new option for profile custom buttons
• An interesting piece on Colla'boring'ative articles!
• Post of the week

Mentioned in this episode:

This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.

This week I chat with Merrill Charette a long timer listener to the podcast (and a podcaster himself!) about his upbringing, experiences and how he ended up in the maritime industry.

I really enjoyed chatting with Merrill who is a fascinating character and a great raconteur. In this interview we cover.

• How he grew up the '6th child' with his other siblings being 5 Old English Sheepdogs!
• His very sports orientated childhood and his (and his fathers) obsession with Lacrosse
• The benefits of focus and determination to achieve his potential in lacrosse
• How he attended 4 high schools in 5 years experiencing bullying at every turn
• Tough love from his father
• Why he gave up lacrosse and rebuilt his identity
• Dealing with authority (when you know they are wrong)
• The 1000 Origami Crane Challenge and how it changed him
• Completing a challenging 2,200-mile trek along the Appalachian Trail
• Quitting law school
• The difference between moving on and giving up
• How a random comment from a stranger "You could always live on a boat" led him to the maritime industry
• How he negotiated for and bought his first boat
• How he taught himself to sail his first voyage from New York to Boston
• Finding a new community of boat owners
• Becoming a boating entrepreneur as an outsider to the industry
• Artificial intelligence and the maritime industry

Mentioned in this episode:

This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.

This week in the podcast I complete my review of UpLift Live with the speakers from the afternoon sessions.

• Gillian Whitney
• Kevin D. Turner
• Tiina Jarvet
• Richard van der Blom 

Also in this edition:

• New takeaways on articles & posts
• New video feed on mobile
• An excellent example of brand partnership with influencer
• Post of the week

Mentioned in this episode:

This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.

My thoughts and feedback on UpLift Live.

UpLift Live is an in-person, LinkedIn-focused conference that took place for the first time on 21 March 2024 in Birmingham, UK.

Mentioned in this episode:

This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.