Social Media - MWords Communications

Building engagement on LinkedIn

High quality, consistent engagement is a cornerstone of strong social currency and a successful content strategy on LinkedIn. And whilst it’s not easy, it is simple. In many ways, it’s no different to face to face / in person communications.

Here’s what I mean…

Imagine making a telephone call, and when the person answers, you say nothing…

“I wouldn’t do that!” you say.

Yet that’s exactly what happens when we approach LinkedIn with our marketer or seller hat on. It becomes a broadcast or advertisement, rather than a dialogue.

Sound familiar?

“Without a clear strategy and commitment to engaging with your audience, ROI on your LinkedIn content can be an uphill battle.

It leads many marketers and organisations to give up, blaming the algorithm, their content or both.”

Watch the video

But with a little more care and deliberate action, it doesn’t have to be that way.

Here are 3 things you must do to support your content strategy and build engagement:

✅ Nurture your content

When it publishes, stick around… 🏃🏻‍♂️💨 don’t publish and run!
Even if you use a publishing or scheduling tool, this is no substitute for real, human interaction. Engagement trumps efficiency – always.

✅ Analyse your network

If people are aren’t leaving comments, it might be your message or timing.
But it could also be that you don’t have enough of your ideal audience in your 1st degree network. It could also mean that whilst your target audience is in your network, they are simply not that active on the platform. It might be time to explore other channels!

✅ Follow up ALL engagement

Your posts begin a conversation, and every genuine comment is a continuation of that conversation, so it deserves at least a like, if not a reply.
Like the phone call analogy above, it makes no sense to put the effort into posting, then ignore the responses.

What would you add?

Here’s another perspective on engagement… read article

Are your beliefs blocking your creativity?

“𝗜 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂.”

It can be a beginning, or an end, or a myriad of things in between.
As I uttered those words this morning, a smile played on my lips.
I could hear the pure dark timbre of my voice reverberating in my chest.
The voice of my heart.

Infinite…
Unconditional…
Unequivocal love.

Who or what was the object of my affection doesn’t matter.

What matters was the surrender.
It was pure, joyful, radiant.

I don’t share this to make you go all doe-eyed or to elicit an obligatory “aww…”
I share this because there was a time when I paid no attention to my spoken voice, and even less attention to my beliefs about creativity.

Back then, my heart lay sunken and heavy in the base of my chest. When I did use it, the cracks were evident. Its brittle, breathless timbre told the tale of a creative writer who’d lost her light.

I was afraid.
I thought I had nothing valuable to offer – except maybe my emotion. But too much emotion makes people uncomfortable, apparently.

These days, it’s hard for anyone to shut me up. But it took time and a willingness to sit with myself in the shadow for that to change.

So this is my challenge to you, budding creator.

Next time you shy away from sharing your story, instead give your voice a stage. Talk out loud. More importantly, listen to the sound. This principle applies to every area of your written communication, but especially on social media, where the opportunity to convey your true intent and win your audience’s heart is fleeting.

I encourage you to find a way to love your voice, and live the creative beliefs that serve you. Sing, read out loud, record videos, make up silly voices. The more you do this, the more you’ll notice when something is a little ‘off’. It will give you the opportunity to nip it in the bud before Godzilla eats the city… and you’ll have fun doing it, I promise!

Trust me on this. But more importantly, trust yourself. Because creating from your heart will serve you in business, and in life.

More thoughts about living an authentic creative life here

Creating content without self-judgement

What do you want to talk about?

One of the most powerful and most untapped benefits of LinkedIn for business owners and professionals is this: you really CAN talk about anything. No topic is too ✨’woo-woo‘✨ or inappropriate (what is an ‘appropriate’ topic anyway?) as long as you keep one thing top of mind. Judgement. More specifically, self-judgement. Because self-judgement is the tsunami that sinks a thousand ships. In this case, your social currency ship.

As a LinkedIn educator, you’d expect me to say that cultivating the right audience is the number one thing to keep top of mind. You’re right. That will always be important. A scatter-gun or hope based strategy wastes your time and that of your audience. But…

As a creator, creating without self-judgement is my true north. It’s the one thing I keep top of mind when I’m writing, above all else.

Why? Because everything else is a technicality. I can give you the latest tools, a sea of tips and lots of pretty, optimised templates, but…

…𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗺𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴.

You have to lean in, love yourself and most of all, leave self-judgement out of it. Yes, it’s easier said than done, but guess what? I have your back, and so does your audience. Your audience appreciates authenticity and humility. They’ll ask for more. They’ll even tell others. And after all, isn’t that what social media is MEANT to be about? 😉

Want to explore more ideas about creating from the heart? You might like this article

Looking for templates that will help you create LinkedIn posts about any topic quickly and easily, without sounding like a robot? We can help. Just drop us a line here.

Don’t wait for ‘the mood’ to create

Never underestimate the power of your own UNIQUE ENERGY. Whether you OWN IT OR NOT, it shines through in your presence on, and offline – making it a key part of your LinkedIn identity and your content.

The energy of your content is one of the first measures your reader has to gauge your personality, your knowledge and most importantly, what it would be like to work with you.

Your content conveys a myriad of things, like your assertiveness, your attention to detail, how you see yourself in relation to others, and so on.

So if you get a creative block or just don’t feel ‘in the mood’ to create content, there’s a lot at stake. It’s essential to find a way to push through, otherwise your peers and competitors will quickly fill the gap and claim your readers’ attention.

What’s the solution?

The solution is to embrace the wave, and accept that there will be highs and lows. Ups and downs. We have to keep on creating, especially if it’s our livelihood. But how?

One of the best methods I know is to harness the raw power of my present emotion. Be willing to sit with it for a moment, as I would a good friend. Most importantly, I give it a name.

🔴 Love
🟠 Anger
🟡 Frustration
🟢 Jealousy
🔵 Joy
🟣 Excitement

It is what it is, so don’t demonise it, and don’t wait to be ‘in the mood.’

Here’s a quick, simple activity you can try right now.

First, name the emotion you’re feeling.

Then, if it’s positive, go on a rampage of APPRECIATION and brainstorm other words you could use to describe it. (synonyms)

On the other hand, if it’s negative, name its OPPOSITE, then follow the steps above.

I love to work with my emotions. Sometimes I sink into them and LUXURIATE, snuggling down as if I’m under a doona, soft and FLUFFY. Other times, the emotion makes me feel like I’m like a toddler stomping in MUDDY PUDDLES, a wet, glorious, filthy MESS. If you’ve ever watched Peppa Pig, you know what I mean!

I’m a professional writer, but even I get caught.

Sometimes, my emotions sneak up on me, like they did this morning. As the bedside alarm clock rang out, its melodic sound gently unravelled a tight, tense nightmare which seemed to threaten everything I love. I lay in its grip, the charred scent lingering long after I awoke, and an acrid taste on my tongue. All I could recognise was that I felt STONE COLD FEAR.

What was the solution, you ask? Well, I pulled a silly face, said to my cat Lady Gaga and to myself, “not today, fear!”, and then I laughed in the cheesiest, pantomime villain voice I could muster. What a performance.

What do you think the effect of that was? More importantly, how did it make YOU feel?

Explore more ideas about creating content here

Inspiration: it’s right under your nose!

These days, content creation is a cornerstone of marketing communications. We know our customers want information – and lots of it – before many of them will even consider doing business with us.

Thankfully, we’ve come a long way from the days when advertising ruled the marketing roost and messaging followed the Henry Ford philosophy: “You can have any colour as long as it’s black.” But it’s not just a case of checking off a set number of ‘touches’ between you and your audience before they’ll be motivated to act. Read more…

How to strategically grow your Linkedin network

LinkedIn is a great platform to grow your professional network. No longer regarded as just a repository for resumes, LinkedIn’s 610 million strong membership means you can connect with people in any role, any industry, any location.

But doing it incorrectly can damage your business, and your personal brand.

To connect effectively, it’s vital to do things like:

You Have 8 Seconds To Get My Attention

Did you know that according to research, our attention span is now shorter than a goldfish?

In today’s crowded digital space, we see hundreds of messages every day. When we visit a website for more information, we expect to find what we’re looking for quickly and easily, without having to dig.

The average customer will give you around 8 seconds to convince them to stick around before they click away – so your web content must be precise, concise and most of all, show how you can help them solve their problem. Read more…

LinkedIn: the Do’s and Don’ts

With an audience of more than 640 million professionals, LinkedIn is one of the best places for you to get noticed, build your reputation and grow your business.

But like any social network, there are some rules of the game you must know if you want to look professional and take advantage of all the benefits LinkedIn has to offer. Read more…

5 Simple Tips for a Powerful LinkedIn Profile

Once considered only a website for job seekers, LinkedIn is now the most popular social media network for professionals in the world. It’s often the first place people look when they want to know more about you. But many of us don’t take full advantage of this powerful marketing tool. Whether you’re in business, planning a career move or want to be seen as an industry expert, having an effective LinkedIn profile is vital.

Here are 5 simple tips for creating a profile that gets noticed by more of your ideal audience. Read more…

Category: <span>Social Media</span>

Showing all 9 results