Striking the right note between personal and professional with LinkedIn.
For some years now LinkedIn has been my go-to social media of choice for getting orders and attracting the right kind of attention. Sure, I use Facebook and Insta but with my main market being corporate, B2B, it makes sense to be on LinkedIn. And I have had a lot of success. My posts always get hundreds more impressions than the less businessy platforms where I feel like I’m grinding away fruitlessly. But things seem to be changing, and not always for the better either.
Rather than being a place for purely business-orientated posts it’s got, well, a bit more social. Lately, every man, woman and dog is linking the most spurious of personal events to some well-meaning post about key skills or recruitment.
Got engaged? Obviously, the perfect springboard about being upfront with your boss, asking those awkward questions and going for a raise. Cooked a first-class meal for a dinner party? Of course, it segues nicely into a post about how planning is key. Bought a dog? Well, surely that’s about managing staff and learning to listen to what they’re saying (or barking)? You see where I am going with this – it is now de rigueur to open ourselves up on LinkedIn in ways that would have been unthinkable ten years ago.
I must admit I have been guilty of this occasionally. I have spoken about my cancer diagnosis, treatment and all-clear but in my defence a) it really did affect my business a lot at the time, b) I was using it to raise awareness and c) as a result of those posts an acquaintance of mine did get herself checked out after she found a lump which she said she wouldn’t have done had she not seen them.
So… what I’m trying to say is these types of post are not without merit but has the pendulum swung too far? Is the business community now guilty of emoting too much? Or is it even an age thing? I’m firmly Gen X and find the whole online presence thing draining to say the least. If you’re a Millennial or Gen Z though do you think it’s fine or do you die a little inside at the sight of another missive about feelings in business?
Injecting a bit of the personal does no harm in my view, we’re all human as well as business owners and employees. I trained as a journalist after all and one of the many things I learned was the more a story tugged at the old heart strings the more likely it was to be featured. And let’s be honest, “Former Marine and Double Amputee Takes on Top Job at Law Firm” is likely to get a few more clicks than “David Smith Joins Jones and Jones Solicitors as Partner”.
But here’s the rub. There’s a fine line between creating engaging content for your business and creating content which just gives you the ick to use teenage parlance. It’s hard to know where that line falls at times so, here’s five questions you should ask yourself before you post:
- Is it related to your business? If the answer’s no or the link is simply really tenuous, then don’t post. The exception is when you’re sharing other people’s business-related content that you think is valuable.
- What is the purpose of your post? Always always at the back of your mind should be the reason you’re posting. Is it building brand awareness, developing a following or going for direct leads? The tone of the post should reflect its purpose. If it doesn’t then probably don’t post – you’re just wasting your time and your readers’.
- If it is business-related, is it interesting enough? Just because something relates to your business doesn’t mean you need to shout it to the world. Boring is boring whether it’s business or not.
- Don’t treat it like Facebook or X. LinkedIn for business owners is about showcasing your brand, your achievements and interacting with other like-minded users. It’s not a place for idle gossip, misogyny or political rants. If you wouldn’t say it to your staff or colleagues in real life, it’s probably best kept off LinkedIn too.
- Does it make you cringe? Write your post. Don’t publish it. Go away and leave it alone for a day or two if time allows. Go back to it and see if it makes you uncomfortable. If there’s even the slightest flicker of embarrassment, then bin it and find something better to write about.
So, the next time you go to post on LinkedIn pause for a moment and think about whether it really is the most beneficial thing for your business or professional development. As your online presence grows into something that augments and supports your goals, rather than detracting from them, you’ll be glad you did.
Written by Fay Millar of Gingerbread World
The Entrepreneurs Blog – Local Business Insights
