Is LinkedIn becoming the new Facebook?
When I asked Kelly O’Keefe, brand expert and partner of Brand Federation about LinkedIn (LI) becoming the new Facebook (FB), his concern was how will LI be able to control the quality of the content people are posting. A recent New York Times article notes that Sandburg and Zuckerburg were so hell bent on growth that they ignored signs in their product being infiltrated by Russians to effect the 2016 election. More professionals are moving away from FB to LI so now it is crucial for LI to control content so as not to fall in to the same predicament as FB.
I have noticed more articles and versions of e-promos being posted on LI since email promos are usually being deleted or unsubscribed. Facebook is full of either uplifting stories or political articles and concerns, so it seems as if LinkedIn is the place to show your professional talents. But to what extent should you continue promote your work without folks disconnecting from you? How do you strike the balance and how do you connect to your market in a professional way?
I did a survey to Art Producers and asked them if they thought a photographer using the LI platform to market. The majority said that is not how they use LI. It would be acceptable if they saw work from photographers they knew and had worked with but not random connection requests. And to be honest, I agree with them. If I have never worked with you and don’t know your work ethic, I am not going to connect with you in an effort to protect those who I have worked with in the past. My LI account is strictly for business. For assistance, I post the Art of the Personal Project on my LI account. I enjoy seeing my business connections showing great campaigns they have worked on but not work they shot to direct me to their website.
When I see recent portfolio shoots on LI, I noticed vague hash-tags so I reached out to Heather Lefort to explain how to use LinkedIn professionally. Heather owns iHeartmrktg to help photographers keep up with their marketing and the best ways to do it. “The LinkedIn algorithm is far more superior to FB or IG. When they launched in 2003 their purpose was to connect people professionally via resumes, networking and professional talents. Their growth rate (https://ourstory.linkedin.com/) has exceeded the levels of FB and IG and is expected to grow faster in 2019! Relevance, credibility, followers and connections play a huge part in the LI algorithm. So, it’s clear that you should be growing your personal or business audience (or both) on LI. The algorithm and tools allow you to tailor your feed accordingly. But be careful of spammy posts as the feed have precise rating tools based on the relevancy of your posts and other people’s preferences. In other words ask yourself these 3 check questions before posting:
- Am I over-posting?
- Will People in my network care about this post?
- Is my post relevant to others’ professional lives?
All of the posts on LI pass through a computerized virality check and a human check which is part of the uniqueness. These parameters determine: how you engage others as a poster and the quality of your personal network. This is the stage where your posts can potentially rank into the “Top” posts. Understanding the content checklist that LI craves is a great start to make sure your posting quality, useful information! “
LinkedIn is a professional business platform and it should be used as such. The people I have surveyed all agreed-it should be used to showcase your work professionally, but personal posts should be posted on Facebook.
APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s. After establishing the art buying department at The Martin Agency, then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies, she decided to be a consultant in 1999. She has a new Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty. Follow her at @SuzanneSease. Instagram
With over 18 years of expertise, a love of marketing, and compassion for businesses Heather Lefort opened iHeart Marketing. Her years of sales and marketing experience allowed her to bring her personal services to business owners with a one-on-one strategy. Leading iHeart Marketing with the highest level of integrity she assists businesses in achieving all of their marketing and sales goals with a planned effort. Whether you are brand building, looking for marketing guidance or need assistance measuring your strategies iHeart Marketing can help! We are a one-stop marketing solutions boutique.
iHeart Marketing, Inc., is the parent company of Social Sparkz, a visionary agency focused on marketing and advertising, events, PR and brand building. In short, we make sparkz happen when it comes to your business!
2 Comments
I’m a bit annoyed by this post, because it’s a bit damned it you do and damned if you don’t. And this phrase I found particularly annoying: “It would be acceptable if they saw work from photographers they knew and had worked with but not random connection requests. And to be honest, I agree with them.” A bit Catch 22, i.e. we’re supposed to connect only with people we’ve already worked with???? I agree that photographers should you use social media responsibly, but if we waited until someone knew us or worked with us before we began marketing to them….
Happy Holidays,
Tom
Hey Suzanne – Excellent post, well researched and very informative… : )
I’d love to re-post this to my photographers’ network – would that work?
Ross MacRae @ BikiniLists
Comments are closed for this article!