Social media is like a party where you get to meet new people and potentially make new friends. You can do the same on LinkedIn too! In this episode, Laurie shares all on how to be the life of the party and build your personal brand on LinkedIn.

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Listen on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts.

Laurie Macpherson’s website: https://www.lauriemacpherson.com
Laurie Macpherson’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriemac

Transcript:

Lou: All right, I’ve got Laurie with me here today, and we’re going to have a talk about how to use LinkedIn to market yourself and grow your business. So, welcome onto the show.

Laurie: Why, thank you so much for having me. Thank you for having me.

Why LinkedIn?

Lou: So, why don’t you start by telling us why you got interested in LinkedIn?

Laurie: Yeah, so my business, Lou, is helping women to get ahead in their career. I help them with their CVs, with deciding what they want to do, cover letters, applications, interviews, all of that good stuff. And as part of that, I use LinkedIn for my own business to grow the business, to speak to more people.

And in time, I just grew such a lovely following. I have a really, really good group of people who I look out for, who I speak to a lot on there, good friends I’ve met through LinkedIn, and it just grew and grew from there.

And soon, my friends, my business buddies, were starting to ask me, “How can I use LinkedIn the way that you do?” Because I get probably 40% of my business from the platform, and I know there’s people out there getting lots more, but that’s, you know, it’s great for a tiny business like mine.

So, I realised how to leverage it and how to teach other people how to do what I’ve done on LinkedIn. And in January of this year [2023], I created a challenge all about LinkedIn, which was 25 things over 25 days to get people moving and grooving, and it just got phenomenal feedback from people in all different walks of life. My sister, for example, is an NDIS specialist nurse in Sydney, to people in academia, to people who were running their own businesses. All different folks.

So, I created a course off the back of the challenge and now have that to offer people as well. And that’s whether you’re in a business, in work, looking for opportunities, just looking to grow your network. We never know when we might need it.

Does it work for anyone in any profession?

Lou: Oh wow, that’s amazing. So, it works for anyone in any profession?

Laurie: Yeah, I mean, what I would always say is, there’s some people who… So, once we get into the how-to, the search bar is your best friend.

But there’s, if you, for example, make, if you, for example, are an interior designer, and you make beautiful place settings or furniture for people, for example, you probably… You can’t search “wealthy woman who wants to get her house done up” on LinkedIn. That’s not one of your search terms, right? What you can find is mortgage brokers, estate agents, you know, all your suppliers who could refer you on. So, it still pays even if you have a business that’s not, you know, you can’t find your customer on there. And they are on there, but you can’t search for them and speak to them so much. You can still absolutely speak to people who would be able to say to them, “That house is absolutely fantastic, bit of a nasty kitchen, but I know the person,” that’s how you can use it in that case.

Lou: Well, have you ever met anyone who said, “Uh, I don’t think LinkedIn will work for me”?

Laurie: Every day, yeah. And I don’t like it because it’s Boring Brian. I don’t like it because it’s people who are delighted to announce, I don’t like it because it’s people talking about six figures. I get that. Oh, I’m creative, it doesn’t work for my sort of business. All of this. It’s just, it’s stories based on what LinkedIn used to be.

Lou: Yeah

Laurie: And also, if you’re seeing those sorts of folks, you’re following the wrong people.

Lou: Yeah, exactly. So, what sort of, I guess, time frame or hours per week somebody needs to put in to work on their LinkedIn presence to get effective use out of it?

Laurie: So, know that I spend a lot of my time on there, and I’m not going to pretend that I don’t. But, in all honesty, if you’re in work or if you’re just pottering along on the platform, you could get away with sort of 15 minutes three times a week, which, you know, would be to write your own post. Again, it depends how long it takes you to do that.

Now, I’ve got a huge library of posts, and I’m consciously thinking all the time that I need to be creating content, so it just kind of happens. But if it’s new and you’re really anxious about putting it out there, I get that. That can take 15 minutes or longer. But once you get into the rhythm, post your post, comment on any comments from your last post, answer any DMs, and then have a look at, you know, who you… One of the main things I recommend is connecting and engaging with other people. So, whatever comes up in your feed, it doesn’t have to be relevant to your business, it doesn’t have to be relevant to your job. Things that are relevant to life, you know, you can comment on whatever you like.

I’ve just commented on a good friend’s just got an accreditation this morning. I know she’s been waiting for it for ages, so I’ve just commented, “Well done.” It’s not going to break the internet, but anybody who sees her post will see me commenting under it and can then say, “I wonder what this person’s all about.” So, it’s really worth going and connecting on other posts. If there are people on there you do want to build a bit of a relationship with, definitely well worth kind of looking at what they’re talking about and joining in those conversations.

Being engaging on LinkedIn (not a creepy weirdo)

Laurie: And I always say to people, yes, you will feel like a creepy weirdo when you start doing that. That is normal, you know. Ignore and carry on because it is a social platform, and people, you know, unless you’re posting something nasty or mean, which we’re going to assume that you’re not, people only like people commenting on their post because it gives them bigger attraction. Once they post and you comment, it shares the post to more people, so it’s actually a really good thing. And as long as you, as I say, are not posting anything really awful or negative, or selling your own services on another person’s post, which is totally, you know, bad, then you can absolutely comment on anybody’s post with your own.

Lou: Yeah, so it sounds like it works quite the same as, say, Facebook or Instagram. The more you comment on other people’s posts, the more it makes your post visible. Is that right?

Laurie: So, the more you comment on those posts, the more it makes their post visible, and the more of them you’ll see in your feed. So, what I’m saying is, they will then want to, usually, you know, reciprocate by commenting back, and/or anybody who sees them can see you and see your comments and can say, “Ah, I wonder what this person’s up to,” and can then decide to follow you. And quite often, what happens is, if it’s quite an interesting chat or you say something funny or, you know, someone will then come over to your profile and say, “I really agreed with your comment this morning,” or “That made me laugh this morning,” and they then follow you as well. So, it’s just, it’s sharing the love. It’s making it a nicer place to be on.

Lou: Yeah, yeah. And that’s, you know, actually sounds like it’s good for everyone because when we do have these really nice, warm social interactions, then LinkedIn becomes less of a stiff and boring “suit man” place.

Laurie: Exactly. And yeah, there are lots of gray suits and people who say that they’re delighted to announce, which nobody else really cares about. But there’s also a huge, you know, army of people going on and being themselves and saying, “Business isn’t all a barrel of laughs. Recruitment is tough right now.” You know, and there are lots of things going on in the world, and people can’t… Yeah, there’s a real fine line.

I’m a business owner, so I can essentially say what I like, but I do contract for other people, and I do… So, I personally steer clear of anything political, my choice. Other people may feel differently, just to keep it, you know, clear. And mostly talk about my business but also share what I do in my spare time. And these are the posts that people love. These are the posts that people really get behind.

And it’s funny, if you post about, you know, “Buy my stuff,” crickets. If you post, “I’m off to see, you know, what… My biggest post of the year was probably, ‘I’m off to see Elton John this weekend. I bought my ticket five years ago. I’m so excited. Who’s the biggest person you’ve ever seen?'” And I maybe got like, you know, 25 comments of “This person, that person.” You know, that’s the sort of thing people like to just go in there and be human.

Authenticity and engagement on LinkedIn

Lou: Of the people that I follow, the posts that they get the most engagement on are the ones that are like stories about themselves, and not just like the bragging stories. It’s the, you know, um, I can’t think of an example off the top of my head, but I think you know what I mean.

Laurie: Yeah.

Lou: Everyday stuff that we can relate to.

Laurie: One of mine was like the five biggest mistakes I’ve made this year, Lou, you know. And people love that because, one, you’re being honest, and two, everyone makes mistakes, right? So it’s like, you know, I posted, it was really honest. I posted about some things I’d done to change things, and after I had a sort of break in the middle of the year, and things kind of changed around for my business.

People loved that because it was, you know, wow, you’re being honest and transparent. Because in the business world, so I see both sides, right? So because I help business owners get back into employment, their businesses aren’t doing well, they often come to me to do their CV and get them moved. It’s quite a tricky process because, yes, we have a ton of skills, but we’re also quite a threat, and there is a fear that we won’t be able to take instruction or lose our flex, and, you know, it’s a tricky transition. So someone like me comes in at this sort of transition point. So I get, I see all these “sack the boss” and “self-employment is amazing” and all these, and then I’m hearing on the other side, “Lori, can you write my CV?” So, I spoke about that this year. I was like, hang on a minute, you know, I’ve literally got someone putting up my new shiny website and messaging me on the same night saying, “Not making any money, can you help me?”

So, self-employment isn’t, you know, it’s great if it’s making you money, it’s great if it’s working. If it’s not, it’s a very, very stressful and expensive hobby, and for some people, it’s not the right decision. And people really loved that I spoke about it a few times this year because it’s true. And for all the “sack the boss,” here I am on a Tuesday afternoon at ask, you know, or, you know, Tuesday afternoon drinking champagne, it’s what you have to do to allow that to happen. You know, one, you’re checking your phone in the toilet, 100%. We’re all doing it. And, you know, you’re having to put “out of office,” it makes you behind for the rest of the week. That’s the reality. And I think when you can talk a little bit more into the reality of it all, people start to say, “Oh, it’s not just me who thinks like this.” So those are the posts that got to get the best traction, a bit of humanity, some storytelling. You know, when you don’t have to be an amazing storyteller or a brilliant writer, you can just go on and start, is what I would recommend.

You know, I am a fairly decent writer, I think, and I write CVs for a living. I love writing. That’s my passion. That’s the way my brain works.

I’m not good on the other side of the numbers bit so much. I do it because I have to, but it’s not my… It doesn’t bring me joy. You don’t have to be amazing at anything like that. You just have to start. Look at the posts that do better, what people are most interested in, tap into that, and a little bit of rinse and repeat.

I put a picture up just before the holiday of me with a strawberry daiquiri and said, “You know, I’m off for the next four weeks.” I was actually looking for a bit of work at the time, but I sort of said, “You know, I can relax, and when I’ve not got brain freeze, here’s some things I could do for you.” And again, massive, “Oh wow, that looks amazing, good for you, blah blah blah,” all of that good stuff. So, yeah, these are the sort of things people think, actually, this is what we want to hear and see, not gray man in gray suit quite so much. Bless ’em.

Where does one begin building a personal brand on LinkedIn?

Lou: Yeah, that is so wonderful. So, something that would be of benefit to my audience, say you’re a small business owner, and you want to promote yourself on LinkedIn, but it’s all a blank slate, you’ve not done anything before, where should you start?

Laurie: Yeah, great question. So, I would say, get yourself an account first of all, and just initially, and this isn’t brilliant LinkedIn advice because it’s not, you know, the algorithm doesn’t particularly like it, but go in and have a look at what other people in your world are talking about. Look at people like you, never to copy, but to get an idea of what’s the hot potatoes in your industry right now, you know. So if you’re a supplier, there are huge supply chain issues, you know, for reasons.

If you make jewelry, what are other jewelry makers talking about?

I’m in the obviously CV writing world. There’s been a particularly persistent irritating person who keeps popping up and upsetting already nervous and anxious job seekers. That’s what I’m seeing in the feed. Plus on the chat about flex, hybrid, remote, blah blah blah. So all of that stuff’s coming up.

So, look at what other people are talking about, join in the conversations initially, and then do an intro post. Now, you won’t have millions of followers at this point, so it’s only those people will see it.

Talk about what you can do, how you can help. Never be scared to talk directly about your sales or products. Never be scared to say, “Here’s how I can help you.” A good way to do this, looks visually appealing if you can be bothered to sit and do it on Canva, or other options are available, is to create a little carousel, a little slider. Technically, they don’t allow carousel posts anymore, but you know what I mean, a PDF, one of those slidery ones that people can scroll through, “Here’s how you can work with me.” Those are fine, you know.

Building your LinkedIn presence

Laurie: Every now and again, we have to talk about what we do and how we help.

Also, what you’ve been working on, you know. This week I loved working on X. I’m doing this. I’m working on this. I’ve been here. I’ve been there. You know, I do a lot of networking. I do a lot of socializing for business. I was at awards last week. Haven’t actually talked about it yet, but that’s other content just started thinking of. I suppose, who are you speaking to? Is it you five years ago? For most business owners who are in the sort of coaching development space, usually is. Or is it someone who you want to buy your products? But what might they be interested in? What are the questions you asked? What are the FAQs?

What do people say when they meet you? Mine is always, “You’re much smaller than I thought.” I’ve got quite a lot of neck, and then it kind of goes downhill from there on. And I’m only 5 foot. So, what are the things people ask you and talk to you about? And all that must be, you know, what are the assumptions people have? So, you know, you must spend all your time in your studio. Actually, most of the time, I’m poofing about post offices and posting stock.

What do people think about your world? Start to post and just look at what gets good traction. What do people like? I always do an engagement post on a Saturday, which is basically a post that asks a question.

You lnow what’s the… How’s your week been? What’s the best thing you’ve done this week? What are you up to this weekend? And it gets some traction. It gets some responses, a bit of, “Oh, oh, that sounds really good.”

You know, and your pals and your fans will always be there and say, “That’s interesting,” or “That sounds fab,” or “I wish I’d been there.” You know, you’re just starting a bit of a conversation.

As I say, this is not advice that’s going to make you go viral or break the internet. This is just start, get started, and then look at, as I see, the sort of trends. Then you can start to add a bit of an opinion. There’s some things I really steer clear of because they just get too, you know, it’s a bit nasty, and I don’t have time to be answering nasty posts all day. But there are other things where there are hills you’re prepared to die on.

Mine is, you do not need your interests on your CV. Every time I post, I get loads of random comments and people saying you do. But it’s great because I do it every now and again, and it gets a ton of attraction because it’s controversial without being, you know, awful or horrible.

So, what’s controversial in your industry? Everybody is different. In the HR world, if it’s a maker, whatever it is that you do, social media, I had saw a really good… I got a really good email this morning. I store things up for a bit of info about, you know, do we… Why we continue to use meal prep services like Gusto and Hello Fresh and Mindful Chef, and we could actually just go to the supermarket and make a recipe. Actually, it’s all about convenience. So, I sometimes post about how I always buy frozen mash, and I don’t, you know, I don’t buy it. I don’t stand with a tatty peeler and all that. I don’t want to. And how buying in my service is a lot bit like that.

So, yeah, really good place to start is what are other people talking about? Join in these conversations, introduce yourself, and then start to look at what’s assumptions, questions, controversies in your world that you can have a bit of an opinion on.

Creating a recognisable personal brand on LinkedIn

Laurie: And so, it’s finding your own voice as well as your brand. So, today I’m in my traditional leopard print. What can you have as your branding, so that when people see the post before they even recognise your face, they go, “Ah, that will be Lori, that’ll be Lou”? What is specific and familiar to you that people… And you only get that through lots of repetition

Lou: Right? Okay!

Laurie: like the golden arches of McDonald’s, whether you like it or not, it’s instantly recognisable. So, what can you do? There are people in my world who, one of my friends, always, always has… She has yellow hair, she wears bright colors. Every time you see her post, you spot it a mile away because it’s her. There are other people who blend in a little bit more.

You don’t have to be wacky and crazy. What I mean is, what is your thing? It could be your dog, it could be that you have a chicken. What’s your thing? And people always struggle with this and say, “I’m perfectly normal. I don’t have…” Everybody has something.

Lou: It could be that you start your post with a hashtag.

Laurie: It could be anything at all that is just your thing. And, you know, some of my coaches and people I’ve gone to, they have specific lines that they use at the end of every post. They have specific things that they’re instantly recognisable for. There’s another great writer that I’ve met, and who’s amazing. She talks about ice cream and pole dancing. And, you know, amazing, instantly recognisable. She takes fabulous… She gets those amazing pole shots. I’m not doing any of that anytime soon. You know, so every time I see her post, before I’ve seen that it’s her, I go, “Ah, that’ll be Rebecca’s post.” And then you can join in from there.

So, yeah, how do you become instantly recognizable to your merry band, however big they might be, or followers?

Lou: Yeah, that sounds like a great strategy to follow, honestly. Yeah, put yourself out there, be consistent, and be you.

And you’re saying it’s okay to have an opinion?

Laurie: Absolutely. And it’s okay to also… This notion of professionalism. I get this a lot, Lou, I train a lot in universities and graduates and PhD, and, you know, but I have to be professional.

What is professional? We’ve just been through a, you know, on and off pandemic. We’re in people’s houses anyway. I’ve seen your animals. I’ve probably seen your washing hanging in the background at some point. We don’t… There are lines, yes, of course. As I say, I work for myself, so I have much more freedom in this space. But you don’t have to be rigid or professional.

The posts that do the best have a picture on them, even better if it’s your face.

Now, not every single post, because sometimes people are just chatting on their face. But what can you show your face, especially initially, so that people get to recognise you, who you are, the person behind the brand? What are you known for?

A really good example is someone I followed this year. She’s been made redundant twice, bless her, of a year. And she’s been a sort of shining beacon of joy and positivity. With that, she’s also done really well with her weightlifting, and she’s continued to work on that. So every time I see her little, you know, in the gym with her little bar up here picture on LinkedIn, I again immediately go, “Ah, you know, there she is.” So she’s not doing anything wrong by going to the gym when she’s not employed. That’s perfectly fine. But the old way would have been, “You can’t show yourself in gym clothes, for example, on LinkedIn.” You know, the new way is, “Wow, she’s doing really, really well. She’s competing. She’s got… She’s totally focused on this.” Fantastic. That tells me quite a lot of things about her as a person if I was going to hire her. That, you know, she is consistent, she gets the job done, she’s focused.

That’s all much better than sort of sitting about not posting your face, not posting anything.

Lou:  Yeah!

Laurie: Because you’re scared. So thinking about that sort of consistency and creating your own brand, much love that as a phrase.

Lou: Yeah.

Laurie: it’s kind of what we have to probably do to stand out and be noticed in a busy social world.

Lou: I completely agree.

Laurie: Excellent.

Lou: So it is about time for us to finish up, but Lori, I would like for you to let us know, if we wanted to find you, is LinkedIn the best place?

Laurie:  LinkedIn is always the best place. I am on Instagram and Facebook as well, but my… I’m Laurie Macpherson, Career Wingwoman on LinkedIn, and I talk about LinkedIn and also about careers every single day because that’s what works for me.

Lou: Ah, brilliant. That sounds perfect. You’re so perfectly focused on one thing and doing it well.

Laurie: Thank you.

➡️ Where Next? If you are looking for help or inspiration in growing your personal brand on Linked In, visit Laurie Macpherson on LinkedIn.