SHOW TRANSCRIPT

This transcript is automatically generated by Descript.  Any errors or omissions are unintentional.

Cassie Tucker: [00:00:00] I will also say too, a lot of with imposter syndrome is caring about what other people think. You know, I’m gonna say something and someone’s gonna think this is silly, or I’m not eloquent, or whatever. we are own biggest critics and so just not being afraid to put yourself out there and even if you do say something silly, so what, like someone’s gonna forget about it in two seconds anyways, and it’s really not a big deal. And. I think just owning who you are. I think that confidence takes time to build, but I think also the confidence really comes from knowing who you are, knowing your stuff, you know, building out that image, what do I wanna be known for?

And really stepping into that and sharing content around that. And, uh, you’ll start to build connections over time. And it’s never too early to start, in my opinion.

Jeff Sieh: Hello folks. Welcome to Social Media News Live. I’m Jeff C and you’re not.

Conor Brown: And I am Connor Brown, and this is the show that keeps you up to date on what’s happening in the world of social media and more.

Jeff Sieh: Have you ever found yourself wondering what it really takes to make LinkedIn work for you? Maybe you’re looking for ways to turn connections [00:01:00] into real opportunities, or maybe you’re trying to figure out how to create content that actually gets engagement. If any of that sounds like it’s you, you are in the right place.

’cause this week we’re excited to welcome someone. Who knows LinkedIn inside and out. Cassie Tucker has mastered the art of personal branding, networking, and content strategy on the platform, and she’s here to share her best tips. So sit back, clear your schedule, clear your mind, and get ready for this week’s episode of Social Media News Live.

Cassie. So glad you’re back with us today. This is gonna be fun.

Cassie Tucker: I, I am so grateful to be back. Thank you both for having me.

Conor Brown: if you don’t know who Cassie is, you should, because Cassie is awesome. She’s an independent marketing strategy consultant who helps her clients refine their messaging and communicate their value. To potential customers across digital channels as an entrepreneur. She combines her work in marketing and her experience as a former Disney cast member, just like me, to make magic for her clients through her work as the host of the marketing happy [00:02:00] hour.

Podcast. She’s committed to empowering and encouraging young professionals on their career journeys. Additionally, Cassie is the co-host of podcasts for Universal Studios and the Leadership Crucible Foundation. Cassie, we’re so excited to have you back, especially for two dudes who need LinkedIn help.

That’s for sure.

Jeff Sieh: That is right. That is right. We’re so excited to have kas here, but we also are excited of our sponsors, Ecamm. You can find out more about them at Ecamm dot com slash jeff. Find out more and use code Jeff 15 to save 15% on your first purchase. By the way, they just rolled out a new version. It’s amazing.

They’ve got animations, they’ve got really cool stuff. So if you haven’t tried, Ecamm yet, make sure you go to Ecamm dot com slash Jeff and I do want another, do another shout out to our friend. Dustin, he says, yep. Dustin here working from his brand new YouTube channel. So do me a favor and go over there.

Dustin’s a big supporter of the show. Give him a follow over there on YouTube. Just look for Magi, that’s [00:03:00] M-A-G-A-I and check him out. So

Conor Brown: Also, George pointed out something very important I totally missed. Happy, happy Pie Day to both of you

Jeff Sieh: Oh, I, I, I,

Cassie Tucker: amazing.

Jeff Sieh: Thanks Connor. Great. That’s all I need. Alright, so we’re gonna talk about LinkedIn all today. Once again, if you’re watching, ask your questions ’cause we’re, make the show all about you. But Cassie, you know, you’ve emphasized the importance of your profile optimization on LinkedIn.

So just starting from the beginning, what are some key elements that a standout LinkedIn profile needs to have?

Cassie Tucker: Yeah, so there’s quite a few different elements. I would say even the foundational work to do prior to updating your profile is just understanding what is your goal with your presence on LinkedIn? Is it to secure a new job? Is it to build your personal brand? Like what are you looking to overall achieve with the platform?

And then making sure that your messaging is aligned and clear throughout your profile. So there’s several different. Sections that you can update and optimize, one of them being your [00:04:00] headline. So one of the first things that people see when they’re searching on the platform, looking for people relevant to maybe the experience or the services or what have you that you provide is your headline, your name, and your profile photo.

So that headline is a really great spot to capture attention quickly. So really just answering the question, why you, why should someone follow you? What do you do? How do you serve? What is that a. Authority space that you’re in. And so that’s a section that I always recommend looking at. And then moving further down is your about section.

This is a place where you can fill in your bio, tell your story, how have you impacted businesses or brands that you’ve worked for in the past? What’s your story as it’s relevant to your authority you’re looking to build? And then further down is that. Experience section. So this is kind of like your resume.

It’s where you can fill in your past roles and things that you’re currently doing and have done in the past. And so making sure that that’s really built out and robust is really important. making sure everything is very clear. You [00:05:00] have data, some of those actions that you’ve taken in your past experiences, the way that you’ve impacted those organizations, and in those sections you can also fill in media.

So any sort of links to articles or press that you’ve received to further emphasize your authority in those uh positions is really important to include those as well. And then even further down, there’s different sections like. Skills and recommendations where you can ask for referrals and testimonials.

So I always recommend whether you have a current presence on the platform or you’re just getting started, just go through and make sure everything, every single section is filled out, because the more keywords, the more information, the more details about, again, what you do, how you serve, you have on there.

The more people will buy into that and have a clearer picture of who you are as a professional.

Jeff Sieh: So a follow up question to that, Cassie, is, is how custom can you make your profile? Like, I, I can’t, it used to be you could actually, you know, put things ahead [00:06:00] of the other, like your skills up front and all that stuff. Is it still that way? And, and if so, what do you recommend to have people customize it?

Like best practices kind of thing?

Cassie Tucker: Yeah, so it’s not as, it’s not as structured that way anymore. It kind of has this set flow that it runs with. But, one thing I do wanna mention too is there’s a lot of visual elements that you can customize. So we do have that hero banner at the top of our profiles, and then we have a profile image. that hero banner is a really great place to further emphasize again, what you do.

Maybe have a, a photo if you’re a speaker. put a photo of you speaking up there, maybe. Maybe add some text that again, emphasizes who you are. and so that’s kind of a custom element there. And then the media’s custom. Um, there’s different elements and pinned posts that you can add that customizes your profile further.

But for the most part, a lot of those sections, if you have creator mode turn on, turned on, that’s a little bit more customized as well. But for the most part, some of those main sections are pretty set in their place, but the way [00:07:00] that you use them, is adaptable to you.

Jeff Sieh: Gotcha. Gotcha.

Conor Brown: And a follow up to that, the creator mode. Cassie, it’s, it’s if you are being a LinkedIn creator, right? Not if you’re just, you got it. You brand

Cassie Tucker: Correct. Yeah. Great question.

Conor Brown: I think that that kind of brings in this next thing we wanna talk about, which is balancing professionalism, but your also your own personality, especially when you’re posting or, or trying to be a, a LinkedIn creator like we were talking about.

I think, you know, the good rule of thumb is that LinkedIn is not. Facebook professional, right? Like, we don’t need everything. It, it has to serve a purpose, but it also has to, uh, showcase your personality so that people are attracted to, to what you’re doing. Like any other social media platform. I think the one thing that I’m always hesitant with is like the new kind of shorts that they’re doing, right?

You can show your. Personality in that, but you don’t want to go overtly and and have it be TikTok all of a sudden. ’cause you still want that professional aura. So, [00:08:00] Cassie, how, how do you think users can effectively, you know, incorporate their personality, incorporate their personal brand, but then still maintaining professionalism on LinkedIn?

Cassie Tucker: Yeah, I, as you mentioned, Connor, I think one of the biggest things to create that human to human connection is the video element. So showing your face, allowing people to hear you. See you. Um, that’s gonna strengthen that connection. But I think ultimately when you’re deciding what to post, it’s asking yourself, why am I posting this?

What’s your intention behind it? Most likely, just a photo of your dog is probably not gonna have the best intention on the platform. It’s just not for that. But let’s say you learn a lesson from your dog that can be applied. to business for example. You know, there’s ways to infuse that, those personal updates and that personality, and tie it back to your ultimate goal with the platform.

So that’s why I mentioned earlier, making sure you have established, you know, what am I looking to do? How am I looking to build authority? What are the areas that I wanna build [00:09:00] authority in? And chances are there’s a lot of. Personal tie-ins that you can include in your posts. And I think too, ultimately it’s that trust factor.

So peeling the curtain back a little bit on your life and who you are as a human being outside of work even is gonna strengthen that connection and help you build relationships. But making sure it has intention tying back to your ultimate goal with the platform. And chances are you can get kind of creative with that and infuse a lot of that personal content, on the platform as well, even if it feels like maybe it doesn’t fit at the beginning.

Jeff Sieh: Right, right. That’s a good point. I wanna, I wanna jump back to what you said a little bit about visuals, because I’m a big, I, that’s what I love is the visuals and creating, you know, content and, uh, visuals are crucial on LinkedIn. And I wanna talk about the profile photo I. Because a lot of, and I’m a big into ai, like we did a great, uh, if you haven’t looked at Instagram, uh, great AI thing with Cassie promoting the show.

But I see a lot of people using AI to create these profile [00:10:00] photos. And I don’t like them because I’ve gone to conferences and went, whoa, that ain’t you anymore. Like, it’s like you haven’t had that, not that many wrinkles since high school. So like, it’s okay to show your age, so. What do you tell people and what kind of like quality photos they need on LinkedIn for even their banner images and also their profile photo?

Cassie Tucker: Yeah, so speaking of profile photo first, again, I mentioned when someone’s searching for pages relevant to what you do, that’s often your first impression with a person. And so it’s your name, it’s that headline, and then it’s the profile image as well. So thinking about when you. First meet someone in person.

when you go to meet someone, it’s probably not advantageous to look like you don’t wanna be there to be frowning or whatever. So the biggest thing I would say is make sure that headshot is clear. Make sure you’re smiling, make sure you look approachable. and, and so that’s a best. Practice. And that goes back to just having fresh headshots too.

You know, Jeff, you mentioned making sure everything’s up to date and like if someone [00:11:00] does go to meet you in person after following you on LinkedIn, is there consistency there? And so that’s kind of, again, setting the tone for everything and you want it to be recognizable as well. So if there’s a way to kind of spin it, whether it’s a color that you’re wearing or a background or whatever, that ties into your brand even further.

Have fun with that. And then. That header image is a place to showcase your personality, your and your brand even further. So maybe you include a, uh, you know, a logo or you include, again, a short statement of what you do and who you are. because that also, when someone first lands on your profile, that’s one of the first things they’re gonna see when they jump even further into your page.

And so making sure that that creates that connection there. But I think overall. Quality is important, but also just clarity of image, making sure it’s close up, nothing too distracting, and it’s, it’s pretty straightforward.

Jeff Sieh: Awesome.

Conor Brown: Well, let’s talk a little bit more about the headline too. ’cause I know that that’s such an an emphasis and we talked about the importance of that, [00:12:00] especially as you’re scrolling one of the first things you see and even a very searchable sort of thing that people can kind of find you via. I. A lot of people struggle with that, Cassie.

’cause I think it’s one, it’s, it’s like back in the days when, you know, Twitter was 160 characters or whatever, you’re like, how do I fit the tweet? I have so much I have to say. And it’s, it’s truncated like that. Right? So I feel like a lot of people just kind of default to what they’re doing now and, and.

Put almost their job title in it. or they also say things like, passionate about, you know, and are we really passionate about B2B sales? I dunno, right? But maybe we’re an expert in it. Right? And, and we put that in. So what tips do you have for, for helping people, you know, craft that headline that not only introduces them, but kind of attracts the right opportunities and the right people to find them?

Cassie Tucker: Yeah. So I think, again, this goes back to what is your intention with the platform, right? Like, I’m gonna say that a lot just because that helps to define a lot of these different elements of your profile. and the [00:13:00] other thing to do a little bit of research in is LinkedIn is very, keyword focused. So like the other platforms like Instagram, TikTok, there’s SEO built into the platform.

So thinking about what are some of those keywords that if someone is looking for something that you provide, making sure that you’re gonna show up. For those searches. And so there’s a kind of twofold element. I always recommend, having some sort of statement about what you do. so if you’re a travel planner, include that, but also what is the impact that you’re making, uh, with the people that you work with.

there’s a number of different ways to outline your headline. One thing that you could do is just have a short statement. Uh, we talk all the time in marketing about those I help statements. So I help x who your audience is. Do. X, Y, z so they can, whatever that transformation is. So that’s one, statement that you can include in there in your headline.

But ultimately, what do you do? Who are you, how do you serve? And maybe a short statement about the impact or, the authority that you have in your space. And [00:14:00] so that’s kind of your hook for your profile. So you wanna. Tell people why they should be following you and what kind of content you provide and who you are as a professional.

And so that is the statement that’s really gonna make an impact quickly. And so making sure that you’re infusing those different elements. And don’t be afraid too to test different headlines and see what resonates and switch it up on a regular basis. I always recommend do a do a profile audit about once a quarter or so.

Make sure your bio’s up to date. All of your information is up to date. Your media, all the links that you have included in there, and your headline is one of them. Just kind of test, refresh and see how it lands.

Jeff Sieh: Awesome. So this is, once again, I love the show because it’s almost like free consulting for me. But the, one of the questions I wanted to ask is like, okay, if somebody wants is watching the show or listening to this podcast and they wanna refresh their LinkedIn presence, what quick updates would you recommend that they make, right now to improve their profile?

Cassie Tucker: Yeah, so as I mentioned, [00:15:00] our bios get outdated very quickly. So again, whether it’s once a quarter, twice a year, whatever it is, making sure not only on your LinkedIn, but really everywhere that you have your bio list. Make sure your experience is up to date. The messaging that you’re trying to put out there into the world is up to date, and so that’s a big one.

I would just say go through the different touch points of your profile, making sure everything is clear. does it make sense to the person that you’re trying to attract? Is it straightforward? Is it engaging? And so those are some of the questions that you can ask. Also, don’t be afraid to show your profile to a trusted connection or, or friend and say, Hey, is everything that’s on here?

Is this clear? Because chances are a lot of times, like what I think is clear may not be clear to anyone else. And so kind of getting out of our own way and, accepting feedback from other people just because the goal is to attract and build authority and build your reach, right? So. We wanna make sure that people out there are willing to engage with that and [00:16:00] and connect with your profile.

So that’s the biggest thing. Updated headshots on a regular basis. I mentioned the media section of your experiences too, so if you have any new press hits that you received or any new campaigns that you wanna promote, refresh those as well. And that also. Provides a fresh new experience to your followers as they visit your profile over time, making sure you have that up to date information and telling the most accurate, clear story.

Jeff Sieh: Awesome. Cassie there. And this is, and Connor too. Anybody who is watching. ’cause I wanna know, is there any sort of tool or plugin. That you could use to update those things automatically? ’cause like when new YouTube videos come out, you would like ’em to come and put ’em on your profile or whatever. Do you know of anything other than having to do that manual?

Is there a tool that can do that for you?

Cassie Tucker: Oh, that’s a good question. You know, to be honest, I am not sure.

Jeff Sieh: I would love that. Somebody make that

Cassie Tucker: I

Jeff Sieh: make that for us. Come on. What are you

Cassie Tucker: I’m like, if anyone [00:17:00] else knows about that, please let me know.

Conor Brown: I think you can do like, it’ll be pretty generic, but I think you can do it through Zapier, to a LinkedIn

Jeff Sieh: Because that’s the biggest thing for me is like, ’cause we’re putting out a show each week, I just don’t go in there and update it. I know I could have a VA or somebody do that. I just don’t think about it. But I would love to have, I’ll look that up, Connor. ’cause that’s a great suggestion because I would like to keep that up to date.

Cassie Tucker: Yeah. The other thing I tell people to do too, and I love Zapier’s an amazing tool, so highly recommend just getting in there period and messing with it. the other thing I recommend people doing this is for Instagram as well, but have like a links kind of landing page built on your website versus using like a link tree or whatever, or posting.

Direct links into your bio or your media sections. You can kind of get creative with that too, and so you’re only refreshing that content in one spot versus multiple spots. But I’m gonna look into using Zapier for some of those automations too. It’s a great idea.

Conor Brown: We were talking a bit about headshots and the importance of, you know, it [00:18:00] being true to you and Dustin brings up a great point. He said previously the excuse was, I haven’t had time to go to a photographer. But with custom AI models, it’s much easier to update your headshot. But then he goes on to say, I.

Should always be an accurate headshot, though I know he is done a lot of explaining about using Flux in the Magi community on Facebook and those are really, really good for taking like what you look like currently, right? And putting it into a headshot format. So to his point, we can use these models, but we just wanna make sure, you know, the Jeff C model actually has that full beard with, with all those.

Jeff Sieh: It’s funny ’cause there is something going going around that I’ll get, ’cause I took it like way, it was like for the WordPress like icon and it’s like old, like it’s no beard. It’s baby Jeff. Yeah. It’s crazy looking. Yeah.

Conor Brown: You know, we, we’ve talked about laying the foundation of, of building our, our profile, right? And that’s when people, either find us, right, or they’re searching for us or they see a [00:19:00] post that we did, and then they land on the profile and we wanna make sure that’s all up to date, accurate, all that stuff.

But then putting ourselves out there, once we have our foundation, we want to create good content, we have to wanna formulate a strategy, and we want to post things on the platform that. Are gonna attract the right people. We’ve talked a lot about posting strategically and Cassie, you’ve shared, you know, why is it, why are you posting this?

What are you doing? What do you think, just in general types of content that, that perform the best for people that are just trying to build their credibility, build their engagement. And then what’s kind of your strategy when it comes to, to posting on LinkedIn itself?

Cassie Tucker: Yeah, so LinkedIn has a number of different ways that we can post nowadays. There’s so many different formats available to us and tools, which is awesome, but I know it also leads to this overwhelm of what should I be posting and when and how should I be sharing? I think the biggest thing that I would recommend.

Starting with is just [00:20:00] simply what are you learning recently? what is something that came to mind that you can kind of share a learning on? Or, what is something you achieved recently and how did you achieve it? And so sharing kind of those actionable strategies tied to your story or recent learnings.

and then with that too, it makes it a lot easier to batch or create content if you just create this record of, things that come to mind as you’re, driving. Don’t write it down while you’re driving, but you’re at a red light or you’re stopped. Write it down. If something comes to mind,you know, you’re in the shower.

When you get outta the shower, write it down, you know, so you have this. This bank of content that you can pull from. But, storytelling always works. I mean, storytelling in general on any platform, that’s always the way to go. And so just engaging people that way. relatable content. So thinking again about the people that you are trying to speak to, who’s your audience and what would connect with them?

what is something that you face that your audience may be facing and how can you tell a story or solve a problem through [00:21:00] that? One-liners always work well on the platform. Kind of those hot takes. Uh, right now I’m seeing a lot of people just post opinionated content and what they think about something and that generates conversations, kind of this blog style, again, storytelling format, content, images, know images, text only posts do really well on the platform as well.

but I think the biggest thing is have some sort of. Clear direction as to why you’re posting, as I already mentioned. what is the why behind the specific post and what is maybe an action that you’d want someone to take, after reading that content? So make sure you have a very clear direction.

You want your content to be focused, and that helps to drive engagement, especially if someone has just one clear focus or thing or theme that they’re thinking about, and, they can kind of start to engage with that in that way. So I would say. Ultimately just test, try different things. But I think too, again, going back to foundational principles of building your presence on LinkedIn.

Not only thinking about [00:22:00] why, you’re on the platform, why you’re posting what you’re posting, but have kind of these different content buckets or themes that you would want to post around. And that goes back to your own personal, exposure and your own personal story, but also, again, who are you speaking to?

What would be relevant and engaging to them, and what is some of the content that you can share that helps to spark a conversation or showcase your authority around a given theme or topic.

Jeff Sieh: Hmm, that’s really, really good. speaking of content, the different types of content, Gary has a great question. He goes, wasn’t LinkedIn going to introduce a carousel banner on profiles? So, do you know anything about that? I’m not sure. About that, but I would love to know more if you know anything, Cassie.

Cassie Tucker: So there is a section where, and I I would have to understand a little bit further about what you’re specifically speaking to, but there is a section where you can pin posts to the top of your profile and it kind of looks like a carousel. You can click through them and so. I always recommend to people, pin [00:23:00] content that clearly tells your story or introduces yourself for people first landing on your profile.

But that’s really the biggest thing that I can recall in terms of carousel. But, I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled. I haven’t seen anything other than that so far.

Jeff Sieh: I, I know that I, I saw something about it, but I haven’t played with it either. So, uh, Gary says the banner was for premium members only. Well, I’m not a premium member, that’s why I’m not in the elite class like Gary Stockton is. So, but yeah. Gary, if you, if you find out more, I’d love to know because that would be something that might make me go to premium member if you could do something like that, so very, very cool.

Cassie Tucker: I know, and I will say too, kind of on that, that’s a, a really great point just to note that, and this goes with any social media platform. If a platform releases a new feature, I highly recommend using it and using it as quickly as possible because chances are those platforms want us to be using those new features.

And they, a lot of times I no guarantee around this, but a lot of times they will reward users for jumping on those [00:24:00] platform features. And so, with something like that, for example, I always recommend test it. Try it out. Use it for a bit, see if it resonates with your audience, see if it works for you, and then you can always pivot from there.

Jeff Sieh: Awesome.

Conor Brown: What about Cassie? The, the types of.content or post styles or things like that, that, that you like to post that not only do you see like good engagement on your profile for it, but you just enjoy creating that style of content. Is, is there anyone’s in particular that you gravitate towards more for, for your personal brand?

Cassie Tucker: Yeah. So I would say for me, storytelling is one of my favorite things to post on the platform. I mean, I’m a, I’m a big, I love copywriting, so I love writing emails. I love long form pieces of content, and so anything where I can kind of. Take a personal, um, thing that I may be experienced, even if it’s not particularly relevant.

Like, I’ll give you an example. Last year, and maybe this sounds kind of silly, but I went [00:25:00] to the Taylor Swift, concert, the hes tour, and I walked away from the hes tour and I’m like, I actually learned a lot about business and marketing through this concert, like honestly. And so I wrote a post. Speaking to that and sharing what I learned.

And a lot of people connected with that because they’re like, oh, I’ve never thought about it that way. Or actually, you’re right. Like we have a lot we can learn from Taylor Swift. So that’s an example of just for me, I love just being in the real world, like going to the theme parks and what did I learn in a given day from a cast member, a team member, what did I experience watching this show and what does it teach me about business and storytelling?

And so that’s. Really my favorite way. It’s just the way that I look at the world too. I feel like I’m always trying to like pull stuff out of my experiences as a human being, and so story in that way is my favorite thing to do. And then just really short, simple, as I mentioned kind of one liners about.

you know, a quote that I heard recently or something I learned that’s just a quick hit. It’s [00:26:00] shareable, it’s relatable to people. I love sharing too, just updates and, and photos of things that I’ve been working on that’s not as shareable just because it’s, it’s. More relevant to myself, however, it increases my authority and it shows people what I’m working on lately and hopefully tells people what kind of projects that I can maybe help them with down the road.

So there’s kind of a balance of, of different ways I like to approach it.

Conor Brown: I love that, that Taylor Swift style one, ’cause I was, I just had a reel come up from a guy that was like, Hey, if I started today and I was trying to get, you know, a hundred thousand followers, I would post three videos a day for 30 days. And the notion was. Wasn’t ‘ cause you were gonna get a bunch of followers, but the notion was you get so good at posting, you just start thinking in that mentality as you’re going about.

You’re just like, that would make a good post. That would make a good post. So I think like consistently posting helps you frame your mind. So that posts just come easier to you and you, you see the [00:27:00] world in posts, I

Jeff Sieh: Right,

Cassie Tucker: Yeah, which is not always a good thing,

Conor Brown: Correct? Yeah.

Cassie Tucker: you’re coming up with content, so you know.

Jeff Sieh: so so on that note, ’cause I, before Social media market world, which I’m speaking about creating AI images there. I have been kind of doing this self-imposed experiment where I’m gonna be, I’m posting AI images every day to, Instagram. And what they do is kind of, hopefully they tell a story, but then I have like the storytelling in the post.

two questions for you. Would that be type of post, be good for Instagram and I mean for LinkedIn and two, would, is it okay to repurpose stuff from one platform to another because I’m big on doing things once and going everywhere with it. What are your thoughts, Cassie?

Cassie Tucker: Yeah. Yeah, no, I definitely, I definitely think so, and my answer to someone saying, would this work on this platform? My, my answer’s always gonna be test it and try it and see what lands. Like I’m a big advocate for testing and learning, and so if you’ve never tried something before or you’re questioning [00:28:00] whether or not it’s going to work.

Test it out, test it for a month, maybe three months, give yourself a good 60 to 90 day period of just trialing that, format. And chances are, you know, you mentioned storytelling in, in the caption, storytelling works very well on LinkedIn, so I would say it’s. Chances are it’s going to work out for you.

Um,but then in terms of repurposing, a lot of times, yes, the content could be repurposed directly. However, I would just ask yourself quickly again, how does your audience vary on Instagram versus LinkedIn? Does this. Speak directly to that audience. Doesn’t need to be tweaked in any way. and just making sure that even if you create a few different iterations or adjustments to that caption, you can post pretty much probably the same exact thing you’re sharing on the other platform, but just make sure it’s speaking to that audience.

so I would say yes, maybe some slight adjustments, but give it a try.

Jeff Sieh: I will, I will do that. In fact, the first time for [00:29:00] the thing I post that real I posted on Instagram, I thought, well, Cassie’s talking about LinkedIn, I’m gonna post it over here and, ’cause I wanted to test the new, you know, the, the feed, the talky feed that’s in LinkedIn to see how it works.

So once again, trying a little experiment.

Cassie Tucker: Yeah. I love it. I’m excited to keep seeing you do that and share stuff out there. Yeah.

Jeff Sieh: Connor. You’re muted buddy.

Conor Brown: So I’ll just say the pollen index is quite bad here, so I, uh, I’m going through it, but I, I don’t wanna hear the sniffles on, on the mic. I, I will say the stuff that Jeff comes up with from the mind of Jeff C, that should be your Instagram bio because all of those AI things are just so, so cool. They’re so fun, they’re different.

on LinkedIn, I think there’s, there’s kind of two. Two things people are typically trying to attract, right? You’re, you’re trying to build your credibility, all that, but if you’re working for yourself, you’re probably trying to cement yourself as an expert so that you can get more clients, right? On the flip of that, a lot of people will be on LinkedIn more heavily when they’re looking [00:30:00] for new opportunities for new job opportunities, right?

It’s a little touchy subject, depending upon if. You’re currently working for an employer and you want a new opportunity, or if you’re, you’re not and you’re just looking for the next thing that you’re gonna work on. So, Cassie, during a job search, what is okay to post? What are some do’s and don’ts?

What is just do you think are best practices to, I guess. Not come off as, you know, upsetting people that you might have worked for in the past or that you’re currently working for, or whatever. What do you just say are, are some do’s and don’ts when you’re looking for that new opportunity when it comes to posting on LinkedIn?

Cassie Tucker: Yeah. Yeah. Well first things first, whether it’s with networking or building your personal brand, I. Do not recommend just starting when you’re looking for that next opportunity. You know, currently in a present time, if you are good, you love your job, you love what you’re doing, start now. Because outside of just [00:31:00] looking for the next opportunity, building your personal brand has so many advantages.

Building your network, there’s different things that that can lead to. And so I would say start now so that when the time comes to when you need that next opportunity, hopefully you have a great network built on the platform and you can start to kind of, do those one-to-one outreaches about, finding the next opportunity that you’re looking for.

LinkedIn has a lot of different tools. Again, if you are searching for a job that you can utilize, I would not recommend putting the open to work profile banner. if you are currently employed. So that is, that is, you know, one best practice that I would recommend. Just be careful, like know that you have people that you currently work for or previously worked for that are following you.

I would also recommend speaking of your past employers in a positive light. I think just overall people connect more with positivity and people who are kind to others. so that’s always something that I recommend too. But I think the biggest thing ultimately is if you start to build this foundation [00:32:00] of sharing about your.

Authority and the projects that you’ve worked on and the impact that you’ve made in your past experiences that will stand out to people. And you can use that as a trigger to start building connections with maybe potential brands you wanna work with or people you wanna work for. And so start that and then also parallel it and combine it with, reaching out to new network connections on the platform.

And so when that new network connection goes to follow you, they. See all of this amazing work that you’ve done in the past, and it helps boost your authority for a potential role that you’re looking for. But again, keep it positive. Maybe keep things on a private sector through messages, depending on what you’re looking to do, and depending on if you’re currently employed or not.

So just be careful and I think overall, ask yourself, is this the right thing I should be sharing publicly right now? but overall, just build your authority, focus on that, sharing valuable content, talking about what you’ve done in the past, and opportunities will come from it.

Jeff Sieh: That’s awesome. You mentioned net networking a little [00:33:00] bit earlier, and one of the things is, I’ve, I didn’t go out searching for a network, but it just happened organically and I think that’s kinda the best way. ’cause I just, I know cool people. Like I can ask Cassie, like, Hey, I need help with my media kit.

Conor Brown: Oh, Cassie’s talked about that. I can ask her. Or Connor, he, I need to, how do I get to this restaurant and still make galaxies, you know, whatever at whatever. He’s a great guy for all that stuff. I think we need to work on what? I’m a good

Jeff Sieh: Yeah, you’re, you’re good. I know, I just, I was really, I was really struggling. I had to dig deep for that one, so, we’ll, we’ll fix it in post.

one of the things about that is LinkedIn’s algorithm favors engagement, and the one way I was able to network with people is I would just comment on their posts. I wasn’t trying to get anything. I was just like, Hey, this is really good, Cassie, what you just said there that really resonated and ask a follow up question.

So. Other than that, what are some strategies that you recommend for increasing visibility and interaction on the posts that you’re putting out?

Cassie Tucker: Yeah. So a couple things. I think number one, we already talked [00:34:00] about, uh, this relatability factor. So shareability like creating content that people would resonate with, especially your ideal followers, the people you’re looking to build your network with. And, that’s gonna ultimately help with shareability and just.

Getting your name out there and when people share your content, that opens the door to new eyeballs on your content and on your profile. And I think the other thing too is don’t be afraid to tell people or ask people for a specific action in your post. I mean, I would say don’t overdo it like in every single post, don’t be like, let me know what you think in the comments below.

Like you can kind of switch it up and there’s different ways to ask for that, that engagement. But a lot of times when people are reading a post or uh, looking at content, they don’t really. Know that they’re supposed to do anything with that piece of content or think about it until they’re asked to. So I think thinking about what is, again, the goal of that piece of content and, asking for someone to share their own, experience in the comments or maybe share it with a friend who would [00:35:00] resonate with it.

And so test some of those calls to action or CTAs in your, your copy. And that’s gonna help with that engagement too. And that goes with. Any social media platform, right? So, I think just overall that, but the relatability factor is huge. And also, as I mentioned, the hot takes are really good for shareability.

Like people love to have dialogue and conversation around those, so those will help occasionally too.

Jeff Sieh: Awesome.

Conor Brown: love it. Chris Stone is from cast ahead. He’s wondering about Open to Work, but he’s more. Open to work for food. Is that okay? Till you on LinkedIn he gets hungry and I think, I think that’s appropriate for two reasons. One, it’s pie day and we have a pie framework we want to talk about, which is great. so Cassie, you’ve highlighted this, this pie framework, performance, image, perform, and exposure.

Can you just kind of talk about that framework a little bit and, and kind of dive into how that can help and how people [00:36:00] can apply that model to strengthen their own LinkedIn presence.

Cassie Tucker: Yeah. Well, I wanna know first if this was intentional, if Jeff, uh, planned this on purpose with pie day. ’cause it’s very fitting.

Jeff Sieh: I did.

Cassie Tucker: Yeah, I love it. no, so the pie framework is essentially this. This framework for achieving new opportunity for getting to the next step in your career. And, the three categories.

So performance in this framework, and this is based off of a book, I believe the author is HJ Coleman. So he coined this. And essentially the idea is that performance is actually the lowest percentage, for achieving that next opportunity. Image, as well as, exposure are the two biggest categories. And the idea is that image is the way that you’re perceived by others.

How do you perceive yourself? How do you present yourself? And then exposure is getting in front of the right people. And with LinkedIn specifically. There’s all of those factors involved, right? You have [00:37:00] this performance to portray, but it’s also asking yourself again, what is my intention for this platform?

How do I wanna be portrayed? Who do I want to get in front of? And with exposure, it’s just making sure you’re getting your name out there to the right people. And a lot of times it’s those network connections or the people you’re exposed to that will potentially lead to that next opportunity. I will say for me personally, a lot of the opportunities that I’ve landed, I’m very grateful for.

For, but a lot of them have started with me getting exposed to the right people and so making sure I am putting on the right image, I’m crafting my image in an intentional way so that when I do get face-to-face time with the people that could help me lead to that next opportunity, I’m really landing that.

So, that’s kind of overall, yes. Performance is important. Yes. What you’re doing, the work you’re doing is huge, but overall, what is that image that you’re portraying or your personal brand that you’re portraying and making sure you’re getting eyeballs on your stuff by the right people who help land that next opportunity for [00:38:00] you.

Jeff Sieh: That’s awesome and. And Chris says now he’s one, he’s changed it to open to work for Key lime pie because of pie

day. So that’s, that is great. now it’s not anybody on this screen or in the comments, but a lot of professionals hesitate to share content on LinkedIn because they don’t think they have anything valuable to say.

So what advice would you give those people, who struggle with imposter syndrome on what to post on LinkedIn?

Cassie Tucker: Yeah. I think ultimately, no matter what level in your career you’re at, no matter what level in business you’re at, you have a specific, unique story to yourself, and you have something that you can pass along to someone else. Whether it’s someone one step behind you, people three steps ahead of you, you have your own unique story to share and your own unique experience.

I get this question a lot. From young professionals who haven’t graduated college yet, for example, and I always tell them, I’m like, there’s people in high school who are getting on the platform. There’s people who are looking [00:39:00] for advice from someone figuring it out in college. They’re a sophomore, and they’re wondering what’s next?

And what should I be doing now to get myself to the next level? Share that in the weeds experience like you don’t. Also have to have it fully figured out right now. But even just sharing with people, Hey, this is what I’m thinking about. What do you think? and starting to strengthen the connection that way.

I will also say too, a lot of with imposter syndrome is caring about what other people think. You know, I’m gonna say something and someone’s gonna think this is silly, or I’m not eloquent, or whatever. And I always tell people, chances are what? If other people are thinking about, or what you think other people are thinking about you is not actually happening.

Um, we are own biggest critics and so just not being afraid to put yourself out there and even if you do say something silly, so what, like someone’s gonna forget about it in two seconds anyways, and it’s really not a big deal. And. I think just owning who you are. I think that confidence takes time to build, but I think also the confidence really comes from knowing who [00:40:00] you are, knowing your stuff, you know, building out that image, what do I wanna be known for?

And really stepping into that and sharing content around that. And, uh, you’ll start to build connections over time. And it’s never too early to start, in my opinion.

Jeff Sieh: Yeah, that is a great point. Yeah. So we do kind of focus too much on what we do. I, I totally agree with that. So. we’re talking today all about LinkedIn. If you’re just joining us, and by the way. one of the things that we do on LinkedIn is to go LinkedIn live. And so we’re live on there now, which is very, very cool.

And we’re able to do that with this amazing tool called Ecamm. And I’m doing that right here, being able to pull up comments and everything. Uh, Ecamm dot com slash Jeff, you can save, 15% by using code Jeff 15 at checkout. And one of the cool things is, is I just read that even YouTube is now. highlighting live more, like there was a report that went out, came out last week that they’re really starting to push more live content.

I think it’s because of the, the rise of ai and you don’t know what’s real or not. And I think podcast and this kind of stuff and where you can talk [00:41:00] directly to our audience is what makes. Live video. So cool. So if you wanna do that, you wanna learn how to do it on a Mac, you can use Ecamm Ecamm dot com slash Jeff.

and we’ve got a great comment here really quick. We talked about building your brand just a minute ago by Cassie and Gary says. I gotta say, Cassie has an awesome looking website. Such a nicely designed online president. I’m telling you, she’s all her stuff is good. So, make sure you follow her.

We’ve been talking about, and I’m bringing it up for you guys who are listening to the podcast. we actually have right here, marketing Happy Hour. It’s marketing happy hr.com. So marketing happy hr.com. For you guys listening on the podcast, go and check that out. Give her a rating and review. That always helps podcasters out.

Conor Brown: Live is also great for building connections and building community. That’s why we love doing live and seeing people show up. but we also know that LinkedIn is, is huge for building connections, right? but Cassie, you [00:42:00] emphasize that it’s not just about collecting connections, right? It’s not just about.

Getting to that 500 plus connections on your LinkedIn profile, right? It’s about actually building meaningful relationships. I think it can start as easy as what Jeff was saying simply by consistently commenting on, on people’s posts and engaging with that kind of content and that connection can form from that.

But what, how do you think. Professionals should approach networking on LinkedIn to make those real connections, right? Not just those online post comment reaction connections, but like meaningful connections where you have a relationship, you know, you, you can vouch for someone, you can look out for them, and, and likewise for you, what would you say a good approach for that on LinkedIn is?

Cassie Tucker: Yeah. So I think first of all, again, we go back to the why, like what is the intention with connecting with a specific person. So going back to your goals for the platform, like what are you looking to do ultimately, is it to land a [00:43:00] job with. A specific company or, step into a specific opportunity, land certain clients.

And so starting to think about who those ideal connections are that you need to build in order to get to where you’re going to go, but also looking at connections and just professional relationships in general Beyond that too, yes, we can maybe have an idea of something we would want to. Down the road, get from that relationship.

But ultimately just connecting with people at a human level and connecting with them as you would a friend or a family member. And that goes with intention, and I think ultimately that first touch point should be a little bit more thought out than just a quick connection request or, hey, would love to connect, or, Hey, buy my product or whatever.

I do not recommend selling on the first touchpoint. Ever, like in any circumstance. And we receive so many, so many messages like that on a regular basis. And so really the easiest way just to stand out from the noise is bottom line, [00:44:00] making it personalized. So when you reach out to someone, do your research quickly and just analyze their profile.

Is there a relatability factor that you can touch on? did you all go to the same school? Did they work for a company that you really liked? Did they recently collaborate with a campaign that. You really loved and sharing why you loved it. And so telling someone first and foremost why you wanna connect with them too.

Like what is the goal of that connection? do you wanna learn more about the brand that they work for or their experience? Do you wanna hear their story? Do you wanna invite them onto your podcast, for example? So using that as more of a soft touchpoint starting out and then. Over time, nurturing that connection and maybe down the road it’ll lead to something you never know, but I wouldn’t force it to.

I think ultimately opportunities come with just genuine connection with other people and relationships. and even if you’re not planning to get anything out of that relationship, bottom line relationships, as I mentioned, have been a huge piece that have led to opportunities [00:45:00] and most of those opportunities I.

Did not intend to come out of that, but that’s what happens when you, start to connect with people in an intentional way.

Jeff Sieh: So on that same note, Cassie, so we, my team is the producer, one of the producers for Guy Kawasaki’s Remarkable People Podcast. So that all came from way back in the day. And here we go. Chris Stone and Dustin Stout, Google Plus. I remember, I can trace it all the way back as I went in there and, and my friend p Fitzpatrick ran his social media and I just thought Peg was posting cool stuff.

And so I commented on that Peg and I became friends. We’ve done stuff together. And then a guy said, Hey, I need to do a podcast. And Peg called me up, says, Hey, do you. Do you know how to do this? I’m like, okay. Yeah. And was I thinking that when I first made that comment into pegs? No. I was just like, Hey, this is a cool person.

Let’s talk. And it developed over time, I mean, like 10 years.

So these relationships, like you were saying, Cassie, they, they have opportunities that you don’t even think about or fathom at the time. You’re just, [00:46:00] you’re just being a human really and, and connecting with people. So I really like what you said about that because I think it’s so important to not to go out for this.

Hard sell right at the beginning. And that leads to another question for you. And, uh, Chris has this, and he says, sometimes after joining a LinkedIn live, I get bombarded from participants in my dms feeling like they’re trying to sell me something, even though I don’t really quote know them. Any tips for responding?

So how do you re Yeah. How do you handle those kind of spammy requests, I guess.

Cassie Tucker: Yeah. So, I mean, it’s completely up to you whether or not you respond first and foremost. Like, what do you not feel like you have to respond to every salesy request. However, I think it also does show that you’re a great human being if you say something right and show that you’re listening and you respond and engage with your community.

So I would even just say something as simple as, thank you so much for watching or listening. We’ll keep this in mind for the future. Appreciate you reaching out. Like keep it super baseline and simple. You don’t have [00:47:00] to promise anything. you don’t have to, you know, step into a discovery call for something that you’re not necessarily interested in, but just let people know that you hear them and you thank them for reaching out.

And just show, show the appreciation for the consideration. I don’t think you really, to be honest, have to say more than that, but I think people just knowing that you’re there to listen and to respond to dms and comments, um, shows a lot about you too.

Jeff Sieh: Awesome.

Conor Brown: You know, I think there’s, there’s also this thing of sending a cold connection request, right? So we wanna connect with someone on LinkedIn. I always say you gotta do it through the desktop, so you can add in that little uh uh. Personalized message so that you can show, Hey, I know you from X or this is why I’m, I’m trying to connect verse, just getting a random connection that says this person wants to connect with you and, and no reason at all.

what do you think Cassie is the best way to. Not only add that note,to reach out to someone new on LinkedIn, but also, to get them to respond right. To get [00:48:00] them to say, yes, I’m cool. Connecting, like, what’s the key to, to that note and to, to a cold quote unquote connection.

Cassie Tucker: Yeah. So I think first of all, call them out by name. I, I, it shows that your response hopefully isn’t always just this templated copy and paste thing. So call them out by name. Make sure you spell their name correctly, because that is definitely important. And I cannot tell you how many times people have reached out to me, and I know mistakes are made, like things happen, right?

But like, take your time to read over the message and make sure you’re spelling someone’s name right. Uh, show that you care and, and you’re paying attention. and then. Also too, I really do think that personal tie in or that relatability feature will help increase chances for responses. So, going a little bit deep on that, I know that that takes a little extra time when crafting that connection request, but it goes such a long way.

And like I said, it really stands out to people when you took the time to pay attention to what they’re working on or what they’ve done in the past, or what’s something that can kind of [00:49:00] spark a conversation, with them. And so that. In and of itself, I think is, is huge. And so just making sure you’re doing that.

You know, call ’em out by name. Hey Connor, hey Jeff, I saw this. Or I sh I saw that you posted about AI at a, you know, conference that you just spoke at. Um, here’s why this means something to me. Or Here’s what stood out to me about your post, or, I also grew up in Wisconsin, or whatever it is. And so just making sure you tie in that relatability feature and that helps spark that.

Really human like basic personal conversation that then the professional layer of things can build onto that over time.

Conor Brown: it’s funny because on LinkedIn my profile is R period, Connor Brown, and that was a, a branding decision, but I also go by my middle name, so I don’t wanna confuse anyone. But whenever I get a message that says, Hey, our period Connor, I’m like, well, this is totally a bot, or it’s one of those, you know, sponsored posts or whatever.

And I know the personalization [00:50:00] has just gone out the window completely. So it’s so funny that that first thing, just the name itself is so, so, so crucial.

Cassie Tucker: Yep. Yep. Exactly. Yeah, I, a lot of times like, I mean, I’ll respond still mostly to people who spell my name wrong or like, you know, call me a completely different name. I’ve gotten that too, by the way. Um, which. Yeah, like, I’ll respond sometimes still, but it’s also, it just sets that tone for that outreach.

Like you’re like, is this person actually caring to connect with me? Or, or whatever. So I highly recommend just, again, doing your due diligence. Just take a quick second, read over that post and make sure you’re spelling everything correctly too. Just like setting the tone for professionalism in general.

But yeah, it’s really important.

Jeff Sieh: Yeah, and you probably get this a lot Cassie too, ’cause of your podcast. But, uh, so many people pitched themselves to be on your show and you can tell they’ve never listened to the show at all. Like, and you’re just like, come on. Like, really? Does this really work? Anyway, it’s kind of funny. the last [00:51:00] question I want to, run by you is, you know.

LinkedIn’s growing. It’s, it’s focusing on community and collaboration. So what trends do you see shaping the future of networking on LinkedIn? I.

Cassie Tucker: Yeah. I think again, the relatability human factor is gonna continue to come into play. I think just. In general, um, as we’re coming out of the pandemic or we’re out of it now, but people are still looking for that one-to-one connection and feeling like they’re seen and heard. And so creating content overall that helps people feel understood or relates to them in some way is really important.

And also just going deeper with people, you know, checking in with people on a regular basis. So with connections, for example, not just connecting with them the first time and then never speaking to them again. It’s. How can you connect with them on a regular basis? Maybe once a quarter, check in, see what they’re working on, see how they’ve been.

if you see them post about something that they’re working on, shoot them a quick message and say, Hey, I saw this. Like, this [00:52:00] is really awesome. I love that you did X, Y, Z. and so just. Follow up. And again, intention with each of those relationships are gonna continue to be important. And then I think overall, just that surface level reach and, and bringing new people into your sphere is the storytelling, getting a little bit vulnerable and transparent on the platform.

And then going a little bit technically, a big focus on video, especially on LinkedIn too. So sharing more video content, utilizing the new features and the things and the focuses that LinkedIn has on the platform. Self and just paying attention to that stuff. But I think ultimately relatability, connecting with people on a human level is always gonna stand the test of time.

And so continuing to focus on that I think is gonna be really important this year and beyond.

Jeff Sieh: Well, Cassie, this has been awesome. So much. Great advice, folks. If you ever have a chance to see Cassie speak, at a conference like she was at Pod Fest, she’s at Momentum. She’s amazing. So you guys need to check her out and her podcast. But Cassie, I wanna let you tell people [00:53:00] where the best place they could find you or what you got coming up.

Any, you know, giveaways you have. So, Cassie, the floor is now yours.

Cassie Tucker: Oh, thank you guys so much for having me. First of all, I love talking about LinkedIn. It’s my favorite platform. So, as you see on the screen, marketing, happy hr dot com is where you can find my podcast. but also I’m Cassie Tucker, C-A-S-S-I-E, Tucker on LinkedIn. come connect with me there. I do have a LinkedIn post prompts freebie that I’m more than happy to send you.

If you send me a connection request on LinkedIn, I’ll shoot that over to you. but excited to chat and to learn more about what you’re working on too.

Jeff Sieh: Awesome. Connor Brown. What is the amazing unsinkable Connor Brown up to these days?

Conor Brown: Oh, so much, so much. Listen, we’re in the thick of spring break, but we gotta start thinking, what are we gonna do for the summer? Right? Where are you? Going, how can I help? we were talking a little bit before. Cassie is the co-host of the Discover Universal Podcast, all about the universal parks. There’s a brand new theme park opening in Orlando from [00:54:00] Universal, it’s called Epic Universe.

It’s opening at the end of May of this year. If you want to go, you wanna check out all the awesome Lands. Tickets are on sale. Vacation packages are on sale. Reach out to me, Connor, C-O-N-O-R, at vacation kingdoms.com. Follow me at Vacation Kingdoms across the social medias always great. Get to talk to Cassie.

It’s the best. We love having you all.

Jeff Sieh: yes. Thank you so much, Cassie. Thank you. to our sponsors, uh, Ecamm. You find out more about them at Ecamm dot com slash jeff, and we would be able to do this without our amazing, audience. Thank you guys so much. This show is so much fun. Fridays are one of my. My favorite days of the week.

Uh, special thanks to Gary, Dustin over at Magi. Chris Stone over at Casta ahead. everybody who left a comment or a question, this is such an amazing, amazing show. And with that, we’ll see you guys next week. Have a great weekend. Bye everybody.