WEBINAR: LinkedIn for Social Impact Communicators in 2024

Summary

In this webinar, Sean Gibbons and Tanya introduce strategies for leveraging LinkedIn as a social impact communicator. They discuss the platform's unique advantages, including its trusted environment and high user engagement, and provide actionable tips on using LinkedIn for networking, thought leadership, and team building. The session includes real-world examples, practical advice on profile optimization, and prompts for creating engaging content, emphasizing the importance of human connection and authenticity in professional online interactions.

Takeaways

• 🎉 The webinar is designed to engage participants through a two-word check-in practice, encouraging attendees to share their status and foster a sense of community.
• 🗣 The Communications Network has a robust Slack community of over 2,200 members, providing a platform for networking and support among global colleagues.
• 🔄 The 'Circles' program connects members based on shared interests, identities, or organizational roles, enhancing professional relationships and collaboration.
• 📹 The webinar will be recorded and made available on YouTube for free, ensuring accessibility to the content for those who cannot attend live.
• 🤝 Local groups are organizing meetups across the country, offering opportunities for in-person networking and community building for both members and non-members.
• 🎯 LinkedIn is identified as the preferred social platform for the majority of the Communications Network's members, highlighting its importance in professional networking and content sharing.
• 📈 LinkedIn's algorithm favors content from its users, providing longer visibility for posts compared to other platforms, making it an effective tool for reaching a wider audience.
• 💼 LinkedIn members are more likely to donate to nonprofits and are considered more credible sources of information, emphasizing the platform's value for social impact professionals.
• 📊 Only a small percentage of LinkedIn users post regularly, indicating a potential opportunity for increased engagement and influence for those who utilize the platform.
• 👤 The webinar encourages participants to share their perspectives and stories on LinkedIn to build a trusted brand and deeper influence within their sector.
• 🛠️ The session provides practical advice on leveraging LinkedIn for professional development, networking, and thought leadership, including strategies for content creation and profile optimization.

Q & A

What is the purpose of the 'two-word check-in' practice used in the webinar?

The 'two-word check-in' is a practice borrowed from Professor Brené Brown to help participants quickly express how they are feeling at the start of the session, fostering a sense of community and engagement.

Why is the Communications Network's Slack community beneficial for its members?

The Slack community is beneficial as it allows members to connect with over 2,200 people globally, exchange ideas, seek help, build new relationships, and participate in the Circles program for more focused networking.

What is the Circles program in the Communications Network, and how does it work?

The Circles program is a feature within the Slack community that connects members based on shared issues, identities, or roles within their organizations, facilitating more targeted and meaningful interactions.

How are the local groups within the Communications Network different from the Slack and Circles programs?

Local groups are geographically based and host in-person gatherings, making them more accessible for members in the same area. Unlike Slack and Circles, participation in local groups is open to all, not just network members.

What is the significance of LinkedIn as a platform for social impact communicators according to the webinar?

LinkedIn is significant because it is the most preferred and trusted social media platform among the sector, with a high percentage of its members being more likely to donate to nonprofits and engage with content that aligns with their values.

What are some strategic ways to use LinkedIn as discussed in the webinar?

Strategic ways include finding the right people for board positions or partnerships, individually connecting with donors and supporters, being seen and seeing others in the sector, raising the profile of organizational representatives, and using LinkedIn for PR and event promotion.

How can LinkedIn be used to build thought leadership within an organization?

LinkedIn can be used to showcase the expertise of organizational leaders by sharing insights, opinions, and experiences related to the field. It also allows for engagement with peers and influencers in the comments section of posts.

What is the 'lazy on LinkedIn' approach mentioned by the speaker, and how does it work?

The 'lazy on LinkedIn' approach is a strategy to spend one hour on the platform doing intentional activities that drive impact. It includes posting content, engaging with others through comments and messages, running searches for new connections, and repurposing existing assets into shareable content.

How can LinkedIn profiles be optimized to better represent individuals and their work?

Profiles can be optimized by updating the headline to tell a one-sentence story about the individual's work, using the about section to share personal passion and vision, adding a link to a relevant website or resource, and featuring the best work in the featured section.

What are some examples of content that can be shared on LinkedIn to build trust and engagement?

Examples include self-reflections, lifting up others, sharing opinions and perspectives on industry trends or misconceptions, celebrating milestones, and repurposing existing assets like articles or event highlights.

How can employees or board members be encouraged to become ambassadors for their organization on LinkedIn?

Leadership should model and mentor this behavior, create a culture of reflection and sharing, provide training on optimizing profiles and crafting posts, and celebrate successes to encourage buy-in and participation.

Outlines

00:00

🎉 Introduction and Check-In

Sean Gibbons from the Communications Network initiates a webinar with a warm welcome and introduces the 'two-word check-in' practice. He encourages participants to use the chat feature to share their names and how they are doing. Sean highlights the rapid growth of the Network's Slack community and promotes the 'Circles' program for networking based on shared interests or roles. He also mentions the recording of webinars for later access and the upcoming local group gatherings, emphasizing the value of in-person connections within the Network.

05:01

📢 Network Updates and Upcoming Events

Sean provides updates on the Network's activities, including the popularity of the Slack community and the 'Circles' program. He announces the recording of webinars and their availability on YouTube, and teases upcoming local group events in various cities like Seattle, LA, Atlanta, and Denver. Sean also discusses the Network's research findings on social media preferences among professionals, highlighting LinkedIn as the preferred platform. He concludes by introducing the next speaker, Tanya, and her expertise in leveraging LinkedIn for social impact.

10:03

🔍 The Strategic Value of LinkedIn

Tanya discusses the strategic importance of LinkedIn for social impact communicators, addressing misconceptions about the platform and emphasizing its trustworthiness and user engagement. She presents data showing LinkedIn's higher likelihood of users donating to nonprofits and its status as a credible source of information. Tanya also highlights the benefits of LinkedIn's algorithm for reaching existing contacts and the platform's role in professional identity and trust.

15:05

📈 LinkedIn's Evolution and Misconceptions

Tanya reflects on LinkedIn's evolution from a job-seeking platform to a networking and thought leadership hub. She addresses common misconceptions such as the intimidation factor, the belief that self-promotion is boastful, and the notion that LinkedIn is only for job hunting. Tanya encourages participants to view LinkedIn as a humanized platform for connection and to share their experiences and insights.

20:06

🤝 Utilizing LinkedIn for Professional Networking

The speaker outlines various ways to use LinkedIn for professional networking, including finding and connecting with influential individuals, using direct messages for personalized outreach, and researching people for relationship cultivation. Tanya emphasizes the platform's searchability and the ability to engage with content and individuals to foster professional relationships.

25:08

💼 Enhancing Organizational Visibility and Team Culture

Tanya explains how LinkedIn can be used to raise the profile of organizational figures as thought leaders and to build team camaraderie by sharing achievements and milestones. She discusses the impact of leadership visibility on talent attraction and retention, and the importance of storytelling in breaking down stigmas and promoting organizational missions.

30:08

📝 Content Creation and Employee Engagement

The speaker provides strategies for content creation on LinkedIn, focusing on the importance of individual voices over organizational pages. Tanya suggests that employees can be deputized as ambassadors for the organization's mission, sharing personal stories and perspectives to build trust and engagement. She also addresses the challenges of getting executive buy-in and offers strategies for fostering a culture of reflection and sharing.

35:09

🌟 Showcasing Individuality and Human Connection

Tanya highlights the importance of showing up on LinkedIn as an individual, not just a job title, and shares examples of leaders who effectively use the platform to share personal stories and professional experiences. She emphasizes the value of tagging individuals in posts to extend reach and the benefits of being seen as a human being, which fosters trust and connection.

40:10

🛠 Tips for Optimizing LinkedIn Profiles

The speaker offers advice on updating LinkedIn profiles to reflect current roles and personal branding. Tanya suggests using the cover photo for storytelling, customizing the headline to convey a one-sentence story about one's work, and utilizing the 'About' section to share personal passion and involvement with the mission. She also recommends featuring the best work and repurposing existing assets for profile content.

45:10

🚀 Final Thoughts and Encouragement for Consistent Engagement

In conclusion, Tanya emphasizes the strategic value of LinkedIn for social impact professionals and encourages participants to focus on building human-to-human connections. She advises against presenting oneself as merely a resume and instead becoming a resource for others. Tanya also promotes the idea of 'lazy' LinkedIn use, suggesting consistency in small, intentional actions for maximum impact.

Keywords

💡LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a professional networking platform that is central to the video's theme. It is portrayed as a powerful tool for professionals and organizations to build their brand, share their perspectives, and connect with a broader audience. The script discusses various ways to leverage LinkedIn for professional growth and organizational impact, such as sharing thought leadership pieces, celebrating team milestones, and engaging with the community.

💡Webinar

A webinar is an online seminar or lecture that allows participants to learn or interact with the presenter in real-time. In the script, the term 'webinar' refers to the online event being hosted, where the focus is on educating participants about effective use of LinkedIn for professional and organizational advancement.

💡Check-in

The term 'check-in' in the script refers to an interactive practice where participants share their presence and state of being, typically used in meetings or online gatherings to initiate engagement. It is used to welcome and involve participants in the webinar.

💡Slack

Slack is a communication platform used for team collaboration and messaging. In the context of the video, it is mentioned as a resource for network members to connect, chat, and help each other, highlighting its role in fostering a sense of community and support among members.

💡Circles

In the script, 'Circles' refers to a program within the network that allows members to connect with others based on shared interests, identities, or roles within their organizations. It is presented as a method for building relationships and fostering deeper connections among professionals with commonalities.

💡Thought Leadership

Thought leadership is a concept where an individual or organization is recognized as an authority in a field and is able to influence the thinking of others. The script emphasizes the importance of establishing thought leadership on LinkedIn by sharing insights, perspectives, and stories that resonate with and educate the audience.

💡Algorithm

The term 'algorithm' in the script refers to the underlying rules and processes that LinkedIn uses to rank and display content in users' feeds. It is mentioned to explain how LinkedIn's algorithm can naturally promote content from a user's existing network, thereby extending the reach of shared posts.

💡Engagement

Engagement, in the context of social media and the script, refers to the interactions users have with content, such as likes, comments, and shares. The video discusses the importance of engagement as a metric for measuring the impact of posts and as a way to build trust and connection with the audience on LinkedIn.

💡Profile Optimization

Profile optimization involves enhancing one's LinkedIn profile to increase visibility, attractiveness to potential connections, and alignment with personal or organizational branding. The script provides tips on updating the profile, such as using a clear headshot, creating a compelling headline, and featuring the best work to showcase expertise.

💡Content Repurposing

Content repurposing is the process of reformatting and reusing existing content for different platforms or audiences. In the script, it is suggested as a strategy for creating LinkedIn posts by transforming existing materials such as op-eds, publications, or event recaps into digestible and engaging posts for the platform.

💡Camaraderie

Camaraderie refers to the spirit of friendship and trust among a group of people. The script discusses building team camaraderie on LinkedIn by sharing achievements and milestones, which can boost morale and create a sense of pride within the team, as well as project a positive image to external viewers.

💡Ambassadors

In the script, 'ambassadors' refers to individuals within an organization who are encouraged to represent and promote the organization's mission and values on LinkedIn. By sharing their perspectives and stories, these ambassadors can extend the organization's reach and influence, fostering a broader understanding and connection with their network.

Highlights

Introduction of the webinar and the two-word check-in practice for participants to share their status.

Mention of the Slack community for network members and its benefits for professional connections.

Launch of the 'Circles' program to connect members based on shared interests or identities.

Recording of webinars and their availability on YouTube for extended access.

Introduction of local groups and their gatherings to foster in-person connections.

Highlight of the upcoming conference with a near 50% sellout mark, indicating high interest.

Discussion on LinkedIn as the preferred social platform for professionals, with specific statistics.

Importance of LinkedIn for nonprofit organizations and its trustworthiness.

Strategic value of LinkedIn for communicators in the social impact sector.

Poll activity to gauge participants' engagement with posting on LinkedIn.

Tanya's personal experience with LinkedIn as a tool for building a strong voice in the nonprofit sector.

Explanation of LinkedIn's algorithm and how it benefits content visibility.

Discussion on misconceptions about LinkedIn and how it has evolved as a platform.

Strategic ways to use LinkedIn, including finding the right people and building thought leadership.

Importance of storytelling on LinkedIn to break down stigma and build awareness.

Real examples of effective LinkedIn posts from industry leaders.

Advice on how to update and optimize LinkedIn profiles for better engagement.

Content creation strategies for LinkedIn, including prompts and repurposing existing assets.

Encouragement to be consistent with LinkedIn engagement, even if it feels like a slow process.

Conclusion summarizing the strategic uses of LinkedIn and the importance of human connection.

Transcripts

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

it's Sean Gibbons from the

communications Network hope you're doing

well as we're welcoming folks into the

space the my goodness hundreds of you

already coming in right on we're going

to kick off the way we always kick these

things off so if you're a comvet you

know this you've been with us before

we're going to borrow a practice from

Professor brne Brown down at the

University of Houston we're going to do

this thing called the two-word check-in

uh what it looks like is you're going to

crack open the chat should see that

little word bubble chances are from

living that Zoom life you know there's

that word bubble down at the bottom

crack that open make sure you're talking

to it say all participants or might say

everyone Trey's already beat me to this

I was going to say add your name where

are you and then in two words how you

doing and fol are already in here Alyssa

Lena Julia who else chrisy

Trey Stacy oh my goodness Nora Ellen

Katherine Dale okay too fast for me now

gang the waterfall is happening but

suffice to say there's a lot of us in

here today I think there's 1100 folks

who signed up for this webinar so help

each other out if there's questions in

the chat if you can answer them answer

them if you want to say hello to

somebody I think there's a direct

message function or there is a direct

message function so feel free but with

that let's go ahead and tell you a

couple things that are cooking at

Network HQ first one here is slack so we

just welcomed over I guess we are now at

2,200 people in our slack who are

chitchatting and helping each other out

and as you can see here it's only for

network members but it's a great

resource if you have a question tap into

the hive mind of your colleagues around

the globe it's a really wonderful

resource it's also a chance to build new

relationships and through the slack we

also have our circles program which

allows you to connect up with folks uh

based on well I can tell you actually

why do I tell you when I can show you

why don't we go ahead to the next slide

this is what circles is all

about and while we're doing this Wendy

you're asking is this going to be

recorded of course if you are new to the

network we record all of our webinars we

make them available to everyone for free

online at YouTube and so we will toss

something into the chat in a quick

minute for folks who might have need

maybe you can't stick with us for the

full hour but this is what circles is

about is you can see it's connecting you

to folks based on the issue you work on

or maybe an identity you share or maybe

a role that you play inside of your

organization so we've got hundreds of

folks who are part of that we'd love to

see if you're a network member uh Avail

yourself of that if you can it's

absolutely fantastic and we're about to

launch some new ones so keep an eye out

let's move on to the next thing our

locals program we'll show rather than

tell we've got local groups Gathering

across the country because occasionally

as you all know just need to borrow a

cup of sugar and so it's easier to tap

into folks who maybe just live down the

block than folks who maybe live on the

other side of the country or other side

of the planet and so we'll be after this

wraps I'm going to tell you about a

couple of the local groups that are be

gathering in just the next couple of

weeks and of course these are welcome

and open to all you don't have to be a

network member unlike slack and circles

you do not have to be a network number

to participate of course we're happy if

you do but here we

are uh let's see Melissa Roi just sent

her first AI assistant that's

interesting don't know that we've ever

seen that before but okay that's cool um

so get local if you can and we're going

to go ahead and I'm going to tell you

about a couple things we got cooking our

friends in Seattle doing a happy hour uh

literally

this week so hope you can be part of

that in

fact yeah that's today sorry somehow the

not days are coming together for me

later this afternoon if you're on the

west coast and specifically in Seattle

check it out uh online we've got a link

to that but go ahead and join them and I

believe our friends in DC are gathering

today too next slide if we could La I'm

sorry La is gathering uh lovely group of

folks all these wonderful local leaders

shout out to our friend Gabriel who

joined us for our local Summit in DC

recently for our local leaders he just

graduated from John's Hopkins if you

want to congratulate them and you're in

the LA area they're doing a social a

little bit later today right on all

right let's move to the next one our

friends in Atlanta next week if I've got

my timing right are going to be

gathering up and we're incredibly

grateful to all these lovely folks if

you're in the Atlanta area you maybe

occasionally take a stroll around

pedmont Park come hang out with your

colleagues they're awesome uh we just

put a link in so that you can do that

and again our DC crew these are the ogs

the original local group for the network

and look at all these wonderful folks

shout out to Liz OD who just had a brand

new baby maybe not just but fairly

recently congrats to you if you're with

us today and they're going to be

gathering two weeks from now or just a

little over two weeks from now uh in DC

for another summer happy hour great way

to get to know all the folks who live in

your backyard and I see you Julia right

on right on um okay let's move ahead I

think we got Denver and I think this is

our last one our friends in Denver the

day after DC so this is talking like two

weeks and change out uh all these

awesome folks are going to be getting

together and latia I see you she made

her first trip to DC to be part of that

local leader Summit so thank you for

doing that and the group out in Denver

is just awesome so did Curtis I want to

give him a shout out as well all right

with that I think we got a couple more

things hopefully you saw this in your

inbox last week you're part of the

Network's uh email list we started to

announce some of the stuff we've got

cooking for Kansas City and we just put

a link in here so you can I won't yack

at you too much but suffice to say uh

there's a bunch of really wonderful

stuff we have planned should also tell

you we're just shy of the 50% sellout

Mark which is crazy we literally have

almost 500 people signed up for the

conference now which just blows my mind

cuz we aren't even into June but it does

seem like we're on track for a sellout

so if you're aiming to be with us I

would encourage you gently uh but but

fervently please get signed up because

we are going to sell out it sure looks

that way all right let's move along I

think I got one more uh and we put this

slide up for a particular reason which

is hopefully you've seen we've started

doing some research and we'll have a

link in here so you can see all we found

we asked folks about what they think

about the upcoming elections we asked

them a little bit about some of the

social channels they use we talked about

missing disinformation tried to discover

where folks were at on some of those

challenges and one of the things we

learned was LinkedIn by a country mile

maybe this is why yall are here but

LinkedIn by a country mile is in fact

the preferred social platform for folks

meta uh Twitter or whatever we're

calling that these days and some of the

other folk things out there insta not so

much um so we'll talk a little bit more

about that in this webinar but if you

want all that data if it's useful to you

we've got it available for free for all

through that link so check that out

please um and then coming up June the

20th if I'm remember incorrectly we've

got another webinar so mark your your

calendars and we will send out an invite

for this in short order we're going to

talk about comedy and why so many of us

tune in to comedians to help us kind of

parse through and make sense of the

world that we find um so we'll chat a

little bit about that and some of the

science behind it really excited about

that so please mark your calendars and

then finally I think I'm ready to pass

it off but before I do I just want to

give a quick shout out to our friend

Kenya who is offering ASL services and

she has been with quite a bit of

dexterity and skill trying to keep up

with my motor mouth so thank you Kenya

and I'm going to embarrass you a little

bit uh for those of you who've been with

us for a while you may remember Kenya

got married last year and she just had

her wedding anniversary so one year in

the books for her and her husband

congratulations wonderful wonderful news

right on and with that let me get out of

everybody's way oh the hearts right on I

love seeing that gang we've got uh I

think over 1100 folks signed up for this

webinar so there's a lot of folks in

here we will have a chance to ask a few

questions you'll put them in the Q&A box

but then at the end of this hour stick

around cuz we've got office hours set up

so so if you have a specific question

and you want to talk to Tanya directly

we've got a means for you to do that

we'll put the link in the chat uh

towards the end of the uh end of the

hour here and we'll have another 30

minutes for you to ask questions

directly with uh Tanya so with that let

me get out of everybody's way and

welcome Tanya onto the stage thank you

so much for all of your expertise she's

wonderful we're all going to learn a lot

gang and I'll see you on the other side

Tanya over to you perfect thank you Sean

so much and thank you everybody for

welcoming me in um and well welcome to

you to this session about LinkedIn so as

you know I'm Tanya I work with people

who are in the business of serving

others right of making a ripple effect

and I work with them to share their

perspectives and stories on LinkedIn to

build a trusted brand and deeper

influence in the sector and before I did

all that I was a nonprofit Ed myself uh

of a women's addiction treatment program

here in Orange County California and I

use LinkedIn heavily to build a strong

and loud voice as a relatively smaller

shop compared to other programs

throughout the nation so I'm just really

personally passionate about encouraging

as many change makers as possible to hop

on the platform because I've seen

personally how powerful of a tool it can

be so let's get into it uh you all saw

you know Sean just mentioned the

communications network does research and

so the timing of this is pretty perfect

we see 74% of organizations are

investing time in LinkedIn if you

compare that to Instagram at 43%

Facebook at 25% it's just you know by

wide Mar margin it's the it's the

preferred platform and so we know this

to be true we see it in the research we

see it in the data but I am curious to

know if this is true for you personally

and so we want to kick things off with a

little temperature check and we're going

to go ahead and put a little poll up and

we just want to know like how many of

you have taken a moment recently to

really sit down and reflect on an issue

a trend something happening in your

organization uh something going on in

your World professionally personally

shared those thoughts on LinkedIn right

never over 3 months ago in the last

quarter maybe you do it often no right

or wrong answer no shame or blame either

way uh just just wanting to know so go

ahead and cast your

vote and we will see where we

[Music]

stand yeah so let's see

I'm really curious I have a I have a

hunch of what's going to show up here

but let's give it just a few more

seconds and Kareem you want to share

what the results

are okay all right so kind of all across

the board you know so some that I've

never posted which is actually very

common we've got a lot of people on

LinkedIn who are active users but don't

necessarily share on the platform um

sometime in the last quarter or okay so

we we're kind of all across the board so

that is really helpful to

know all right so now that we've got a

sense of where we all kind of are I want

to go ahead and set the table for what

we're going to talk about today so first

what is the Strategic value of LinkedIn

why should we invest our time there as

as social impact

communicators um we're going to tackle a

a couple of misconceptions and truths

we're going to talk about some strategic

ways 10 strategic ways that you can

actually use it along with some real

examples from the field of how others

have um we're going to talk about using

your team your board your staff as

ambassadors you know because they really

are the most powerful you know tool you

have in your toolkit to build your

influence on LinkedIn we're going to

talk about some different ways to think

about success because it's you know

getting likes feels good it's that that

dopamine release but what really matters

in terms of building trust what are some

nonv vanity metrics that we can track

finally we're going to close out with

some suggestions that you can take away

like immediately to begin leveraging the

platform including prompts and how to

update your

profile and then we will have 30 minutes

afterwards for office hours as Sean

mentioned so let's go ahead and dive in

because we've got a lot that we want to

get into all right so we know LinkedIn

is important but as you know you know

when you decide to spend time and energy

on something it means you're maybe

choosing not to do something else and so

we can't do it all nor should should we

try to or want to so maybe you know you

you are LinkedIn curious maybe you know

it's important but you haven't fully

bought in yet so I want to just share

some of the Strategic value ads around

LinkedIn why should LinkedIn be a part

of your toolkit so some of the numbers I

think are interesting here is only 7% of

active LinkedIn users post regularly

meaning at least once in the past three

months if you count reposts which are

just you know when you share something

without any add add refle reflection or

context it jumps to 9% it's still a very

small number and so comparatively on

Instagram 70% of users post regularly

and this is important because LinkedIn

remains comparatively unsaturated you

may have noticed for those of you who do

Post every now and then your content

probably lingers in the feed for longer

just because there's a different ratio

of content to users on LinkedIn your

content actually has a longer shelf life

and I don't want you to take this data

and think it to mean that like people

aren't using

LinkedIn like I mentioned before and as

we saw in the poll results we've simply

got a lot of lurkers people who are

logging in regularly but using it to

read and educate themselves and cheer

other people on see what's going on in

the sector stay in touch with colleagues

they might not be posting and they might

not even be engaging with content but

that doesn't mean they're not

watching right so the next bullet is

that linkedin's algorithm was built for

you know it was it organically puts you

in front of your existing contacts

Network so meaning of course you know

and you you probably know this as you if

you share a post and let's say it's a

picture with you and your board member

and a recent reflection on some on work

you did that is going to Ripple into

that board members contact speeds right

your second degree connection so why is

this important so back in the day when I

was a major gift fundraiser we would

host prospecting sessions and we would

ask our board members and our volunteers

to get together and brainstorm people in

their Network who might be interested in

getting involved and you've probably

done something like that um the LinkedIn

algorithm does this for us it does this

organically and naturally and you know

as your second deegree connections begin

to see your name your work your

organization they are going to build

trust in it over time they're going to

you're going to build name recognition

over time and it just it gets you in

front of people like your existing

audience who is an audience you want to

get to know more of next um LinkedIn

members are 56% more likely than the

average internet user to donate to

nonprofits this is straight from

LinkedIn for nonprofits it's obvious why

this is important so I'm not going to

belabor the point but pretty much people

with affinity for philanthropy and the

ability to support your mission tend to

be on the

platform um next you know LinkedIn is

the most trusted social media site and I

think this might might get to your

question leis I see in the chat so

specifically LinkedIn ranks first in

legitimacy meaning people tend to trust

the platform not to show deceptive

content or fake news it's considered

more credible than a platform like

Facebook so in that same research that

we pointed to earlier um that was put

out by the communications Network that

that data went on to share that

disinformation is a really pervasive

issue right now and social media tends

to be a place where false information

proliferates so LinkedIn is not immune

to this right I want to I just want to

be very clear about this um it's not

immune to this but there's some natural

safeguards in place around the most

egregious versions of sharing false

information simply because your profile

is attached to your professional

business identity right it's attached to

your workplace it's attached to your

livelihood you're not an anonymous um

there's just a different tenor there on

LinkedIn versus say Instagram and this

is uh according to Business Insider so

this is according to Business

Insider um and then finally you know

your profile shows up when people Google

you LinkedIn is a highly trusted site in

the eyes of Google and so it is indexed

by Google in fact I tested this with our

friends Sean and Kareem as well the good

folks that I uh worked with behind the

scenes at the network to put this on and

when I Googled their names they're link

LinkedIn profiles were the first thing

to come up and so why is this important

so even if you choose not to get active

on LinkedIn or share posts on LinkedIn

you are likely engaged in your

professional Community you you or your

Executives that you're wanting to lift

up right so you are applying to speak at

conferences at panels you're doing

research you are writing op-eds and so

you're bound to get Googled and if your

LinkedIn is going to be one of the first

things to show up you know you want to

optimize it in a way that makes people

want to um connect with you and you know

optimize it in a way where people can

take that next step with your

organization or your mission and when

they find

you so um and as far as the question

around is this data worldwide or the US

that's a very good question I don't have

I don't have the answer to that my

assumption is worldwide but I don't

quote me on that I can try to find out

though it um I think you shared that

when I talked about the members are 56%

more likely to give so

um yeah and that and that data is

specific from LinkedIn from nonprofits

so yeah all right

um and you know and it hasn't always

been this way so if we take a very quick

trip down memory lane to the early 2000s

LinkedIn was actually founded in 2003

which actually makes it older than

Myspace and not too much more young

versus AOL or America

Online yeah and we're talking about

individual profiles Bob

um and so many of us were around at this

time some of us might even remember this

might feel familiar to you and so you

can see from the screenshot that back in

its infancy it was kind of like a

digital Rolex I love that I love that

you got on LinkedIn in 2003 so you're

you're you're you're an Oldtimer that's

good um back then it was kind of a place

to try and land your next gig right or

search for people search for jobs find

Services wasn't exactly thrilling right

but but it it got the job done for what

we needed it to do but it has evolved

since then and I've noticed is a lot of

people sometimes still think of it in

terms of how it used to be we have a

picture in our mind of what LinkedIn was

and it kind of got

stuck and so last year or like about six

months ago I was speaking at a

conference for social impact

professionals and I had the opportunity

to ask 150 like nonprofit and social

impact marketers this question when you

think of LinkedIn today what one word

comes to mind right and again no right

or wrong answer but some of the biggest

words on this word cloud make sense

right networking Community Connection

and as a deeply introverted person I did

find a lot of value in using LinkedIn as

almost an asynchronous networking space

that I could pop into and connect with

the people who could move our mission

forward and there's also some smaller

words here that I really want to touch

touch upon briefly because some of these

perceptions can yeah the Uggs are funny

some of these perceptions can stop us

from maximizing the platform right and

so I just want to I I I can't help but

touch upon these just a little bit so

intimidating right overwhelming

complicated for me this brings up that

misconception or that concept that maybe

you're not enough of an expert to post

on LinkedIn that you need more degrees

you need more years of experience you

need more something and I say this even

in this room because just about

everybody that I've worked with from the

first time intern or fellow to the

long-term beloved nationally respected

leader of a large you know well-endowed

organization they have some flavor of

this begin to come up as we begin to

work together and without getting overly

woo woo here like I you know um this is

that inner shoper own that we have

that's trying to protect us and keep us

comfortable and I think what we need to

do if this is ever coming up for us as

we begin to share something on LinkedIn

remember that societal change requires

us to get uncomfortable and so if you

have lived experience in the work your

organization does if you're in the

trenches living your mission it doesn't

really matter if you have a whole bunch

of letters next to your name right it

regardless you are 100% qualified to

share your Reflections right which will

help you connect with someone who needs

to hear them some related words ego

self-promotion

humble brag grandstanding you know um

this brings up the myth that sharing on

LinkedIn is self-serving it is boastful

and Linkedin contains multitudes right

I'm not going to pretend that these

people aren't on there we've seen them

right we've seen them and as

professional comms folks you know that

your work as amazing as it is does not

speak up for itself and it's a

disservice to the work if you're not

showing up on a platform where you know

75% of our of our industry 74% is active

right it knows that they need to be on

there and so it just helps us be a

bridge for the people that we need to

get involved with the next sort of batch

is job hunting job search this is that

myth that LinkedIn is only used to find

a job a lot of people do use it to find

a job however that's not all it's for

anymore it has evolved it's not just a

place where resumés go to kind of die or

where you copy and paste your boring bio

instead of showing up as a resume you

can show up as a res Source on there and

then some of my favorite you know stuffy

ick Ugg you know blah um Tik tok's

corporate

Grandpa and the truth is you know much

like the actual corporate world like

like much like the actual business World

there has been much more of a

humanization of LinkedIn it really has

become a place for people to connect on

a human to human

level and so let's get into some

specific ways we can use LinkedIn today

in 2014 right as social impact

communicator

and you know uh some of these you know

come together but the first piece is

really actively finding the right people

who can drive our organizations forward

board members volunteers Partners

LinkedIn has a vast Network it has a

billion active users and they are

searchable right they're searchable and

so you can filter folks down to find

people with the specific backgrounds

experience and values that align with

what you're looking for so to give you a

specific example I mentioned my

nonprofit career was spent in the

addiction treatment space and we

happened to serve a lot of pilots and we

wanted to connect with influential

people in that industry movers and

shakers who could help us do things like

speak at conferences and events for

Pilots connect us with case managers

help us get a contract with some of the

big Airlines to serve their impaired

professionals right and so we used

LinkedIn to find some of those

connectors and so what you would want to

do is simply use the search bar on the

top and then hit all filters which I put

in that red box there and then you can

fil by things like of course their GE

their geographic location their current

company their past company where they

went to school in the previous example I

mentioned something that I might do is

mental health in the search bar millions

of people would come up right then I

would filter it down by industry and I

would select Aviation and

Airlines and I see my internet's a

little unstable so hopefully it it will

it will get better um then one of my

favorite filter uh things to do is

actually use this filter which is that

they're open to um open to like pro bono

opportunities or open to

Surs did this yesterday I recreated it

once I kind of did this experiment I

came up with about 300 who were who are

involved with mental health work they're

in the aviation industry and they're

teering or serve on a board are

extremely aligned specific

people that uh I should get to know

right that I should have gotten to know

and you can do this with your own

context you can ask if you can do this

with your

board fun you know with people who are

commit helping you get the word out

there so that's one thing and it's a

good segue into you know as com shops a

lot of us might think of LinkedIn as a

place to communicate one to many like we

are using a megaphone almost to like

yell into the crowd I want you to

remember it also is a tool to

individually connect with just certain

people donors supporters Partners

reporters thought leaders you know

because sometimes reaching out to these

individuals can feel like trying to get

through to Fort Knox right even if we

are already relationship with them but

you can send a direct message right you

can email to someone you're not

connected to and this is important while

a you know an assistant scheduler might

Gat keep someone's email I have that

decision makers often manage their own

LinkedIn profiles right and vice versa

it's a way for you to hear from people

you have positively affected you know

even in Years Gone by um plus you can

send voice notes you can send video

messages through Linkedin direct message

it doesn't just have to be text

based um and just to answer this

question right really quick it's not

necessarily through hashtags you can

search for things like Corporate social

responsibility Mental Health pilot

climate Justice you know I would test it

out and I would just test the search and

kind of start to see what comes up and

Jenna yes you you do have to pay for

inmail the um the Premium Accounts come

with inmail you get you know between 10

and 15 uh to start um I would start with

testing it out for free you know and and

going from there you know but I I have

found it be to be a very valuable way to

get through to people that I otherwise

just could not right I just could not

um the next three I kind of looped

together I would summarize this slide

into being seen and seeing others so in

terms of researching folks yes there are

many there are databases and online

resources that we have available to use

but you know on LinkedIn people are

sharing their interests their

connections where they're speaking um

where they're attending conferences

right who they're partnering with lots

of things that can support and influence

our relationship

cultivation for nonprofits or for folks

that are seeking funding you know our

funders are on there right funders are

on there um board members program

officers CSR representatives and you can

use it to stay on top of what's

happening in their space you can engage

with them you can comment on their stuff

to begin a relationship and then of

course if you are collaborating with

like missioned organizations which I

know you are which I know you you know I

know you are sharing content and stories

about these collaborations and their

impact can help um get you in front of

your colleagues you know funding

ecosystem as well and I I think that's a

good thing for everyone and for Grant

makers it's really just the other side

of the same coin we live in an era where

brand identity is important and who you

are matters right the people who are

involved in your mission matters and so

for Grant makers and Foundations

specifically LinkedIn is just a great

way to share cont content that

highlights grantees introduce grantees

to each other by virtue of you know

sharing stories about what they're doing

um again it's a place to see others and

to be

seen the next piece you know because

LinkedIn is a top social media platform

in our sector it stands to reason that

it is also the platform probably the

best platform to raise the profile of

your people as trusted thought leaders

and I know for some

people the even the term thought leader

can feel a little icky or or bagous some

alternative phrases that I might offer

are you know go-to voices practiced

guides key figures you know people who

are ahead of the curve who are on top of

the trends in your field and you know as

Sean mentioned in the beginning Twitter

or X was a very important place to do

this but as we have all seen it you know

that that has evolved as Twitter has

evolved as well

um you we all know and we all often say

that everyone in your organization is a

communicator

and this puts this into practice in a

very real way so yes this slide does say

Executives but this applies to anybody

on your team right because your

colleagues tell the story of your

organization better than your com shop

can right because they voices travel

further than your organizational page so

according to LinkedIn for nonprofits the

average medium-sized nonprofit has

roughly 3,000 followers I don't know

what it is for foundations but you know

let's say the average social impact has

about 3,000 followers but if you have a

team of about 50 people right and you

know if you don't you can include your

board in that you can includ your

Volunteers in that and they each have

500 followers on their individual

profile that's 25,000 people in that

sphere of influence so even if a handful

of your team right is sharing their

perspectives and their stories you are

collectively reaching the same number of

people if not more and but there's just

naturally more trust there because it's

shared through a personal Bond a human-

to human

relationship yeah it's just far more

effective than shouting from the

organizational page boot this is a

really good question I would love it if

LinkedIn made it easier for

communicators to access executive

accounts this is one of

the the bins of my existence because of

the work that I do um at this point you

know you just really it's you have to

log in one by one I I I wish they would

I wish they would I'm not clear if they

would oh that would make life a lot

easier if there was just a single place

where you could do that like Instagram

you

know um let's see this next piece around

building team camaraderie so you

know so this is so LinkedIn is a

platform to publicly share achievements

and Milestones and boost morale and team

Pride so something that may have gone

into an internal newsletter that piece

of news can go on LinkedIn and that just

kind of builds internal team culture

right it builds team bonds and it's it's

not just within the four walls of your

organization but colleagues from other

other spaces in your sector as well and

what I will say you know this this when

your leadership is visible or reflective

or sharing from the point of their

Humanity on LinkedIn it's going to make

good talent want to work for you it's

going to make your existing team want to

stay as

well um as social impact professionals

we work on stigmatized and misunderstood

topics so I mentioned I used to work in

addiction treatment and I did I did that

specifically with moms and pregnant and

parenting women and so I remember

changing perceptions could really feel

like an uphill battle but as we shared

stories From The Trenches of our work or

as we partnered with business owners and

key influencers in our professional

Community who were also in long-term

recovery to share their you know their

stories of recovery and their experience

strength and hope through Linkedin it

helped awareness not to just our org's

mission but the larger overarching

vision of recovery and break down the

the larger stigma you know that

existed yeah storytelling Sav lives 100%

it is an evidence-based way to to break

down stigma and so these three you know

I kind of loop together again I would

kind of put them under PR and the folks

in this room you know your missions are

well known they you have built a brand

loyalty and recognition and yet there is

so much noise and so showing up

consistently on LinkedIn not only helps

you stay in touch with the media but

also peers who can refer you to

Opportunities so once I shared a

LinkedIn post about the therapy dog that

we had um that lived on site uh her name

was Lola she was a Golden Retriever and

a colleague of mine who you know I

didn't talk to often we would see each

other once a year in person at the big

National membership conference but she

saw the LinkedIn post and she said I've

got to I've got to connect you with Gina

who was a writer at the American Kennel

Club a friend of hers and she ended up

doing a whole story about you know

therapy animals and mental health it

that was a big big deal for us and so

for those of you who pitch for earned

media you know as you clearly and

consistently share content that

dovetails with your specific expertise

you will find yourself having to pitch

less because you are simply known as a

go-to voice for that specific issue and

then finally you know you have events

happening all the time convenings

launches ribbon cuttings yes you can

share about them as posts on LinkedIn as

you should but you can also use LinkedIn

to create events and the communications

Network actually did that with this

event um they created a LinkedIn event

about this webinar you can see this is

not hosted on LinkedIn or anything but

it was a real logistical way to invite

people it's another tool in your toolkit

and as you know people rsvpd for it it

would show up on their friends feeds and

it's so just another way to get your

events in front of more people and of

course you can repurpose articles things

like op-eds Publications all the things

you're already doing you can turn them

into snackable posts and share them on

LinkedIn to get them in front of more

people um and I see some really really

great questions in the chat and I have

just so much stuff I want to get through

I'm going to try to get through the

questions here if I can but if not we do

have a full 30 minutes of Q&A and office

hours afterwards so for all of you

screenshotter I put every everything in

one slide just to sort of summarize

these applications I'm going to stop

here for one second and take a little

sip of water and um kind of oh Mac found

the event through Linkedin I love that

um take a picture of this if you want

otherwise it's all

good and uh we're g to we're going to

keep going all right so let's get into

some real examples it's one thing to

talk about this but it's another thing

to see them in action so here we have Dr

Aila Watkins somebody I really admire

um she is the CEO of independent sector

and this is a screenshot of a post and

so there's a couple things I really love

about this post first the pictures so

the photography allows us to show and

not just tell we often think of

Instagram as a like as the visual media

platform but LinkedIn can also be you

know a place to share pictures and

videos and so from these pictures

without even reading the post you can

see she's in conversation with people

she's in community people are in a

circle talking and learning from each

other so you know she's doing a

listening tour without even having to

read the post also on LinkedIn we can

generally we just see the first little

bit of the post and then if it catches

our interest um we hit see more to see

the rest and so this first line is not

necessarily about the listening tour but

it's about her story it's about you know

Atlanta it's about um how Atlanta shaped

her um it and it it's a cold P open too

right it doesn't say hey let me tell you

my story it drops us right into the

story so we want to click that c more

button and then you know if you continue

reading this post it intersects with the

work that she is talking about now which

is a listening tour she did in Atlanta

and the lessons learned and shouting out

some of the key folks in the room so

some of the wins from this post are that

she gets to continue the conversation

from the in-person event so even if

somebody couldn't be there um they get a

sense of the themes that were discussed

they can add their perspective in the

comments and that's another thing about

LinkedIn that's kind of great versus

like a podcast or an oped in terms of

building thought leadership it's a great

way to engage with other people in the

comments right have relevant

conversations and then finally you know

I know independent sector's Desire with

these listening tours was to create a

reciprocal feedback loop with the

leaders in the field right and so this

became another way to collect that

qualitative data in the comments like

what people we're excited about from

this event another thing that comes to

mind is that while Aila is certainly a

beloved well-known um highly respected

at this time nine months ago she was a

relatively newer CEO of this specific

organization and so it just reminds me

that thought leadership or LinkedIn

rather is a great addition to any

onboarding strategy to introduce a new

team member or an

executive um and alternatively secession

planning if there's 's going to be a

transition you know using that to keep

people AB breast of what's going on from

the

sector next this is a post from Wills

Weger the Ed of Flatbush cats and just

to summarize the post you know you don't

have to necessarily read the whole thing

he is talking about his decision to

return a grant um to a funer uh who was

inappropriate and he speaks to the power

imbalances inherent in traditional

fundraising roles and so this speaks to

his values this speaks to his who he is

as a leader he is not somebody that

posts a ton um and so this just

demonstrates the reach and the resonance

that anybody can have when you speak to

something that is important to you that

strikes a chord another interesting

thing is that this post has 130 comments

and I read through them and they are

overwhelmingly supportive and positive

and you again you want people to comment

on LinkedIn but if you ask anybody with

a YouTube channel or a Twitter like do

they really want to read through their

comments they probably do not um yeah

this is a this is a great hook this is a

great hook that's a great Point Terry um

yeah on a lot of other platforms reading

the comment section is going to break

our brain or break our heart you know

but on LinkedIn again the tenor is

different so I asked will what were some

of the wins from this post and his he

said the biggest win is that his team

feels supported so this goes back to

that team culture and that camaraderie

um a lot of people uh reached out with

support and to a smaller degree he got

some donations actually coming in from

this post as he mentions they're needing

to raise the funds to offset this grant

give back finally here's two posts from

Darren Walker I'm curious if there's

anyone from the Ford Foundation here I

think he does such a good job of

building top of Mind Awareness on

LinkedIn and I picked these two

specifically as I as two that I think

are really interesting because you know

the post on the top is sharing memories

from his recent trip to Mexico City the

post on the bottom is is from a Broadway

show opening night and it's him with you

know Michelle Obama and Alicia Keys and

this is you know very very very cool

stuff but he's not necessarily just

sharing the updates from the

foundation's work and so too I think

there's a lesson to be learned from this

which is I I encourage you to show up on

LinkedIn not just as a head shot not

just as a job title but sharing who you

are as a human being because this makes

us feel as though we somewhat know him

and we like him and we trust him and

that relationship and that connection is

what creates the conditions for trust

and an invitation to engage and work

together right and of course tagging

these individuals like Reuters and Oprah

you know it creates that ripples ripple

effect because LinkedIn is going to show

this post to those people's followers

even if they don't currently follow

Darren Walker or the Ford

foundation and oh that's so wonderful

it's always good when you meet people

and they are as nice and um you know

they are who they are they are who they

show up as online you know that's always

a good thing so yeah and I and just a

little point because some of you might

be thinking I don't know I'm just

guessing some of you might be thinking

well I'm not going to hang out with

Alicia Keys and Oprah Winfrey that

doesn't matter right that's not required

whatever you are doing is worth sharing

and creates a bridge of connection into

your

community because on LinkedIn it's not

so much about institutions right it's

not as much the Privacy is not on

organizations as much as it is on

individuals um we all have our own

spheres of influence and these

statistics you know perfors and um

LinkedIn I think are very interesting uh

employee posts outperformed by 5 61%

clickthrough rate is two times higher

when shared by an employee and that

makes sense right we kind of anecdotally

know that because as we navigate

LinkedIn or anywhere I would venture to

guess we probably are drawn to the

information our friends and our

colleagues are sharing much more than an

organization that we don't know yet so

this is just one place where individual

leaders have a huge advantage over

organizations because we already have

that built up trust personality

perspective values opinions stories

right people always trust people over

companies so how do you take advantage

of this and deputize your staff or your

board your people I'll just say your

people into ambassadors for your mission

so I want to share a few things to keep

in mind and it doesn't have to happen in

these in this order necessarily but

these are a couple things I want you to

keep in mind and one is to create a

culture of reflection and sharing at the

level of our Humanity because I would

argue even if this work never goes past

this level of Simply um creating a

culture of reflection as a team you've

still really done something to create

the conditions for your team members to

share on LinkedIn I believe you first

have to create a culture where that that

is encouraged and so maybe before you

ever ask somebody to share something on

LinkedIn you begin this work by starting

each team meeting with a reflection

question or having your team reflect on

the upcoming Trends in your field or

really creating a culture of Celebration

and celebrating Milestones because I

found that unless you are doing that

internally it can be difficult to do

that externally and

publicly also I would encourage you if

you're going to engage in like uh

employee Ambassador work I believe that

the executive or the board chair if

you're doing this with your board

ideally should be modeling and Mentor

this mentoring this

so I recommend that you secure

leadership support on the front end if

possible um so they can lead by example

and kind of inspire others and as a com

shop you can always dig into past

materials and repurpose them into

content or ghost right a few pieces of

course to get them started I would think

about you know the strategy around this

you know what are the very specific

things your nonprofit or Foundation

wants to position yourselves as as go-to

voices who are your ideal audiences and

what do they care he about what are some

of the key stories images values

feelings you want to convey as a team

you know what are the calls to actions

what are the specific next steps you

want to invite your audience into you

know and what are your goals right I see

a great question here around you know

what are your goals you know is it

awareness is it clicks through click

click-throughs to your website you know

what is that um and then Prov uh

providing training to your employees so

how do you optimize your LinkedIn Pro

profile what are some sample prompts to

start a LinkedIn post and the structure

of a post you know can you provide

pre-written posts or training on social

media copywriting or copy editing

support if you have capacity um not

everybody will have the willingness to

engage and that's completely fine um if

a small and

interested handful of ambassadors emerge

who are excited and ready to go that

will have huge

dividends um Chandler that's a great

that's a great idea yeah that's a great

idea cuz it's unfortunately we don't

have a perfect solution but I think

that's a that's a really great idea

yeah um and then repost right if people

if your employees are sharing if they

are engaging you know repost their post

comment engage with it celebrate success

um celebrate it during Town Halls team

meetings supervision

meetings any advice for getting buyin

from Executives I have a lot to say

about this and sometimes you know what

I'll also say is sometimes they're just

not going to do it but I have found that

sometimes it goes the opposite way

sometimes your team have to model and

Mentor what it looks like and as you

begin as the executives begin to see

what type of Engagement and Kudos and

flowers and and um juice is coming out

of that the executives can sometimes get

on board sometimes it goes the the

opposite way yeah um all right and I

want you to I see we were talking a

little bit about you know metrics on in

the chat I want you to celebrate all

kinds of successes because the thing

about trust building is that we can't

always see it or at least it's not

always reflected in traditional metrics

like Impressions and engagements and

followers right I would um encourage you

to think about resonance right and

qualitative metrics things like going to

a conference and someone coming up to

you and mentioning a LinkedIn post that

one of your employees shared things like

good fit funding opportunities and PR

opportunities sustainably coming your

way you know having to outreach less

because we're getting inbound interest

so you know we might yeah yeah it might

look like getting showing up to a

meeting with a potential funer and

they're already all in because they

already know I can trust you through

your LinkedIn

content all right so wow I see I have 10

minutes left so I'm Gonna Keep I'm going

to go a little bit faster because

there's some things I really really want

to show

you um which are yeah there's so much

good stuff in the chat I might have to

do a followup on on these on these good

questions okay so I want to talk about

updating your LinkedIn profile if it has

been a while since you have dusted this

off because likely LinkedIn has changed

and you have changed since then right so

of course you want a clear updated

headshot that goes without saying but

also I want you to look at your cover

Banner so this is um Linda Wilson she's

the executive director of the fund 2

Foundation which was started by

philanthropist Robert F Smith it's a

it's a it's a funding organization and

so this cover Banner you know you want a

picture to um yeah so your your spokes

people have branded cover photo so

that's great um this is Prime real

estate to tell your story it could be a

photo of your team in action it could be

a brand messager tagline it could be you

know a group photo with your entire team

and so in this example Linda includes

you know a branded um piece that's sort

of aligned with their website and so

this is something that you can create um

for your for your team at

large you know your headline is your job

title and your company by default but

this is fully editable so instead of

your title whether it's CMO executive

director I would encourage you to put a

one-sentence story about the work that

you do right a story that makes the

right people think oh I you know that's

interesting to me you know um some

people include instead of a one-sentence

story they include keywords there's no

really one right answer that might make

them a little bit easier to be

discoverable I have a preference for

that one- sentence

story um you can add a link to the top

you know you can add a link to your

website your monthly giving page a

people a place for people to subscribe

to your newsletter so that's that link

there this is something that came out

relatively recently in the last year or

so so I would highly encourage you to

add a link to your organization's

website or somewhere where you want

people to go after they find you because

they have Googled you and ended up on

your LinkedIn or because they found you

through some content you shared you know

the about section again you want to be a

resource and not a resume and so how do

you do that there's no one right answer

but my some of my suggestions include to

share the you know share the problem the

specific problem that you solve and how

you uniquely work on that what is your

vision for the world you know what is

your personal passion how did you

personally get involved with this with

this organization or this Mission if you

feel comfortable sharing that you could

share a bullet point list of ways to get

involved or ways to come alongside your

organizational Mission or your work in

the world right um I encourage you to

break it up with plenty of paragraph

breaks and bullet points so it's easy to

read and in this case if you go to

Linda's profile you can read the whole

thing you will see that it's not so much

about where she went to school or how

many years of experience she has but

instead it is a heart- centered story

that positions her as a guide and that

the grantees and the leaders that she

works with can relate to you know

finally I would feature your best work I

would I would you know put something on

the featured section this is Prime real

estate where you can showcase content

that most effectively demonstrates your

thought leadership and I would think of

this as a bulletin board where you can

showcase important pieces of media to

your mission and so this includes

examples of other spaces that she has

spoken as well as different programs of

her

foundation so what about content right

what about content so I just wanted to

share 12 ideas for prompts to inspire

content you know a lot of this you will

notice like it's it's not rocket science

necessarily like these are things we're

already doing we're already thinking

about any kind of self-reflective team

is already having these conversations

and yes you can select what items to

place in the featured section and in the

office hours I could perhaps do a little

demo of how to do that um um but as far

as content goes I wanted to share just a

few so first self-reflection I know this

might feel a little bit Naval gazy but

this ties back to this feeling around

like when you step into the Limelight a

little bit um and thank you for sharing

that example Karen when you step into

the Limelight a little bit it reflects

light back onto your mission you are

taking the trust and the reputation and

the brand that you personally have built

up over time and lending it to your

organization so here's a couple of

prompt ideas to consider you know so B

be bold right what is an upstream root

cause behind the issue you work on so

this post is meant to get people

thinking bigger and get into that

imaginative space what's a behindth

scenes thing that you are most excited

about and this is important because so

often we only share when something is

launched when it's ready for viewing and

so in this screenshot this was back in

the day when Sesame Street and our

nonprofit did some work together they um

they did some work together and I talked

about it before it came out so that when

the actual episode did come out people

were already bought in and excited and

then finally take opportunities to

celebrate Milestones right like what are

the five biggest things you've learned

on your fiveyear job anniversary right

or whatever the numbers are we love

celebrating others so and that's a good

lead off into the next piece which is

lifting up others so this is great from

both a personal relationship building

practice but also a LinkedIn algorithm P

perspective so who's the first key

partner that comes to mind that you

really really value you know what is the

story of your partnership and in this

screenshot I talk about one of the

founding mothers of the organization I

worked for um share a team ritual what's

unique or what do you appreciate like

what is different about your team than

maybe other teams you've worked on

what's an aha moment that a mentor or a

teacher has taught you which is now

relevant to the ways that you work with

people today you know um yeah and and

maybe it's somebody you can

tag next you know opinions and

perspective so what is a misconception

about your field or a particular piece

of the work that you do right what is a

common myth in your field and what's the

actual fact and then what's a story that

backs up that fact right so this is a

post that begins to shift hearts and

Minds next you know what is a key Trend

or shift that you think everyone needs

to be aware of and what's your

prediction as a result of that Trend and

it doesn't need to come true you don't

get any points if it comes true right no

one can actually predict the future we

don't have a crystal ball but putting

your best thoughts out there can Inspire

conversation it gets people thinking it

positions you as a guide someone who's

in the mix um and then what's a big news

story you know in your industry right

now and what's your take on it I'm going

to go a little faster and just all I'm

going to say about this slide because

this will be in the replay is um

repurpose existing assets a lot of

content Market is love to say create

once share multiple times same thing on

LinkedIn you are sitting on a whole

library of interesting information and

content which you can repurpose on

LinkedIn you know in a variety of

ways and you know what I've shared is

maybe relatively simple that doesn't

mean it's necessarily easy so if any of

you follow me on LinkedIn or I've

listened to my podcast the campfire

Circle you know I have an approach

called lazy on LinkedIn and it means

spending one hour on the platform but

doing intentional things things that

will make a difference so here is one

example of what that can look like and

of course you can change this based on

your goals but I would encourage you to

stick to that one hour time post one

story per week you don't really have to

do more than that right um respond to

the people who are showing up for you

who are leaving comments who are sending

you messages who are viewing your

profile you know engage with the people

who are doing that um Run a search right

maybe you're trying to find three new

people per week using the search bar

because if you connect with three new

people every week that's 150 people in a

year and those small interactions

fractal out into big support and so this

is just some suggestions with some

building blocks customize it to your own

goals but I want you to stick to this

consistency even if it feels like

nothing is happening because a lot of

this is invisible you can't see it

happening but it just you know it begins

to to add up so in summary before

closing in closing before we get into

office hours where I know we're going to

have a lot of really juicy questions um

linkedin's the top and most trusted

social media platform there's multiple

strategic uses I want you to focus on

people over organizations if possible I

want you to think about residents oops

residence not just reach it's about

human- to human connection try not to

show up as a resume but instead think

about how you can be a resource for the

people you want to connect with and

serve and it is okay to be lazy on

LinkedIn which is you know in air quotes

nobody's actually lazy little tongue and

cheek you're probably not trying to

become a full-time content creator

You're simply trying to put out content

that inspires

change um some additional resources I

put out a Weekly Newsletter for social

impact professionals um you can use that

QR code to sign up um or I'll drop it in

the

chat I have a podcast as well about

thought leadership about LinkedIn where

I go into more detail around this but

then finally you know I know we have a

lot of questions that we want to get

into