What would YOU do for Likes and Shares?

I have been using this platform for a few years now and something recently dawned on me that has prompted this post. How many of us have come across a post that asks a really straightforward question inviting input from the audience? Haven't we all seen them?

Types of Linkedin clickbait

The Serious Question: You're an employer interviewing a candidate and they have asked what the salary package is: what are your views on this?

Not a Dating Site: Oh, then there's the old favourite: "Linkedin is not a dating site so why do so many people message me with inappropriate advances and proposing marriage?" Personally, I love all the marriage proposals I receive but each to their own.

Linkedin/Facebook Post: Let's not forget whether or not something is appropriate for Linkedin or not. It's a timeless classic.

Looking for Your Views: Here you have two or three options, of logo designs for example, and you are asked for your views.

Can You Help?: An innocent enough request. They are looking for a someone who can help with their marketing or a team event or...name your party!

It's the subtle ones that get you

The serious question and the call for help ones are trickier to dismiss because sometimes you really will feel a strong opinion about what is being asked or the question has been worded in such a way that you want to respond. The poster may have cynically created the post for exposure either. OK - everyone wants engagement but they may have had a genuine interest in the general view of the issue from a wider audience.

As for the call for help, I have definitely benefitted from responding to one or two of these and I know for a fact that the majority of them are genuine although there has been a growing trend for people to create such posts purely to grab attention with no cigar for any of the respondents.

You've engaged - your phone is alive with notifications for days

Now we all know that as soon as you comment on any of the above you are about to face an ongoing tsunami of notifications as every person and their dog will also be commenting. Then you look at the post you commented on yesterday and the level of engagement is incredible - thousands of Likes, Comments and Shares perhaps. For what? A piece of content that has not informed, not broadened your horizon, not contributed to your Linkedin experience, not offered you any meaningful engagement.

Do you envy the massive audience of others?

It's honesty time. You're doing your best to get your name out there, to post decent content, to genuinely chat with people and strengthen connections. Then when you put out what you think is an excellent post, you get tumble weeds. Come on...happens to all of us, right?

Then you look at one of the clickbait posts. It is offering nothing to its audience and yet everybody is getting involved in the thread under their post. Where did it all go wrong, you may wonder.

How much real engagement do such posts bring to the table?

My question is this: as above, just how useful are the Likes, Shares, Comments and even profile views that come with unoriginal, spammy posts? As part of the sales funnel, do you really want somebody's first experience with you and your brand to be reading your negative comments about recruiters, for example? Or complaining about and sharing the inbox conversation you had today? How is that relevant or useful to your brand?

Perhaps I will get a flood of comments from people who use these tactics telling me how much it has grown their ring of business connections and brought new orders and clients. There must be people out there who will claim this because I have actually read a blog by one such culprit - who had offended most of the people who were responding to his post (I almost forgot "The Provocateur" - talking about the art of gaining loads of social traction with provocative posts!

So...what will you do to get noticed?

I want to be as useful as I can be while I am here and I want to be recognised as somebody who is always thoughtful. If what I am writing about reflects an increased level of mindfulness or a deeper understanding or perception of mind and mindset, that's great because that's one of the hats I wear professionally. If the content I write about is not particularly related to those issues it is also okay because I get hired as a writer so anything that illustrates my ability to communicate clearly and articulately will reflect well on me.

But that's me. How about you?

While you're here...

About the author: I'm a writer and mindfulness based trainer. As a writer I can create blog content and business literature for example or write your website copy. As a mindfulness based trainer I work with individuals, schools and business groups, running programs, workshops and seminars to help people become more effective at dealing with challenges.

If you would like to know more about how I can help you, connect with me and drop me a line or give me a call on 07954 584980