How to Build Your Network with LinkedIn Expert, Salina Yeung

Today, I am blessed to be joined by Salina Yeung. 

Salina Yeung is the CEO of Theinacademy, a former Account Director of LinkedIn and a LinkedIn Personal Brand Expert. One of the many reasons that I wanted Salina on today's episode is because LinkedIn is such a valuable tool, especially if you want to accelerate, advance and develop your career and brand.

“If you're wanting to cut through all of the noise on social media, LinkedIn is the way to go" – Salina Yeung

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Highlights

💫 2:38   Why is it so important for you to have a LinkedIn account?

💫 5:34   How LinkedIn compares to other social media platforms

💫 11:32  What should you be posting on LinkedIn?

💫 17:44   Some insider knowledge of why LinkedIn works so well

💫 20:18  What is the value of LinkedIn Premium?

💫 21:49  Three takeaways from today's conversation

Let's Connect! 

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The Importance of Maximizing Your LinkedIn Account

We've really talked about how LinkedIn can be such a valuable resource. And oftentimes, what I see is a lot of people will set up a LinkedIn account, and they'll kind of dabble in a little bit. And they really don't actually use it unless they're looking for a job. And oftentimes, when you're in that situation, you're almost two steps behind everybody else. And you're really sometimes limiting opportunities that can be presented to you that you may not even know about unless you're really active on LinkedIn. So let’s talk a little bit about the tool LinkedIn, how it can be such a valuable resource, why every single person should have a LinkedIn account, and why they should be active on it.

I liked that you already pointed out that people will just be active on LinkedIn when they are actually looking for a job, right? But that's beyond online CV nowadays. On LinkedIn, if you check the PR, if you really check how LinkedIn represent itself is all about professional networking, it’s about the conversation. It's about relationships with your clients, a lot of different things that are not just tied to the Job platform. Initially, when LinkedIn first started which is 16 years ago, they are a job platform, and they were looking at just branching out, like in just this way. But now it has been completely transformed. During COVID, there are just so many things that changed the way we sort of do things. And one of which I think really changed with the most impact is work, right? Like, in working remotely, we have a demand for human connection yet we can't. And the way how we do is online, which is LinkedIn. And there are so many stats I can talk about. But one of which that I do want to share with you is that there is only 1% of content creators post on LinkedIn consistently. And LinkedIn is the fastest growing social media platform. When you really look at the stats, there are 756 million members. If you check on your amazing podcast that is releasing, there's every like second one, we're talking, there are three new members. So the opportunity is a lot. So it's great if you are really jumping in right now to start creating content. So there are just so many opportunities on this amazing platform.

So you talk about creating content; because I know when it started, it was about using it as a platform for job seekers, right? It's a career platform. And so a lot of people that are working in corporate America that maybe are owning their own businesses, and they're very happy in their job. Oftentimes, what I see is they set up this account but what does it mean to actually engage on LinkedIn? What does it mean when you're talking about creating content? Because this is something we've talked about – making content, and I share content every single day on LinkedIn. It's so much fun to connect with people, interact with people, and engage and build relationships. But let’s talk a little bit about what is creating content. And how can I best support professionals out there?

I would say I will go back to what I learned at LinkedIn when I first started and when I first joined, which is four years ago. There are three things on LinkedIn that I always talk about. When it comes to the content on LinkedIn, there are three things: 

• One is the audience. 

It's highly professional; you rarely see people posting cats and dogs videos over there. And they keep adding that, you keep learning things. That's why I love to hang out there. And I love to compare when I'm talking with your clients, my clients, they rather learn from me about LinkedIn than binge watching 10 hours of Netflix. That's just like how LinkedIn is compared to other oversaturated platforms. So LinkedIn audiences are very, very different. The mindset is very different. 

• You could also get a sense of how positive and incredibly close-knit the community is, everyone is so supportive of each other. 

And one single thing that I talk about is the emoji, the emoticon they call it on LinkedIn, that you would not have a like downfall, right? Like there's no thumbs down, which is how they want to really make the platform positive. And the reporting as well as like how you flat when there's content that you don't feel like it's very supportive, then you can basically, get out of your account. So that's the professional mindset. 

• And the last part is the environment. 

You rarely see social media platforms really putting members first but I do think LinkedIn did a fantastic job of really – when you see ads within the system, there's like not much as you're seeing, like popping up like YouTube, where you are forced to watch like five to 10 seconds, depending where you are at. I'm in Europe now which force you to watch eight seconds, in order to pass through, like what you really want to digest in terms of content. But LinkedIn is very different, you can close that off, either. So there are just so many different things when it comes to content. 

But these three are what I see as very, very special and unique about LinkedIn. And when these come together, these three pillars come together that make the content level right. How you create content, the type of content you're creating, as well as the person from the other end that is digesting your content, reading your content, how they're going to reply, you will see assets of people replying comments, rather than just an emoji. 

Establishing Connections Through Active Engagements

So going back to that, let's talk a little bit about engagement. There is a myth out there. Sometimes there are only like five or 10 people liking my posts, or sometimes only, like, a few people. No comments, right? So the engagement is really, really interesting about LinkedIn. But I want to share a perspective that not a lot of people really see. And I liked that we talked about trim jobs and everything. I think some people are fearful of judgment when they post content, but also comment because they feel like there's a career risk if they comment on other people's posts despite it being a professional opinion. Why not share your voice? And you can share your voice on Instagram On Facebook, and Twitter, but why not on LinkedIn? It is the same, right? And together with what I talked about which are the three pillars of the quality of the audience, this shouldn't be what I think is the challenge for commenting. 

But what I want to see beyond just the engagement, which is like sharing, if you really notice the views of LinkedIn, it's really crazy. And I always ask my clients to test two things with me. Post the same video content on YouTube, as well as on LinkedIn. And check it out. The very first polls, the post views are so different. You will get 20 or even 30 times of post views on LinkedIn rather than on YouTube, which gives so much already, just from the statistical point of view. So yeah, so that's how I see the LinkedIn engagement; the growth is phenomenal as long as you really just keep interacting with one another, the audience building a close-knit community, then you're golden.

Yeah. And you talk about the importance of engagement, engagement is extremely important. Because here's the thing, even if you're really happy in your job, the networking aspect that is involved with LinkedIn is so valuable. And it comes to networking within your industry, and outside of your industry. I know that the people that I've met through LinkedIn, I have met such talented supportive leaders through LinkedIn. And it even opened the doors for nonprofit partnerships in supporting organizations. And, you know, when you're out there, and you're saying, I have a LinkedIn account, and oh, my gosh, I've never posted on LinkedIn or, you know, I posted a couple of times.  And what can I post? So let's talk a little bit about that. Because, you know, some people are scared to post and put themselves out there. They're kind of scared that their employer may go, Well, why are you engaging now? And really shifting that mindset of this is not just a platform for looking for a job. This is a platform for networking.

I want to pin on the point that you talk about professional networking. And in fact, LinkedIn even showed us that 79% of people are networking on LinkedIn to fill out the open jobs. So which means what, like only 21? Or wait, yeah, 19% of people are actually doing the traditional online applications. So if you're really looking for jobs, on LinkedIn, do the networking, do the commenting, do all the posting on LinkedIn. So I just want to pinpoint that. And for the content, there are just so many different ways of content. And one of the pieces that I love to share when someone’s starting off because it could be quite intimidating when you are trying to branch out to a new platform, but start small. And I truly believe commenting is also equal to your content. Like I said, right, the majority of the people commenting on LinkedIn, write a sort of like an essay; I really appreciate those, you know, more than two or three sentences or even paragraphs just to respond to the other person who is posting content. So I will say start with that. 

And the other tip that I would love to share is to target the right people. Use the capabilities of the LinkedIn search bar. LinkedIn actually gives each individual member our social selling index score, which you can feel free to check online. And when you check that score, if it's good, let's say you're 70 and above, that means you did a fantastic job with establishing a professional brand on LinkedIn, and LinkedIn will push your content further. But if you are lower than 70, that will negatively impact your post. But when you're building out, you can start with commenting because you will increase finding the right people as well as building relationships, which are some of the pillars under the social selling index. So that would be the first thing that I would recommend doing. And using this LinkedIn search, for example, if you’re in the career coaching space, you're teaching leaders how to build within teams, teaching HR leaders, things like that, then find those right people using the search bar function. And you will see all the content and people that are related to your industry and start having a conversation. 

So these will be the two things that I will start with. Then if you've felt comfortable, I think that will take two weeks or three weeks depending on people, then you can start posting content on LinkedIn. Don't overcomplicate things because there are so many formats that are so simple to use. One of which is launching polls like, you know, Facebook poll or IG, when you're putting this you are already asking questions. All you need is just one question and an answer, and as simple as that start with something that you feel very comfortable with. If you're not a copywriter, you can also do videos. Make sure you find some format that you feel will be the best that you channel yourself as best representing your work.

So I've used LinkedIn for a long time, many, many years. And here's where it can really serve you in your career with that engagement, the content, and posting. So I would say, gosh, eight years ago, I was in a position, I had been there for five and a half years, I was working for this company and I had just gotten off of four back-to-back president's trips, I really got to enjoy some paid vacations. And I wasn't looking for a job, I was really happy where I was; but because I engaged on LinkedIn, a recruiter reached out to me and said, Hey, have you thought about getting into medical aesthetics like I have this great opportunity for you. And that's actually how I got recruited into the industry that I was most recently in. I wasn't actively looking, I had presented and built my brand on LinkedIn, and those doors started to open. And then beyond that, I partner with my clients, on average, each job posting has 250 applicants, it's a staggering number. And less than 10% of those actually get to the job, to the actual interview process. And so it's so emotionally draining and time-consuming to apply to jobs over and over and over again and get crickets versus actively creating those intentional connections with the hiring managers with recruiters that are going to support you through that job process. So LinkedIn can serve you and support you in a variety of aspects whether you're looking for a job or not.

Other Benefits That We Get From Using LinkedIn

And the statistics tell it all right, 79% of people who open jobs are filled through networking on LinkedIn. Then why really, like doubling down networking, rather than doing something else? I think the numbers tell us all. And the other reason that I think LinkedIn networking is working really, really well is because of some of the referral programs in the corporate world. Like, for instance, when I'm still working at LinkedIn, we're getting incentivized to recruit talent within our own circle of friends. For example, let's say another account executive that they are looking for him that would be managing our will be managing in APAC, so who is it going to be? So you can actually actively get referred by the members within that team. So don't overlook that as well. Not just looking at the hiring manager or HR, but also network with the team members that will potentially you will join their team.

And I also want to talk about LinkedIn as a networking and engagement resource and what differentiates LinkedIn from Facebook or Instagram. You talked about how you're not going to see puppy dogs and kitties on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is actually the first platform I go to. After I have my morning routine, the first actual social media platform I check is LinkedIn, because there's so much inspiration. There's so much learning, there's so much value in what other people share. It's such a great way to start my morning. There’s just so much learning; I don't know a lot of things about cryptocurrency, for instance, or financial services, but you all those updates from my network, despite being in totally different worlds. 

There are also LinkedIn learning courses. So if you're out there, and you're saying, I want to really build on my Excel skills or my PowerPoint skills, or I want to learn how to foster culture, or leadership, emotional intelligence, all of these courses are available on LinkedIn. So if you are part of the LinkedIn premium, which is just it's really such a great investment. The courses that you could take on there are very valuable as well. And the best thing about is, by the end of the course, that will be a search of occasions at a bachelor LinkedIn profile that's at credibility, as well as on top of that added bonus as you win SEO, which is search engine optimization on LinkedIn because you tie in back to the keyword that you're in that industry for.

Three Reasons Why You Should Build Your Network with LinkedIn

1. Have a complete LinkedIn profile. 

   The majority of the people that I coach, as well as teach, come to me and just want to go right to content creation as well as sales. But what people first check, whether to accept your connection and buy on LinkedIn or to basically follow you, is to look at your profile. So make sure you have the cover photo, you have a really outstanding profile photo that is enticing or friendly enough that people want to connect with a headline that is SEO optimized and all the way down to recommendation. All these things are what people use to decide to connect with you, collaborate with you, as well as basically give you a job. So I think having a very strong foundation is important. And I shared earlier about the SEO score is where it's something very easy to get checked, whether you got an okay, performing LinkedIn profile, but if you're anything lower than 70, it's time for us to chat or you figure out how you can basically get to at least 70. So this will be the first thing I would advise anyone. 

2. Cut through all the noises online. 

   LinkedIn is really the way to go. I rather double down the time on LinkedIn, rather than on any social media channel, just because there are only 1% of content creators out there, feeding the rest of 99%, 3 million people rather than 756 million members users. So what is it in for you to start creating content? Like I said, start with commenting, and then move your way up to anything that is comfortable. So content marketing is really the key. And the best part of it is the audience, right? If your audience is on LinkedIn, you have to go to LinkedIn. But if your audience is on Instagram and other places, you know, be my guest. Invest your time there. But if you want business decision-makers, and you want to reach out to high-quality people, LinkedIn is really the best place to be as well as to get the eyeball that you need. If you rather have 100 eyeballs that are making decisions to work with you rather than 100 eyeballs on Instagram that are basically strolling through and reading and other entertainment rails, right? So this is how I see content marketing and its power. 

3. Build and nurture relationships. 

   And the last part is of course sales, right? That's like the angle of the majority of entrepreneurs or job seekers – you want to ultimately get the job that you want. Being a happier person will fulfill your live dream job. If you want to nail your dream jobs through online networking or LinkedIn, then the sales part of the networking part comes in place, right? You need to basically understand how you build relationships, which I love to talk about in terms of dating. You won't send someone an invitation or see some beautiful boy or beautiful girl at the bar and ask them, can you be my girlfriend straight away or a boyfriend straight away, you need to nurture that relationship. That happens to a majority of people – using LinkedIn in the wrong way. They connect with someone and right away send a sales message. It doesn't work like that. So make sure – similarly, to job seekers – to build the relationship, nurture the relationship, and don't send someone your resume right away. It never worked. So I think these are the three key things that I think, will help a lot of people.