It's time for season two. During this season of the Theory of Marketing Relativity, I'll be taking a deeper dive into some of those hot button marketing topics we covered in season one. So who am I? I'm Epic Marketing Consultant's, Social Media Director and your hosts Jess Burton. So let's dive right in. On this week's podcast, we've invited Brooke Miles back to join us. So welcome back, Brooke,
Brooke:Thank you so much.
Jess:I was very excited when we were brainstorming topics for podcasts. And I know, one of your strong suits is linked in. And I always tell everybody, LinkedIn is a great place to digitally network with people, and especially over the last couple months, I should say, like last year and change. Um, that's kind of the only way we've been able to network with people. Um, so let's dive right in. When it comes to LinkedIn, where should you start?
Brooke:Definitely start with your profile, your personal profile, for lots of different reasons, but the main one being if you're going to be using network apps are using LinkedIn to build your network and, you know, possibly, eventually attract potential clients and you know, referral sources and all that, you want to put your best foot forward. And just like, if you were at a networking event, like a live networking event, you would dress up well, you know, you would put on like, you just, you wouldn't, no one would show up in a ripped t-shirt or jeans. And you don't want to do the virtual version of that on LinkedIn. So you know, pay attention to how you look, because people do judge a book by its cover , you know, how it is. And you know, and that includes everything from your profile picture to the you know, the banner at the top to your headline, which is basically the the short amount of text that appears right underneath your name, and what are you saying about yourself, that's almost like your value proposition, and then how, and then just filling it out. And it does take time to create a LinkedIn profile, like maybe, you know, you know, one could have, you know, outsource that task to, you know, an agency like Epic, obviously, or, but if you're going to do it yourself, it'll take a little while and feel free to do it in in bits and pieces, as well. And I also recommend, optimize, if you need to do it yourself and need to do in bits and pieces, start with the top and work your way down. because more people will look at the top of the profile, and scroll all the way to the bottom. So don't worry about so much. You know about like, you know, trying to think example, like your skills and endorsements section, which is towards the bottom, that is way less important on on some levels than your profile photo, or the banner image or the headline.
Jess:I think that's so important. I think that and I know like I struggle with it. Even like working in social media, I struggle with keeping my LinkedIn optimized and up to date. And I can always tell like, when people make connections with me, like who put the time into their profile, because they do have the tagline, they do have a good profile, a good, clear, updated profile picture that's professional. Um, although I will say I read somewhere that the shift lately has become the less, less formal and a little more casual since
Brooke:Yeah,
Jess:We're all on video in our homes. Um, but I do think that it's important that people take into account, that's the first thing people see when they click on your profile, if they want to connect with you. Or if they're reaching out to you for something, that's the first thing they see. It's kind of like your, like, digital handshake?
Brooke:Yes, yes. Oh, that's a great way of putting it. And then to the point of being formal or informal. I mean, you still want to look nice in your profile photo and all that. But for example, the language you use. First of all, I most LinkedIn experts now I'm going to fall in this category strongly recommends speaking in the first person on a LinkedIn profile versus the third person. In other words, you refer to yourself, as you know, me, myself, and I versus Hey, she, him, her, you know, all that, because who talks about themselves in the third person and, and even if you are, you know, like a, you know, the C suite, you know, level of your career, people are still people, everyone's brains work the same. And people are more likely to want to approach you and get to know you, and see how we can you know, you can work together if they know that, you know, you're being approachable. So and then one other thing I just also want to mention is that headline that I keep on mentioning, which is you know, again, just below your name, that is Oh, I can't tell you how important that is. There used to be 120 character limit now it's I think, 220 characters, I believe. And that is, you know, you could put for example, like I could just say, underneath my name for the headline, I could say president Delaware Shoutout but I don't know of anyone who's like, wow, I get to talk with the president or, you know, we're either looking for a company name called Delaware Shout out my whole life, you know, this is what I need. Like that doesn't say anything. So this is your chance to actually, it's almost like, like you're not maybe like not your 32 second you know, commercial, but it was like your fifth 10 or 15 second commercial right there. And that headline doesn't just appear when you are, you know, when someone visits your profile, but anytime you write, you share a post, okay? Or you know, you know, you publish a post, or, or also in search results. It's your profile photo, your name and that headline, so that that tagline, that value proposition is going to follow you everywhere. So what how are you going to use those, you know, 220 characters, and it goes, help you go really far with your networking.
Jess:That's I think that's something that people don't take into account is that it doesn't just show up, when people click on your profile, it shows up, when you comment on something, it shows up, when you're searching for someone, it shows up all over the place, whether it's intentional or not. So making sure that it's a good, catchy, appropriate phrase, because I know like, I've seen people and you, I think yours might be like this, it's like, it's like, I can tell that it's like your personality, like that's your business, that's your personality, versus ones that are a little more professional, like, thinking it's like, like, I'm trying to think of like my friend who sells like pharmaceuticals. And hers is like, I'm interested in connecting with. Like, it's super boring, it's in my personal opinion, it's super boring, but for her industry, it fits. Um, because like, I know, like, I and I'm gonna go change mine after this, because I don't even know that mine's updated, which I should probably go to Sheryl will probably yell at me. Um, but yeah, I, I would definitely keep it a little more interesting, because that's the way our company is. That's the way social media is, it's a little more exciting, maybe. And I'm saying this because I'm a little bit biased, a little more exciting than the pharmaceutical industry or something else?
Brooke:You know what, though? I'm gonna, I'm gonna challenge you on this a little bit. Yes, I will say that some industries are naturally more exciting than others. Absolutely. Um, at the same time, I, what I love about the quote, unquote, boring industries is that they can be made exciting. So even someone who's a, you know, pharmaceutical sales rep, for example, you know, that she could still be like, incredibly professional, let's say, for example, in the about section, say, you know, you know, I'm really passionate to work for, you know, AstraZeneca, or whatever it is, you know, and to represent their ally, you know, their, their, their, their vast array of blah, blah, blah, who have helped, you know, to help save lives and get our, you know, our, you know, our solutions in the hands of doctors and those who impact others think through ways of saying it, to create excitement. You know, obviously, if you're doing it for the money, it's like, I'm doing this because they pay me Well, you're not going to see that. But I mean, if it's something where you actually feel like even though you know that what you're doing is for a good cause. It's okay, that if it's in a boring industry, I mean, accounting, isn't that, you know, for a lot of people, isn't that exciting. But you and I both know, you know, an accounting client that has really great things going on, and has, you know, and I think they make accounting interesting, honestly, it can happen in any industry. And it can happen in your LinkedIn profile, if you just show yourself as a person who represents your industry and loves it. And if you don't love your industry, that maybe there are some bigger questions you have beyond your LinkedIn profile that you need to answer.
Jess:That is absolutely true. I think you're totally correct. You can make anything interesting if you try hard enough. Um, yeah, accounting is definitely up there on one of those lists of like, things you don't think are interesting. So as we move down the profile as your LinkedIn profile, I'm just thinking about it logistically. How do you kind of like build the perfect, I don't say the perfect profile, because I think your LinkedIn profile is a little bit like fluid. So you want to change it as your as your job roles change as your job goals change. But kind of what comes next in the whole step of building your profile and kind of using your LinkedIn to get out there.
Brooke:Okay, great. So I would say after you deal with all the stuff at the top, including the headline, the about section is that the next most important thing, and that's where you're almost positioning yourself as here's why I do what I do. And here are the people that I help you know, I help blah, blah, blah, do blah, blah, blah, you know, you see those formulas, but I will tell you works incredibly well. It's very short, it's about section might just be a few lines, it's it expands on the headline, a little bit and then I strongly recommend from a networking standpoint, and maybe a sales standpoint, to put your contact information at the bottom, that about section and also put in the bottom The experience section or put your contact information in different spots, even though there is a contact section, okay? Because people are going to see different parts of your profile and you want there to be no excuse for them not to, you know, be able to contact you the one area of your profile where you might do instead of I, you might say we is in your current position or positions in the experience section. So, for example, you know, for Epic, you know, you know, for you, and again, I'm not looking at your profile, right, this exact moment, but I'm saying in the about section, I put I and then in the experience section where you list all your, you know, you know, jobs and everything. Put, you know, you might say we they're like, you know, Epic Marketing, we blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, so it shows that you're part of that whole experience. I also strongly recommends, you know, as you're going through the profile, and I, you know, I see this a lot, because, you know, I just, you know, everyone gets busy, but definitely check your past experiences that you have listed and make sure that they're in the past tense. And that also, that you don't have more texts on a past experience than you do on your current job experience, your current job experience should you know, have a paragraph or two with bullet points, like really flesh that out, it's a marketing piece, really. And then the past experiences, just, you know, one or two lines just to show what you did to help, you know, which, which might support what you do right now, or it could be you're in a completely different career, which does lead me to the point of, I do often get the question, you know, should I put on my job experiences and all that. And I say, you know, unless you did something really, you know, shameful, shameful professionals, you know, like, I can't imagine, you know, I mean, like, like, like, just put everything down. Because you never know, like, even if, even if, like you had like a string of jobs, and I did, I did before I started Delaware Shoutout, like, you know, it's just, you know, if you look at, it looks hard, it looks very unstable, okay, if you look at my LinkedIn profile, but except the last seven years, where I actually did one thing, which is amazing, so, but the point is, like, if you share everything you did, sometimes people will notice something like, Oh, I noticed that you worked at MetLife, for example, you know, I, you know, I worked for them too, or, you know, you can't have those, you know, like they do connect the dots, you can't connect the dots if you don't put the dots down there in the first place. So just put them down there. You know, I even have the high school I went to and you know, what, it's, it's a high school in Philadelphia that we just think are the best, honestly. So like, I put it in there. And it actually has been a selling point for me, you know, for the few people in Delaware who know about this high school and Delaware in Philadelphia. So I put little, I literally put everything down and also just proofread. Also, I think like three or four years into my profile, I realized for one job, and you know, I do like communication stuff. Okay, I literally misspelled communication. So like, and that's after I noticed that for three or four years, and like, it was so horrible. So, you know, and I'm a writer and an editor and proofreader you know, and I did it. So I think anyone could do this. So, so check for past tense for past stuff, proofread again, now that you've had some distance, and some times is the last time you can, it'll be and you might see something that sticks out to you that sticks out at you that didn't before. So you know, so yeah, maybe I just gave you too much information. There's like too much, whatever.
Jess:No, I think I like I personally, like, I don't like my so I'm the oldest of my siblings. And I'm 30. And my youngest sibling is I guess he's 23. And he and his friends are all kind of starting that journey on like, the professional job searches. And then his one friend was asking me about LinkedIn. And she was like, What do I put on it? What do I do? So I think those answer kind of like, all the questions like put all of your relevant experience put all of your maybe slightly irrelevant experience, as long as it's not illegal, you know, open illegal things on there.
Brooke:And I just, I kept on thinking of illegal things. You know, I was like, I don't have anything if it's not illegal, like, just put it on there. Am I right?
Jess:Whatever illegal or like a protected job, like working for the CIA? Like, obviously, you're not going to put that on your profile?
Brooke:Yes, actually, you know, what, there was someone who worked and like, she worked in the police force, but a particular section of it that she could have had some past people she to deal with, hunt her down. So like, we actually talked about it and I was like, okay, you'll be the one exception where we do not put to do a job experience down. But you know, literally, unless it's like illegal or like people will kill you. I think it's fine. We'll use that as the role. Yeah. How's that? Yeah,
Jess:I think that's a pretty good rule, because I know there are some times where like, I've been at networking events like in person or like virtually, or even like through LinkedIn, where like, I coach like high school students. And they've been like we've had we've connected moreover, oh, you, you coach this sport, I coach this sport, and then it becomes this symbiotic relationship. But like, we didn't meet over business stuff we met over, like, I keep calling it extracurricular. But that's not the right word.
Brooke:But i know what you mean
Jess:Personal development. Yeah. So I think, yeah, that kind of stuff. Definitely, it adds, and that's more color to your profile.
Brooke:And I will say, you know, for all we talked about, like the personality of your profile, and making sure it's up to date, and all that, do do be mindful of keywords. So if there are particular, you know, if there are keywords, you'd want to put in a, you know, a Google search, you know, for someone try to find your company, or you and what you do, try to sneak them in, as long as it's natural, you know, even if it's within bullet points in terms of things that you do, or the first introductory paragraph of what you do, make sure you kind of sneak those in, because it does help you show up in more search results. immensely. So, you know, do take the time to do that, as well as it's not as sexy as the the whole personality thing. But it definitely needs to be said,
Jess:definitely online, the whole SEO and search optimization thing, definitely, it plays into anything I think you put on the internet. That's true. So once we've got our profile built, then I feel like how do people go about, you know, connecting and building what we like to refer to as, like authentic relationships in a digital world.
Brooke:Okay so, um, in terms of connecting, I'll tell you what my rule is, everyone has a slightly different version, my rule is that I will reach out and connect with anyone that I know that will remember that I exist, you know, even if it's like a blast from the past type of thing. But, but, or add anyone who, anyone who connects with me, or tries to connect with me on LinkedIn, with a couple exceptions, okay, in my life, I will accept the connection request for so so in other words, I'm accepting any connection request. But I'm personally only initiating my own connection requests with people that I know, there's no way they're gonna mark me as spam because they know me, or I don't, I hope they don't mark me spam, you know, to the thing. And what I recommend from Let's start with the reaching out to people that you know, and what I recommend is because it's easy to be a deer in headlights with us, write down a list of like, the people, you know, through your, let's call it extracurricular activities, okay, you know, the people, you know, through that the people you know, through, you know, wherever you went to, you know, wherever you went to school, that people you know, from your, you know, previous jobs that people you know, and basically create categories of your life, and then just think of people and then start searching for them. LinkedIn is when if you're really going to go gung ho on this, LinkedIn might kind of like slap your wrist, if you do too many searches at one time. And just to promote my channel, I do have a whole video just on how to get around, hack LinkedIn, search limits, to a limit. So check that out. But anyway, so but I do recommend going through that exercise, or even like maybe just like, again, if you want to put this into, like, smaller chunks, you know, do a few at a time. The reason it's and, and the reason so important to have a large network, which also brings me to why I also accept any connection requests minus a couple people in my life that I just already knew were bad seeds kind of thing. If I wasn't, there was no point in adding them to my network. I already knew they already proven themselves not to be in my network, you know what I mean? So but but everyone else, I'll give them a chance. Yeah, you know, you have to assume people are good, you know, assume the best, you know, first. But, uh, gosh, I wish I could do this, I usually shows the visuals where my hands but you know, if you're if you think this really small, tight little network, it's a tiny little circle, that's your first degree is your first degree connections, then you only have like, you still have a relatively small second degree circle. In other words, the people who are also connected to your connections, and your third, your circle isn't so large either, which means you're showing up in way fewer search, if you search it search results for people who want to find people who do what you do. But if you are connected to a ton of people, not only are you going to get more, you know, assuming and we'll talk about content, but you know, not only are you going to have more interactions and more people engaging with your content, but also you're just going to show up in more search results. So I will gladly accept connection requests because at the very least it helps my numbers. If someone just tries to sell to me, like immediately, and we'll get to that as well. In terms of if you're on the end where you want to sell, I will say that I will politely decline it. I'll say hey, I'm happy to you know, thanks. You know, thanks for asking about this. I'm very happy to stay connected with you. As long as I'm not being solicited. Thank you for your understanding. Usually they go away well small they keep on soliciting and then I'll only move But they have to go through those layers. But usually I get a, they either don't send anything back and I never hear from again. But we stay connected, I get that connection. Or they'll say, hey, you're really, you know, no problem I understand completely. Thanks. And have a great day. And you just left on a really good note. So, I don't know why I found out but yeah, so the key is, build your connections. I know some people are very squeamish about that in terms of accepting any connection requests. But people are people, every friend starts out as a stranger. And the big story I can give you is on this in terms of like, really trying to be open minded here. First year, my first year of business, I mean, it was slow, it was so slow that I was I became like a Wii 100 pin bowling master and like, still hold the record for like 100 pin bowling, it's like 2700s, like, really amazing score. So because I had no business, okay, I think it was horrible. So anyway, I was gonna say, so anyway, I get this LinkedIn connection request from someone that it didn't have their name, it had their company name, and it was some entertainment company, like what kind of entertainment is this. And then it didn't have a profile picture. Like it has all the red flags. And I was like, God, like, Don't judge don't judge. Ah, okay, so I accepted it. And it turns out is this like, really nice guy who's like, you know, like, the serial entrepreneur, like, not serial killer. So entrepreneur, he's on the good side of things. And, um, and just, you know, he didn't really know much about LinkedIn, you know, that's how he filled out his profile. That's what he knew at the time. Um, since then, it's actually like a really good profile. But he's working on a couple of new projects, and it ends up being $30,000 worth of business. So guess what mortgage got to be paid. So, or, or, you know, and I stopped doing as much Wii at that point, you know, but i or i could have judged. Hmm, don't let give people a chance. And most most people, when you connect with them, they're not going to bother you. And I'm not aware of that. If you connect with someone, they somehow hack your account, or they they find out who your clients are, none of that happens. Like your your connections are not categorized by who's doing business with you and who your friends are. And if they're all just connections, it's like he said, just just connect and assume the best. It also just makes for a better outlook on life, honestly.
Jess:100% I like I really, and I'm totally going to start doing this because I totally get those like LinkedIn DMS, where they're like, hey, Jessica, great to connect with you, and they're trying to sell you something, I'm totally going to use that, like, thank you so much for connecting and just like politely decline, because there's so many times I feel like, a lot of us who work in a networking sphere, see, that is just like an aggressive, like, pitch tactic. And we're all like, Oh my gosh, like standoffish about it, but it is right, it is about making it a more positive experience, like declining the pitch and saying, like, I'm glad, I'm glad to stay connected. Although, yeah, there are some people that come back time after time, and you're like, then you're just not okay.
Brooke:An then you report them. And that's fine. But you know, remember, you're always representing your brand, even if someone is kind of bothering you, or at least they, they, they, they try to reach out the first time. And that kind of bothers you. You're always always representing your brand. I know that like when I was long, long, long, long, long, long time ago, I was like doing cold calling and having to do that like in person door to door stuff. Like, you know, and I remember this, there's this one business in particular, where it was like a, like a car repair shop. And like the owner, like he's like, Oh, you know, come on. And he's like, you know, I really don't know if I'm like, you know, kind of buying the copier paper from your area copier paper. That's what the office but you know, to be like, it was actually like, like copier machines, and right. It's like, you know, I think I'm gonna buy anything, but but here's Tell me more about your business. And let me tell you more about mine. And he just made it this really nice networking opportunity. And like, you know, maybe offer me some coffee or some water or whatever. And you know what, I'm there. I always remember that. And that's me, what's the good auto repair shop? You know, so because it's an opportunity to, it could be an opportunity to sell your products and your services, when you're the nice person in this interaction.
Jess:So absolutely, very true. So once you kind of tackle the, all of that kind of connecting and meeting people,
Brooke:yes,
Jess:I always consider this like the next level of like using LinkedIn or using any platform is kind of like the I call it like, for all intents and purposes, I always call it outbound engagement. So like the engagement that you go actively searching for?
Brooke:Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Jess:Okay. So how do you kind of use LinkedIn and like, because, you know, on Facebook, it's super easy to be like, Oh, I saw an Aunt Edna's. post about the Fourth of July. Let me just comment on how cute everybody looks. But LinkedIn is a little different, because it's a professional platform. And how are you going to do that navigate that on LinkedIn?
Brooke:Okay, so yeah, so there are two types of engagement I definitely want to talk about one of them is how you engage with your newsfeed person newsfeed or or actively seek out what specific people you're trying to engage with are posting. And then also the notification section, which is this great opportunity to like, tap into some things there. But in terms of the feed, remember that if you know, on any post, you can like, comment and share, okay. And obviously, when you share something that means a share to a portion of your network, okay, but on LinkedIn, at least as of right now, which is the reason I love LinkedIn, if someone likes or comments on a post, it also gets automatically shared with part of their network, and then their network will see that that person liked your post or commented on your post or something of that nature. So to that point, when what I do is every single, practically every single weekday, let's say for, you know, five days a week, maybe sometimes four days a week, depending on the week, I purposely go into LinkedIn, and I look through my feed, and I try to find something that I can either like, comment, or just flat out share. But even if I'm just liking or commenting, I'm making sure it's something my network wants to see. So I'm not. In this case, I'm not worried so much about which person I'm engaging with, although maybe I should be, but not worried. You know, I mean, like, more picky about that. But I wouldn't I would I'm really picky about what am I sharing, there are there are lots of posts I see out there that that are really good, like, you know, friends of mine who just like, uh, you know, like, are celebrating something and all that, but my network, they have a great testimonial from someone from my network might not know them and might not care. So I'm just trying to find things like a really cool article, or really cool insight about something or something that can enhance their value. So but so I'm actually thinking from that standpoint, but no matter what, if you're very intentional about at least once a day, you know, finding something to like, comment or share over time, it kind of builds up into like, you're regularly having this little touch points, even, you know, because they'll get a notification that you, you know, well, at least for comments. And then for also sharing, you know, you'll, you know what I mean, you'll get a notification that, you know, that that happened. And then it's also just an act of goodwill as well. Also, when you engage I have heard that it also signals to LinkedIn that you might know that person better than that person might know you better. So it's more likely that future posts from each of you end up in each other's newsfeeds. That's what I've heard. I haven't. I've somewhat seen that. But it makes perfect sense. Because LinkedIn has to figure out like, who knows whom, and you know, because you know, and who should see, you know, whose posts.
Jess:Right.
Brooke:So I do from that standpoint. But what I also do on the same in the same sitting session where I'm trying to find a post to like, comment or share, I'm also going into my notifications section, which is right at the top of the profile, there's a little bell, and I just want to see who has had a birthday that I know well enough that I wish him a happy birthday, or you know, celebrating a work anniversary, or just started a new position, that type of thing. So if they're a little, because these are little excuses to congratulate someone on something and is, and I don't, you know, do it expecting any great things, it's more just a little touch point. Um, but I will tell you one time I did get a client out of a happy birthday. I didn't expect it, you know, but but I really feel it wasn't I'll tell you why it feels when the Happy Birthday because this is someone I'd known for like six or seven years. And then I wish her happy birthday and all sudden she's asking me about my services. So it could be the manaage I was on the back of her mind. But then that touch point finally triggered it. So when you do these touch points, and you know if for anyone who's in sales or business development know that you have to have a bunch of touch points. So use the notification system as an opportunity to have a very non threatening, not even you're not even selling to them, but just a very non threatening, like, act of goodwill touch point. And you know, you never know where that could lead.
Jess:That's such a good point. I think I there definitely been times where like, I've seen a person or I've seen an email or I've gotten or I've seen like a Facebook notification or LinkedIn notification where someone has went from being like, Oh, I should get in touch with them to Oh, they've reached out to wish me happy birthday, or congratulations on this. Or even like, I've gotten one more someone commented on my Instagram story. And she was like, Oh my gosh, where did you Where did you get where did you get that? And we were messaging back and forth and I ended up ordering like custom baby gifts from her or something. But yeah, I think it is important to kind of keep up that the little touch point so liking and commenting and like you said happy birthdays are the easiest because LinkedIn serves it to you.
Brooke:They do as long as you know the person well enough again because I have connected with so many people I don't know. Like I don't want to freak them out by wishing them Happy birthday and so you know, I so I really just reserved for the people that and usually more women than men you know like but it's it can get a little weird so it's a little weird you know, on Facebook, I think it's more natural for anyone to wish anyone a happy birthday. But on on LinkedIn, I'm just a little pickier because it's professional setting, but I have done it numerous times. So
Jess:That makes total sense to me. I'm trying to think if there's anything else that I have questions about, if there's anything else you want to share, and educate the masses on on LinkedIn,
Brooke:I would just say regarding pitching possibly, because I know that we've kind of touched on this a little bit from the the end of receiving a sales pitch. But you know, I know that it's tempting to try to sell to people in general, because you know, you're running a business after all, what the way I handle LinkedIn is I don't try to sell like, it's, it's, um, you know, obviously, once in a while, I have a self promotional post, because I, you know, I've remind people that I do things, but that's in the in the newsfeed, okay. But I'm not direct messaging people, and asking people to, you know, buy from me, or even have, you know, a free discovery call, which you know, is just, you know, take this time, so I could sell to you type of thing, you know, like, I just don't do any of that, you know, my feeling is that if you're just out there to, you know, just put out good vibes and serve other people and be sincerely interested in them, then it you know, it's so unquantifiable that way, and I understand that, but in the end, you build stronger sales, you always get a stronger sale from someone who's been warmed up to you than somebody who's like, then a completely cold opportunity. So in the short term of my it feels, it might feel good to say, Okay, I sent out, you know, in 150 pitches today, you know, by, you know, a direct message to someone.But in the long term, it's not going to help that much. Now, I will say, if you still want to pitch after what I just said, at least wait until you know, you've known each other for a little bit on LinkedIn, maybe you've commented on several of their posts, some time has passed, before, maybe you reach out. But again, I you know, I've gotten quite a bit of business from LinkedIn, without even trying to sell it without even trying to sell I'm just just doing my thing, you know, and I think you really want to attract people who appreciate you doing your thing. Those are ultimately the best clients and the ones who feel like they were kind of forced into that discovery call or, you know, thattype of thing.
Jess:Mm hmm.Yeah, it's definitely I definitely have seen that setting yourself as a thought leader and kind of positioning yourself so that like, you have something to say, and people are ready, or they want to hear you say it definitely works better than if you're just messaging people willy nilly. Like you said, a warm lead always converts better than a cold one.
Brooke:Oh, always, always. And, you know, that's what and that could get into an entire sales discussion. But But I will tell you, it applies to virtual situations on LinkedIn, as it does in you know, as it does in real life. I mean, no real life, I'm sorry, like, in person life, it's all real. Yeah. forgetting that, so, um, but, you know, like, you know, what, I was doing the door to door cold calling that wasn't nearly as effective in the long term as it was when I really got out there and started networking, you know, not that I was trying to sell, but I was you're building relationships. And then people are much more of you're more of a fan. It takes longer. And you know, in the short term, it takes longer, but in the long term, it works out better. So anyway, that's a whole separate thing
Jess:We'll have to revisit that topic. That's also a good a good thing to chat about. Brook, thank you so much for joining me, we'll definitely have you back. If people want to find you or reach out to you, I know the last time you're really close to hitting like a benchmark on your YouTube channel. Did you actually did you get to hit it? Or are you like super, super close?
Brooke:No I hit it. And I'm like running with it. I'm really excited. So yeah, I got my 1000 subscribers and then also up to 4000 watch hours. So I am part of the YouTube Partner Program now. So I would say the 4000 watch hours, maybe 100 of them are my own me watching myself. But But 39 but 3900 are real, you know, people interested. So Oh, hang my head on that.
Jess:It's always good to watch yourself. So you know, they will know about theirself aware If people want to find you, aside from where can they find you on YouTube and where else can they find you?
Brooke:Sure. I mean, if you go to Google and just type in Delaware Shoutout and Shoutout is one word. You know, you'll find my website. But you'll find everything on YouTube. The channel name is Delaware Shoutout. So literally, if you just type in Delaware, Shoutout. It'll like all the Their display. But, you know, my website obviously shares, you know, you know how I help people I focus more on strategy and one on one training. And then you know, when someone needs to, you know, run their social media or really have need any other marketing, you know, that's where, you know, like, you know, I do the I heart Epic Marketing thing and you know, you know, refer a lot there. But, so anyway, I do that, but then on my YouTube channel is has been a really great way for me to have outreach and, you know, offer some training and insights, you know, for people who just want to, you know, just get some ideas and, and I, about half my videos are on LinkedIn. So, you know, if you're looking for LinkedIn and want like a video just on how to fill up the experience section of your LinkedIn profile, there's a video just on that part, you know, so I've broken it down into a lot of different pieces.
Jess:Awesome. Well, thank you so much. We'll have to have you back.
Brooke:Thank you.
Jess:Thank you all for tuning in this week. We hope this theory is relative to your marketing needs. Make sure you subscribe to get notified of our latest episodes.