Today, we dive into the world of LinkedIn with Al Kushner, a seasoned expert who knows how to harness the platform for professional growth. Al emphasizes that optimizing your LinkedIn profile is crucial for making impactful connections—after all, first impressions matter! We discuss practical strategies like using AI tools to enhance your profile, the importance of posting engaging content, and tips for navigating the ever-changing LinkedIn algorithm. Al also shares insights on how to effectively reach out to others without coming off as spammy, because nobody likes a pitch slap! Join us as we explore how to elevate your LinkedIn game and create a meaningful professional presence.

Connecting with professionals on LinkedIn is no longer just about sending out invites and hoping for the best; it’s about crafting a strong personal brand that stands out. In this episode, we dive deep into the world of LinkedIn with Al Kushner, a seasoned LinkedIn expert. Al shares his journey on how he became a go-to resource for professionals wanting to enhance their presence on the platform. With over 900 million users, LinkedIn has become a vital tool for networking and business growth, especially since Microsoft took the reins. Al emphasizes the importance of a well-optimized profile, likening it to a digital storefront that can either attract or repel potential connections. He discusses practical steps like using AI tools to find the right keywords and creating engaging content that resonates with your audience.

Throughout our conversation, we explore significant themes such as the integration of AI in LinkedIn strategies. Al introduces listeners to his innovative approach of blending AI with LinkedIn practices, highlighting how this can enhance outreach and engagement. He also shares five essential tips for using LinkedIn effectively, emphasizing the need for a professional profile picture, an engaging background image, and the importance of sharing insightful content. The episode is packed with actionable insights that can help anyone from beginners to seasoned professionals maximize their LinkedIn experience and create meaningful connections.

As we wrap up, we touch upon the common pitfalls that users fall into, such as treating LinkedIn like Facebook and focusing solely on self-promotion. Al reminds us that authenticity and value-driven content are the keys to standing out in the competitive landscape of LinkedIn. Listen in to discover how simple changes to your LinkedIn strategy can lead to greater visibility and success in your professional endeavors.

Takeaways:

• In this episode, we discuss the importance of optimizing your LinkedIn profile to make a strong first impression, as it can greatly influence your success.
• We explore how integrating AI with LinkedIn can enhance your outreach and content creation, making it easier to connect with others.
• Al shares tips on posting videos to boost engagement on LinkedIn, emphasizing that video content gets more attention than text posts.
• We talk about the significance of genuine connections over spammy pitches on LinkedIn, stressing that authenticity is key to building meaningful relationships.
• Al gives insights on the best times to post on LinkedIn for maximum visibility, suggesting midweek mornings as ideal for reaching audiences.
• The episode highlights the value of creating newsletters and educational content to establish authority and provide resources for your network.

Links referenced in this episode:

• linkedvantage.com
• chatgpt.com
• grammarly.com

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• LinkedIn
• Microsoft
• ChatGPT
• Grammarly
• Gary Vaynerchuk
• Guy Kawasaki

Well, hello everybody and welcome to an amazing episode of Leap to Lead where we help elevate your connections, increase your courage and create greater impact.

I am your host, Jacqueline Strominger, and today I have the absolute pleasure of having on as a guest Al Kushner.

Now let me tell you a little bit about.

Alright, so al is a LinkedIn expert dedicated to empowering professionals and businesses to excel.

Drawing on his extensive experience and innovative strategies, Al helps individuals at all levels amplify their brand, build authentic connections and achieve measurable success.

His practical, practical insights make LinkedIn a powerful tool for driving growth and enhancing professional impact.

And we are all about helping our leaders and, and our professionals create greater impact.

So welcome to the podcast.

Al, how are you?

Thank you, Jacqueline.

Thanks for the opportunity.

Yeah, it's my pleasure.

So let's kind of like figure this out.

How did you get into using LinkedIn so much and becoming an expert?

Well, I've been on a platform for over two decades, so I would say that since the inception it was just part of my strategy to use for outreach.

You know, it's awesome social media platform and ever since Microsoft took over, it's really expanded tremendously.

I think there's over 900 million users or a billion, I guess it's pretty, pretty, you know, impressive, you would say, compared to other platforms.

And it's all about businesses and reaching out to people who are, you know, my clientele, I would say entrepreneurs and people, professionals.

And I'm excited to know, have a book that could help meld both AI and LinkedIn together.

And that's the first of kind.

So I think that's rather unique.

That is, that is rather unique.

And so, you know, obviously melding AI in with LinkedIn, you know, some people think AI just came out like last year, but it's actually been around quite a lot longer.

So how long have you been actually using AI?

Well, I would say for the past couple of years.

And it's really developed since its inception and the tools and the software has been incredible and changing.

So I really embraced it and really made a difference in my outreach and my ability to create content.

That was incredible and I'm really grateful to be, I would say in this time period to take advantage of it, you might say.

All right, so do you have a favorite platform that you use for AI?

Well, there are several.

What comes to mind of course is ChatGPT, as you know, which is a very popular platform.

I also like to use Grammarly a few others.

I have a whole resources in my book talking about that, but I think that's a good starting point for most people is to kind of get familiar with it and, and see how they're comfortable with using this technology.

Right.

It's true.

So when you're thinking about like beginner or the novice, intermediate, advanced, is there one platform that you would say like if you've been using it, that you're more advanced, like this is a better one, you know, or versus like ChatGPT which I feel like everybody knows.

Yeah, well, there are various platforms out there.

I've been, I've been using Chat GPT which is, you know, always changing and evolving, you know, which is why it wasn't like what is originally last year.

So it really has become very competitive compared to the other types of platforms, you know, where you can create things like images, you know, for products.

I mean that's incredible.

You know, come up with a book jacket, you know, it's really something that has not been done before.

So I think it really is something worth considering, you know, as the main mainstay.

Right.

So you know, being a LinkedIn expert and using it, you know, I'd love to hear, you know, you know, and I mean I know our listeners would love this is that how do, how you know, if you could give somebody like just five tips on using LinkedIn for leadership.

Very simple focus in on optimizing a profile because the fact is, is that you don't get a second chance to make a first impression and whoever you're going to have any outreach, they're going to look at your profile and if it's not optimized, I mean you really just going to, going to fall flat.

And using AI, it will help find for example keywords to use in your title that are SEO optimized so you can be found by people who may be interested in your services.

Have a professional headshot taken that represents who you are, have it recent, within the past six months I think is a good idea.

I would also focus in on the background as well because it also conveys some of the things that you want to share with people who are connecting with.

And, and so that's just the top, top things that come to mind right there.

A lot more of course, but.

And so as a leader, you know, you know, some people talk about, you know, being able to use it obviously beyond obviously just searching for a job and obviously they want to connect.

But how do you help people use it with that?

That's not spammy.

Well, it's again goes back to your profile itself.

And that really is going to make a difference.

I mean, if you're someone that, you know, has a profile that's, you know, contenting, sales and marketing, sometimes that could also become, you know, it's what the person can expect if they're going to connect with you, you know, they're going to be sold, they're going to be pitch slapped, as they say.

And that's not, you don't want to do that.

All right?

So you really have to really have a profile that really, as being an educator and a thought leader, which includes articles that you've written, includes any newsletters you've created, perhaps videos that are educational.

Should it be all part of your profile before you do any type of outreach?

Because that's going to make a difference.

And if you do, once you've completed that and do decide to do outreach, I would recommend following the individuals that you want to connect with first, you know, and if they post, you'll be alerted when they're posting and reply to that post, you know, with some comments that give meaning to it.

Right, And I think that's actually a huge point, you know, is obviously commenting and giving meaning, you know, So I guess one of the things that I think, I think a lot of people would love to know about too is the algorithm basically of, you know, how it all works really with LinkedIn, you know, we all think about how the.

They're always changing, right?

So what are your top 10 or top five things that you could say to somebody to help them get the algorithms to work better for them?

Well, off the top of my mind comes video.

If you are posting videos, you are definitely getting some love from the algorithm.

And ideally the videos should be anywhere from 60 to 90 seconds.

And if you create the videos and post on a regular basis, you'll find you get a lot more views, a lot more interest and set yourself apart really from the competition, which is most of them are just doing text post.

So you really are making a difference.

If you do post videos and.

Sorry, so posting videos, what else?

Oh, well, follow influencers, for example, and when you do do that, you'll be notified when they do post.

And then if you can reply to those influences within the first 10 or 15 minutes, depending how popular they are, and you post first, you'll most likely get the advantage of the people who are just responding to the post later on, but your post will be on the top, so people will see that first.

The key thing is when you're posting is that reply other than thanks for Sharing, you want to be a little more descriptive.

So a lot of times you can use AI technology to take advantage of the post.

Copy and paste a post into, let's say chatgpt, and come up with a favorable response that amplifies that influencer's mess.

That's really going to make a difference.

It's going to be informative, maybe ask a question or two.

These are things that are going to help get the algorithm to make that post possibly viral.

What's even better is that the influencer may decide to recognize you and say, well, maybe I'll accept that invitation after all.

That's something that's going to make a difference.

So define to me what it means to be an influencer on LinkedIn.

Like what's the characteristics?

Like how many followers, how many, you know, what's the number?

Well, obviously any number that has six digits in it you're gonna find obviously to be impressive to say the least.

And, or a million would be obviously ideal examples of influencers.

You could look at Kawasaki perhaps and Gary Vonicek.

I mean, just examples.

These are individuals that have taken advantage of the platform and increased their amount of followers tremendously over the years.

So certainly when they do post, it gets noticed.

That's an example of an influencer.

So you said you've obviously been using the platform for a long time.

Have you done, you know, have you looked at other platforms that you know that are similar in business or.

There, there's another couple of them that.

And we just decided to stay on LinkedIn.

I just decided to stick to what I know best.

I mean, the fact is, is that if you're going to go business to business, there is no other platform out there, simply put, that has the range, the ability, the amount of people on there is just impressive.

Plus Microsoft, I mean, it's, you know, they're running the show, it's, it's a fairly large company.

So they are really good at what and in creating, creating, you know, a platform that really does a great outreach.

So it does, it actually really does a great outreach.

So talk to me.

How do you work with your clients and what, you know, what, what do most people come to you for?

Well, first thing, a lot of them, I do one on one optimizer profile.

We look for select keywords, we look for ideas to create newsletters, to create content, to establish themselves.

As a thought leader, I really work hard on getting a profile optimized in a way that whoever decides to connect will accept a connection based on the information that's in the profile because that really makes a difference and some people really take it for granted.

But just for example, if you're using the connect with someone and you have very few testimonials, if any at all, that really is really a difference.

Or if you do have it, it's over 10 years old.

I mean, it's not current, you know, so people want to have current and people that maybe they're familiar with and they can connect with someone that can vouch for you, you know, it's a third party to us and simply put, which is great.

So that's the first thing I focus it on.

Once I've done that, then I'd look at strategies for outreach.

So we look at ideas for creating newsletters, running scripts or videos, for example, focusing on influencers and the best time to catch them when they post.

Those are examples whereby they can maximize their exposure and gain a lot of followers and tractions that way.

Just off the top.

Right.

And so speaking of posting, is there a better time to post?

Yeah, ideally I would say Tuesdays through Thursdays in the morning between 8 and 10 is a good time.

I believe Wednesday afternoon as well.

12 and 2 seems to be kind of a sweet spot for a lot of people.

Yeah.

And weekends not so much more of a drop off.

But those are kind of like ideal times to maximize exposure.

I found.

Yeah, interesting.

You know what I find because I, I do a newsletter on LinkedIn and I usually send mine out Tuesday or Wednesday because I always feel like Monday it's like everyone's getting flooded.

Yeah, everybody is getting flooded and I would say by Tuesday to kind of get settled in and getting a groove on.

So that's an opportune time to reach out and that really makes a difference.

I seen, I've seen the views have been incredible.

So talk to me a little bit about using, you know, because LinkedIn has some, you know, enhancements or advancements things and so one of those is obviously Sales Navigator.

So talk to me about like the pros and cons of like, you know, reaching out to people via Sales Navigator versus regular.

I, you know, I mean as somebody who's been obviously on it for so long, I'm sure you could have some good tips about the two.

Well, obviously it's a paid premium version of that.

I believe it's about $100 a month though.

If you pay for the year, they give you discounts.

One of the things I like about Sales Navigator is the ability to find out who's looked at your profile.

So that's certainly an advantage right there.

So it gives you the ability to reach out to that individual, not necessarily connect with them, but, you know, send a message to them and say, what made you stop by my profile?

And.

Or, thanks for stopping by.

And sometimes it could be, you know, whatever reasons.

You know, some you're a friend with someone or what have you, but it's a good way to kind of connect with someone.

And also, what's great about Navigator is that it allows you to find out who has been on active.

Who's been active on LinkedIn for the least past 30 days, because a lot of people, for example, are not active at all.

And when you do an outreach, sometimes you don't hear back from people for months, if at all.

And that also hurts you as well, because when you do an outreach and the person doesn't reply, the algorithm looks at it as a possible spammer.

So that also helps different.

In addition, for example, you have a billboard on your profile, and with the Sales Navigator, it actually provides up to five billboards which rotate in the background.

So you can use that for different aspects of your business.

You can focus on marketing.

Maybe another one could be an email optimization.

I mean, there are ways you can kind of like designate like, like a billboard, but it changes, which is great.

So it really makes it more professional looking.

Right.

Someone just said to me the other day that you could actually now put a QR code.

Well, yeah, you can.

Well, you can create a QR code right now for your profile.

A lot of times when you do network events, for example, I'll wear a badge with my QR code on there.

So people, instead of giving a business card, just snap my QR code and goes right directly to the LinkedIn profile.

Which is great because it really gives you a lot more than just a business card.

It gives you certainly an advantage when connecting with someone, especially when they see your profile is professionally optimized.

You see, you got recommendations, they see articles.

It really is a great feature.

Right.

So talk to me a little bit about the book and what, what got you started on writing it.

And.

I looked out in the marketplace.

I found that all the books on LinkedIn were either dated or really didn't address the issues of AI.

And I said, well, why don't I create a book that does both?

So that was the opportunity.

I jumped at the chance.

And I'm sure there'll be other books following this, but I'm first in, which is great.

So taking advantage of it was awesome.

And the fact is that it's such a useful tool having AI technology available that it just really, anyone who gets this will get so much value from that because there's nothing really available that really delves into both, both types of platforms.

So also being on the platform for so long, you know, you probably have some like, pet peeves and how people do.

How people quote, unquote, LinkedIn.

Oh, yeah, sure.

I mean, when people post, they kind of treat it like Facebook, for example.

They'll like showcase what they've eaten or what they talked about, you know, all this narcissistic posting, which is just ridiculous.

Or they're posting an ad, which is, should be, not really.

It should be an advertising like LinkedIn, but they're using their posting as an ad and that's really not ideal for that platform itself.

So those are just the top that come to mind right off the bat.

Then of course, when I see their profiles and I see how they haven't maybe filled it out or even bothered to deal with it at all, you know, so.

And anyone who reaches out to me as soon as I receive that invite, I go immediately to the profile and if it's not, you know, it's not up to my standards, forget it, I will not accept it.

Right.

You gotta be selective, right?

Well, you do have to be selective, actually, because, you know, I think that's one of the issues that I also see with LinkedIn and what you just said actually before also about what somebody, what they have in their profile.

You know, somebody says, you know, if their message is, is, it's, you know, if on their message it's, or on their, underneath their, on their profile page, it's very sales oriented.

I'm like, oh, that's going to be a sales pitch.

Oh, that's going to be a sales pitch.

And I, and I usually like, nope, decline, nope, decline, nope, decline.

And unless somebody actually reaches out to me authentically, but then I still look at their profile and, and I say, you know, this is just a slow introduction on a way for you to pitch me versus really just trying to connect on an authentic level.

Yeah, there might be some business happen, but get to know them.

Like there's a reason behind it.

A lot of times you can also send a message when you do reach out to someone, maybe a paragraph, you can do up to 300 characters, I believe, and try to indicate as much as you can that you just want to do an outreach for such and such reasons.

One person sent me the other day that they're reaching out to me because they're asking, asking me if I needed a housekeeper.

I mean, seriously.

I mean, exactly.

They're family, a family business.

Wonder if you need a housekeeper.

Like, okay, block, you know, so this is just something that you do.

So when I do an outreach, if it's a second connection and usually they know some people that I know, sometimes I won't necessarily do that, but if I'm, let's say, going after a potential podcaster, then I would reach out to them, indicate that, hey, you know, I've listened to your podcast and I'd love to be, you know, you know, a guest on your show.

Looking for the opportunity and you know, just be honest about it and be authentic and sincere is something that's going to win people over right now.

That's.

And I think sincerity and is really important versus just trying to sell somebody something is really important, is it's really, really key.

You know, if you're, you know, one of the things that we really try to do here is try to help create people, Help people create a greater impact.

So, you know, thinking about LinkedIn and obviously creating that authority and being, and having that voice, let's say somebody doesn't have like the recommendations, what are some of the ways that they can they really get that, that true voice and authenticity, you know, an authority out there.

Very simple.

Create content that people want to read.

You know, create a newsletter.

In fact, in LinkedIn, you can do up to five newsletters.

So take advantage of all five opportunities available and, you know, niche that area.

I have a newsletters, for example, for financial planners, one for accountants, one for attorneys.

We even want for meeting planners, you know, and how to, you know, use LinkedIn more effectively.

And that seems to be very well received, you know, when I send it out.

So I think that's important to note is give value to whoever you're connecting with.

Sometimes, for example, I'll share an ebook that I created that just really helps them, let's say, optimize their profile.

In fact, on my website, linkedvantage.com, those who listen can actually access a free ebook on profile optimization for LinkedIn.

So they can go ahead and do that.

And I think that's very helpful.

And there is nothing salesy about.

It's just information education, you know, be a resource.

That's really what you want to do, right?

Be that resource for people, which is so important.

And so when you're thinking about creating that impact also, you know, creating the content, how often should people be posting on LinkedIn?

Well, I would say A minimum of once a week.

I would say if you're doing newsletters at least once a week, you know, you don't want to be more than that.

But it depends.

I post once a week and I also do videos three times a week.

So when I post that into groups that I'm associated with.

And groups are something that a lot of people don't really think that it's worthwhile, but I believe it is because there are a lot of groups that may have your clients and sometimes people will accept your invitation because you're part of a group.

So ignore groups.

They're really quite good.

And ideally go for the most sizable groups available that you can find.

You know, groups of at least 5 or 10,000 minimum or a hundred thousand more.

It'd be a good, good, good starting point, I would say.

Right, right.

And so let's talk about it from the standpoint of a company.

You know, so a company has a profile out there.

Is it, is it?

You know, obviously they want to attract more people to their profile.

What are your, the top tips for a company to promote to get their page out there?

Well, again, they have a company page.

You would focus in on things that of interest to people who may want to use their services.

You can be examples of case studies.

You can also create a newsletter as well.

The idea behind it is that you just want to share information that is kind of company related, not necessarily from a personal standpoint.

So it could be any type of awards that were won or other things, attributes, volunteer work that they've done, which is always considered very favorable.

I would say work which is always good.

So these are just types of things.

And again, they can also post once a week just to really kind of share information that's of value and just focus on not really advertising the services, but be of service to people is what I.

So you, you shared, you said, you know, you do your newsletter once a week and then you do videos three times a week.

Are you also doing static content?

Well, I find for the most part the algorithm likes videos and that really make a difference.

The static is mostly for the newsletters because you can't really put news.

So that's the idea of you going to set yourself in the competition, create a video, ideally between 60 to 90 seconds maximum.

All right.

And just upload it to, let's say for example, the groups that you're part of.

And you'll find you'll get a lot more traction that way.

Followers, people interested, and you'll develop thought leadership a lot Quicker.

Interesting.

You know, I find this completely fascinating.

So, you know, so Al, so tell us where people can connect with you.

I will obviously put the link to your book in the show notes, but what's the best way to people to connect with you?

Because I honestly, people, you know, listeners, maximizing your profile on LinkedIn is huge.

I, I cannot, I, I cannot stress this enough that it is absolutely so important.

And I share this because I know, you know, in one of our networking hubs, we were talking the other day and I asked people to take a look at their LinkedIn profile and some people have not updated it for years.

And I'm just like, guys, you gotta be on this.

Yeah, well that's, that's what you come across unfortunately.

And you know, you can lead a horse to water, you can't make them drink and.

Right.

It's really the issue.

So.

But for those who want to make a difference, become a thought leader.

You really got to start pretty much having your house in order and that's the first thing is optimize your profile.

So whoever you do an outreach is going to accept your connection and that really makes a difference.

The book will help people understand the reasons behind, behind it, how AI technology can help create content, create information in your profile that normally you would spend hours on.

It takes minutes to really come up something that's really impactful.

So I think that's a good way to do that.

So, yeah, go to my website, linkedvantage.com or reach out to me on LinkedIn.

Of course.

And if you do reach out, don't pitch slap me.

Guys.

Hear that.

Reach out and purposely thoughtfully connect.

Don't pitch, don't pitch slap.

I love that.

We all hate that.

So, so listeners, please do me the favor and please reach out and connect with Al and then please also do me the favor of hitting subscribe and sharing this with your friends and colleagues.

Because honestly, I truly believe if we can have people using LinkedIn better and not pitch slapping people, I think it'll all be a happier place.

Absolutely.

So thank you, Al, for being a great guest.

I'm Jacqueline Strominger, your host of Leap to Lead and thank you all for listening.

Thank you.