Crazy Stupid LinkedIn Lunacy

I crossed paths with a desperate marketer yesterday who craves more followers for his company’s LinkedIn page.

A competing company recently gained 1,600 followers in 30 days, and Desperate didn’t want his company to fall behind. 

So he posted his story to a marketing forum and asked for help.

Then the rotten advice began to flow. 

A so-called marketer told Desperate to post an opening on LinkedIn Jobs. 

“When people apply, they follow you,” So-Called said. 

Another Einstein thought that was a great idea.

He urged Desperate to have coworkers share the job post with their connections. This could add 6,000 followers per month, he said. 

That is some crazy, stupid, LinkedIn lunacy. 

Before you shrug and say, “Yeah, I would never do that…” 

…let’s break down what’s happening here…

…because you may have more in common with Desperate and So-Called than you think. 

This is a story about valuing quantity over quality. 

Desperate will end up with a large quantity of followers. 

But how many of them will be quality prospects? 

Not many. 

How many will promote Desperate’s company or be potential joint-venture partners?

Not many. 

So Desperate will celebrate his massive “follower” count…

…but have little or no business growth to show for it. 

This happens all the time on social media. 

Desperate marketers chasing vanity metrics such as likes, followers, friends, and so forth…

…often using ethically questionable tactics — such as garbage job posts — to do so…

…and then they have nothing to show for it.

Nothing as in zero sales. 

Here’s advice I posted for Desperate – which is relevant to anyone marketing on social media: 

What’s your strategy to engage your followers and convert them to clients? You might have better success if you focus more on qualifying and converting existing followers and less on elevating your follower count with people who aren’t real prospects… Get your engagement/conversion down before you chase new followers. Then, when you build your following, go for quality (real prospects), not quantity (i.e. job applicants who are not prospects).

This is where storytelling comes in.

When you create captivating, prospect-focused, story-powered content, you attract real prospects.

Those who find your content entertaining and relevant will take notice. 

They’ll turn on and tune in. 

They’ll follow you.

You may have fewer followers. But they’ll be quality followers.

And that will lead to business growth.