Best of LinkedIn: Social Selling CW 41/ 42

00:00:00: brought to you by Thomas Allgaier and Frennus.

00:00:02: This edition highlights key LinkedIn posts on social selling in weeks forty-one and forty-two.

00:00:07: Frennus supports enterprises with enablement and insights, providing data-driven sales intelligence, flexible support, team augmentation, and data quality improvements.

00:00:16: so social engagement turns into measurable pipeline.

00:00:20: Welcome to the deep dive.

00:00:22: Today we're diving straight into B to B's social selling strategy.

00:00:26: We've pulled together the most, well... actionable insights from LinkedIn over the past couple of weeks, really focusing on what's actually working now.

00:00:33: That's right.

00:00:34: And if you look at all the commentary from people like Daniel Disney, James Farnfield, there's this big theme emerging.

00:00:40: It's a real strategic shift, I'd say.

00:00:42: A shift away from

00:00:43: what?

00:00:44: Away from just chasing vanity metrics, likes, comments, that sort of thing.

00:00:48: And moving towards really disciplined.

00:00:50: execution, stuff that's anchored in trust, and crucially measurable pipeline.

00:00:55: Right.

00:00:55: So the mission for you listening is to really grasp how trust, visibility, and well, conversion all connect, especially because the platforms like LinkedIn keep tweaking the rules.

00:01:05: So let's start right there.

00:01:06: Theme one, the platform, the algorithm, and this trust metric everyone's talking about.

00:01:12: the Social Selling Index, or SSI.

00:01:14: Yes, the SSI.

00:01:15: Okay, so this score, it runs zero to a hundred, and it's basically LinkedIn's own kind of hidden trust meter.

00:01:22: Hidden,

00:01:23: so people don't even know about

00:01:24: it.

00:01:24: A lot don't.

00:01:25: DeVita Ginter, Gabby Leibovich, Allie Wallace, they all flag this.

00:01:30: Many users just aren't aware it exists, but it really influences your success on the platform.

00:01:35: Okay, but it sounds a bit... Arbitrary.

00:01:38: Why should a busy B to B seller actually focus on improving some score?

00:01:42: Well, because it's not arbitrary at all.

00:01:44: Think of it like a behavioral dashboard.

00:01:46: It directly impacts how visible you are.

00:01:48: Goral carapettian broke it down nicely.

00:01:50: Oh, so?

00:01:50: It measures four pillars.

00:01:52: Yeah.

00:01:52: How will you build a professional brand?

00:01:53: Okay.

00:01:54: Find the right people.

00:01:55: Engage with insights.

00:01:57: and build relationships, score high there, and LinkedIn essentially rewards you with more reach.

00:02:03: And the numbers LinkedIn quotes are pretty serious, right?

00:02:05: Something like high SSI users getting forty-five percent more business opportunities.

00:02:09: Exactly, a forty-five percent lift.

00:02:11: I mean, that's not just a vanity score, that's a real KPI.

00:02:15: It's basically the engine driving your organic reach.

00:02:18: Wow.

00:02:19: And, you know, the SSI matters even more now because the algorithm itself is changing, it's gotten tougher.

00:02:24: Ah, yes.

00:02:25: Liam Darmity mentioned this new AI system.

00:02:28: Three sixty brew.

00:02:29: That's

00:02:29: the one.

00:02:30: Three sixty brew.

00:02:30: What is that exactly?

00:02:31: How's it different?

00:02:32: Sounds like another one of those black boxes designed to make life harder.

00:02:35: Huh.

00:02:36: Well Richie Paddauer called it a tough grader and I think that's fair.

00:02:40: It aggressively prioritizes content based on persona and intent

00:02:45: persona and intent.

00:02:46: So less about just general activity

00:02:48: way less.

00:02:49: the old system might have boosted you for just being active getting lots of likes.

00:02:52: Yeah, but three sixty brew if you post about say finance it actively looks for finance professionals showing interest in finance topics And it only shows them the most relevant high-quality stuff.

00:03:03: So if I'm that CFO Three Sixty Brew is basically acting like a filter, screening out the noise and only showing me what's really relevant to my job.

00:03:10: Precisely.

00:03:11: Relevings is king now, which forces users to be, well, hyper-specific and human.

00:03:17: Okay.

00:03:18: Yeah, Simon Schmidt's pointed out the irony here.

00:03:20: LinkedIn seems to be penalizing that sort of robotic AI-generated content.

00:03:25: it maybe even encouraged

00:03:27: before.

00:03:27: Right, the low effort stuff.

00:03:28: Exactly.

00:03:29: If your content doesn't feel human and relevant, Three Sixty Brew apparently just tanks its visibility.

00:03:35: Like within the first hour.

00:03:37: Okay, that focus on human relevance.

00:03:39: It leads us straight into theme two.

00:03:41: Content strategy.

00:03:42: Shifting from me to them.

00:03:45: If Three Sixty Brew demands real intent, we need real content.

00:03:49: And Daniel Disney, he gave that uncomfortable truth, didn't he?

00:03:52: That most sellers do social selling completely backwards.

00:03:55: They really do.

00:03:56: It's all my product, my company, my features that me, me, me focus.

00:03:59: It just falls flat.

00:04:01: Prospects honestly only care about one thing.

00:04:04: Their problem.

00:04:04: Their problems, exactly.

00:04:05: So Disney argues your content, your profile, your messages.

00:04:09: Everything needs to start with the prospects challenges.

00:04:12: Tell stories about their success using your solution.

00:04:14: Which

00:04:14: means you actually need a point of view, right?

00:04:16: Yeah.

00:04:17: James Farnfield talked about executives needing a strong opinion and ideology, the aimous statement, he called it.

00:04:22: Yeah, the aimous statement.

00:04:24: It's essentially your core belief.

00:04:26: maybe slightly contrarian, about how things should be in your industry, how problems should be solved.

00:04:32: It's what you stand for.

00:04:33: If you don't have that, you just blend in.

00:04:35: You blend in, totally.

00:04:36: And that requires authenticity, which, let's be honest, can be scary.

00:04:41: Definitely.

00:04:42: Hayden Meyer had that great framework, though.

00:04:44: Find your unfair advantage.

00:04:46: Like, what unique thing did you learn or overcome?

00:04:48: Right.

00:04:49: Pick

00:04:49: three consistent themes.

00:04:51: And then my favorite part.

00:04:53: Write like you're texting at two AM.

00:04:56: I loved that too.

00:04:57: Just means be relatable, drop the corporate speak, be honest, let your guard down a bit.

00:05:02: Yeah, but how many execs are really going to write like they're texting at two AM?

00:05:05: That feels like a big leap.

00:05:07: It is a leap, but maybe that's the point.

00:05:09: You need that bit of emotional vulnerability.

00:05:11: Chad Johnson made such a great point here.

00:05:13: Emotion drives engagement.

00:05:15: Logic just rides shotgun.

00:05:17: Explain that.

00:05:18: It's the sequence.

00:05:19: You start with emotion.

00:05:21: a story, empathy, something that connects and builds trust.

00:05:24: Then you bring in the logic, the data, the ROI, the case studies, that justifies the decision they already feel is right.

00:05:31: Even in B to B.

00:05:32: Especially in B to B. The decisions are bigger, riskier.

00:05:35: You need that emotional buy-in first.

00:05:37: Okay,

00:05:38: so we know we need trust the SSI.

00:05:40: We know the content needs to be about them.

00:05:42: So, theme three, execution, outreach, pipeline.

00:05:46: How do we turn that engagement into?

00:05:49: Well, actual business.

00:05:50: Right, the conversion part.

00:05:52: Yeah.

00:05:52: Barry Rodriguez really emphasized this.

00:05:54: B to B needs to own distribution, not just creation.

00:05:57: If people are engaging, you need a system, a process to guide them to the next step.

00:06:01: Because the biggest fail, according to Terry Heath, is just stopping at the comments, right?

00:06:05: Great post, tons of insightful replies, and then crickets in the DM.

00:06:09: Exactly,

00:06:09: that end.

00:06:10: Yeah.

00:06:10: So how do you bridge that gap?

00:06:11: You need a systematic approach.

00:06:13: Cornelius Mota argued that your profile is your landing page.

00:06:16: Profile

00:06:16: is landing page, interesting.

00:06:17: Yeah.

00:06:18: Your headline banner featured section.

00:06:21: they need to scream value to the prospect not just list your job title.

00:06:26: The whole outreach process needs structure like a conversation ladder.

00:06:29: He called it moving people from public interaction to a private valuable conversation.

00:06:35: and Christian Kraus.

00:06:36: He talked about the difference between the average sales rep and the top one percent.

00:06:41: What sets them apart in execution?

00:06:43: It's how they approach it.

00:06:44: the top one percent they warm up leads They give value first.

00:06:48: They use personalized video voice DMs, stuff that stands out.

00:06:51: So less generic connection requests.

00:06:54: Way less.

00:06:55: They know it takes multiple touch points, sometimes like ten touches, just to get that first meeting booked.

00:06:59: Which confirms what we suspected.

00:07:01: Multi-step nurturing sequences just outperform those one-off ask every time, especially for senior buyers.

00:07:06: Yeah, the data backs it up.

00:07:08: Pipeline quality really goes up when you consistently educate at the top and provide targeted proof points mid-funnel.

00:07:13: And tools can help here, right?

00:07:15: Jan van Moscher mentioned Leedshark.io for reaching out to people who comment on specific posts like giveaways.

00:07:21: All right, super targeted outreach based on actual engagement.

00:07:24: And Carolina Pozma mentioned positive AI that helps turn existing content, like maybe a dense white paper, into LinkedIn-friendly posts quickly.

00:07:33: Again, it's about systemizing.

00:07:34: Using tools to accelerate the human connection, not, you know, replace it entirely.

00:07:40: That idea of human connection brings us to theme four.

00:07:44: Personal branding and employee advocacy.

00:07:46: Muhammad Sajif had a pretty blunt take.

00:07:49: Company Page is basically a digital sticker.

00:07:51: Ouch.

00:07:52: Yeah, pretty blunt, but... Often true, isn't it?

00:07:55: Personal profiles are the real game.

00:07:57: People connect with people, not logos.

00:07:59: Which leads right into employee advocacy, and the potential leverage there is just huge.

00:08:04: Kate Ladone shared a stat that blew my mind.

00:08:07: Which one?

00:08:07: Only three percent of employees typically share company content.

00:08:11: But that tiny three percent drives thirty percent of the total engagement.

00:08:14: Thirty percent?

00:08:15: From just three percent of people, that is massive leverage, just sitting there, untapped in most organizations.

00:08:21: So

00:08:21: the takeaway isn't force everyone to post, it's find the champions.

00:08:24: Ben Hayes and Bradley Keenan both hit on this, stop chasing mass compliance.

00:08:29: Right.

00:08:29: Identify the people who are actually willing, who want to share their expertise and empower them.

00:08:35: Make it a movement, something they opt into, not a top-down mandate.

00:08:39: A

00:08:39: movement, not a mandate, I like that.

00:08:41: And crucially, the C-suite.

00:08:43: has to be part of this movement.

00:08:45: Colin Day pointed out that executive advocacy is a serious competitive advantage.

00:08:50: Why?

00:08:50: Because BDB buyers use LinkedIn like a research desk.

00:08:54: They're

00:08:54: checking out the leadership.

00:08:55: Exactly.

00:08:56: So leaders need to show up, share real insights, authenticity over just activity stats.

00:09:02: And this isn't just a trend for this year.

00:09:03: James Farnfield specifically said employee content will be core to twenty twenty-six strategy.

00:09:08: It's becoming foundational.

00:09:10: It really comes back to that core mindset shift Dennis Jedlick had talked about.

00:09:13: Consistency beats intensity.

00:09:15: You don't set out to build a personal brand.

00:09:17: You earn it.

00:09:18: How?

00:09:18: By consistently solving problems for your audience and talking about it.

00:09:22: The brand becomes the natural result, the byproduct of providing consistent value.

00:09:27: As Rina Bender put it, your audience needs to instantly know, yeah, that's the person who really understands

00:09:32: X. Okay, so wrapping this deep dive up, it feels like social selling now is about radical focus.

00:09:40: Yeah.

00:09:41: I think that's a good way to

00:09:42: put it.

00:09:53: Brita Barron's made a great point.

00:09:55: Consistent social selling actually saves ad budget because it fills that inbound pipeline organically.

00:10:01: Right.

00:10:01: Earned visibility through authentic effort makes the whole sales process more efficient, less costly.

00:10:07: Well, if you enjoyed this deep dive, new additions drop every two weeks.

00:10:11: Also, check out our other additions on account-based marketing, field marketing, channel marketing, MarTech, go-to-market, and AI and B to B marketing.

00:10:18: And think about this.

00:10:19: Josephine Wanner estimated that LinkedIn's organic reach is shrinking.

00:10:23: affecting maybe ninety-five percent of creators.

00:10:25: So, given that reality, the challenge for you is pretty stark.

00:10:29: Are you focusing your precious time on building real credibility, a strong SSI deep connections at three sixty brew actually values, or are you still chasing those empty vanity metrics on content the algorithm doesn't care about anymore?

00:10:41: Think hard about where your unique expertise truly lies and then commit.

00:10:45: Commit to sharing that.

00:10:46: Thank you and remember to subscribe.