Best of LinkedIn: Social Selling CW 47/ 48

00:00:00: Brought to you by Thomas Allgaier and Frennis.

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

00:00:07: Frennis supports enterprises with enablement and insights, providing data-driven sales intelligence, flexible support, team augmentation, and data quality improvements, so social engagement turns into measurable pipeline.

00:00:21: Welcome back today.

00:00:22: We are jumping right into this state of social selling on LinkedIn looking at everything we saw in the B to B community over calendar weeks forty seven and forty eight.

00:00:30: and You know if there's one big takeaway right from the start It's that the whole value system of the platform seems to have shifted.

00:00:37: it really has

00:00:38: visibility is now all about usefulness and Authenticity.

00:00:43: it's not just about posting volume anymore.

00:00:45: the days of low effort content.

00:00:46: I think they're pretty much over.

00:00:47: They have to be.

00:00:48: We're looking at content that shows a really rapid maturation, especially in B to B. So this deep dive is all about helping you understand what that means.

00:00:56: We're talking deeper credibility, being super relevant to your ideal customer, and well, just more human engagement.

00:01:02: And the platform itself is changing.

00:01:04: Exactly.

00:01:04: We'll get into the structural changes, how LinkedIn is evolving, and what that means for how you actually do your job every day.

00:01:11: OK, so our mission today is to give you a shortcut to this new landscape.

00:01:16: We've clustered the top trends we saw into four main areas.

00:01:20: Right.

00:01:20: First, we're going to look at profile strategy and why that social selling index is suddenly so important again.

00:01:25: Then the algorithm and the content playbook you need now.

00:01:29: After that, we'll tackle engagement first social selling, so the actual outbound part.

00:01:33: And finally, we'll look at the bigger picture, things like personal branding, AI, and what your organization actually needs to do to make any of this work.

00:01:42: So let's unpack

00:01:42: it.

00:01:43: Let's do it.

00:01:44: So starting with the profile, we saw this huge consensus that the LinkedIn SSI, the social selling index, I mean, it felt like a dead metric for

00:01:53: a while, didn't it?

00:01:54: I really did.

00:01:54: A vanity score.

00:01:55: Yeah.

00:01:56: But now it's back and it's being framed as a critical business predictor, not just for, you know, trust, but even for hiring outcomes.

00:02:03: It's back because it's tied to revenue.

00:02:05: It's tied to the metrics that matter.

00:02:07: I mean, Carolina Pazma shared some data that's just impossible to ignore.

00:02:12: Okay.

00:02:13: A high SSI score leads to forty five percent more sales opportunities.

00:02:17: Forty

00:02:17: five percent.

00:02:18: Wow.

00:02:18: And a fifty

00:02:19: one percent higher likelihood of actually hitting your quota.

00:02:23: It's staggering.

00:02:24: It's basically linked in quantifying how good you are at building a real network and establishing trust and then rewarding you for it.

00:02:32: Okay.

00:02:32: Forty five percent more opportunities is not a small thing.

00:02:35: Right.

00:02:35: It's a huge competitive edge.

00:02:37: But how?

00:02:38: I always thought you could just gain the SSI by connecting with everyone.

00:02:41: Well, the link is visibility.

00:02:43: And that visibility is earned now.

00:02:45: Jan van Wischer highlighted some more stats.

00:02:47: And his point was that active social sellers, the ones with the high scores, they're just creating more opportunities because their signals being amplified.

00:02:54: So they're visible to the right people at the right time.

00:02:57: Exactly.

00:02:58: How do we make that happen?

00:03:00: How do you stop treating your profile like an old resume?

00:03:03: Well, Niab Mushtock had some really great actionable advice on this.

00:03:07: First thing, ditch the job title in your headline.

00:03:11: Just get rid of it.

00:03:11: Get rid of it.

00:03:12: It needs to be a value statement plus a niche keyword.

00:03:15: This is so critical because at the end of the day, LinkedIn is a B to B search engine.

00:03:21: If your profile isn't optimized for search, you're just invisible.

00:03:25: And the algorithm is actually enforcing this now, isn't it?

00:03:27: It is, yeah.

00:03:28: Mike Adam talked about the new AI model.

00:03:30: It's called Three Sixty Brew.

00:03:32: And what it does is it scans seven specific parts of your profile.

00:03:36: Seven parts.

00:03:36: Yeah.

00:03:37: Your headline about sections, skills, experience, all of it to confirm your expertise.

00:03:42: If the algorithm sees vague or, you know, generic language, Three Sixty Brew can't match your content to the right audience and your distribution just tanks.

00:03:51: That's

00:03:51: fascinating.

00:03:52: So it's not about looking good for a human.

00:03:53: It's literally your instruction manual for the algorithm.

00:03:56: That's a great way to put

00:03:57: it.

00:03:57: update my profile with really clear, focused keywords, does that give me an immediate lift?

00:04:02: You're sending a stronger signal, so very often yes.

00:04:06: Polina Smolier shared a case study that proved this.

00:04:09: She took a client's SSI from a pretty bad thirty-seven all the way up to fifty-two in just

00:04:15: sixty days.

00:04:16: Wow, in two months.

00:04:17: In two months.

00:04:18: And the focus wasn't just posting more, it was clear positioning, unified keywords, and, this is the key part, prioritizing the accuracy of your connections over the volume.

00:04:30: Accuracy over volume.

00:04:31: That really sums up this entire shift we're seeing.

00:04:33: It really does.

00:04:34: And Fox- Tucker added another layer to this, saying you have to optimize for two audiences.

00:04:39: Right.

00:04:39: Not just LinkedIn users.

00:04:40: But

00:04:41: also for Google, for people just searching on the wider internet.

00:04:43: So your message has to work in both places.

00:04:45: Absolutely.

00:04:46: The takeaway here is your profile is not decoration.

00:04:48: It's the foundation for everything else.

00:04:50: Which

00:04:50: brings us right to content strategy.

00:04:52: I mean, with the amount of content going up and this huge wave of AI generated stuff hitting the platform, the bar for relevance is just so much higher now.

00:05:02: It's never been higher.

00:05:04: Rake Adler confirmed that the Three Sixty Brew update is all about emphasizing relevance over raw reach.

00:05:09: So quality over quantity, finally.

00:05:11: Finally.

00:05:12: And this is why the algorithm is now actively panelizing engagement hacks.

00:05:16: You know the one.

00:05:17: Oh, do you agree?

00:05:18: This

00:05:19: or the generic yes-no questions that are only there to get likes.

00:05:23: The platform wants useful content that actually starts a real discussion.

00:05:28: Well, I think we can all breathe a sigh of relief hearing that the AI slop.

00:05:32: as Chris Kohler called it, is getting filtered out.

00:05:35: He was saying that B to B marketing just doesn't have to be boring.

00:05:40: In fact, your own creativity, your authentic voice, that's now the only real competitive edge you have against all that templated content.

00:05:48: It's true.

00:05:49: And Morgan Perry echoed that perfectly.

00:05:51: She argued that all the surface level hacks are totally irrelevant if your content doesn't reflect your unique point of view.

00:05:56: A

00:05:57: lived experience.

00:05:58: Exactly.

00:05:58: If it could have been written by anyone, it's going to be seen by no one.

00:06:01: So, okay, we know we had to avoid the slop.

00:06:04: But where do you find that genuinely unique content?

00:06:08: If we're all researching the same stuff online, how do you stand out?

00:06:12: Tim Clark had a great suggestion.

00:06:14: The best content comes from just showing up.

00:06:16: Literally showing up.

00:06:17: Yeah, like going to industry events, conferences, capturing real-time insights, the questions people are actually asking, the language your customers use.

00:06:27: That stuff gives you context you just can't get from a Google search.

00:06:30: And when you create that goal, you shouldn't just let it disappear after a day.

00:06:34: Yeah.

00:06:34: I saw a fascinating experiment from Justina Sisyerska about the audience's forgetting curve.

00:06:41: This was great.

00:06:42: She reposted the exact same content two days later and people were commenting like it was brand new.

00:06:47: Which is such a powerful reminder for anyone in B to B with long sales cycles.

00:06:51: Recycling your proven content, it's not cheating.

00:06:54: It's just smart.

00:06:55: You're maximizing the life of your best insights.

00:06:58: And what about distribution channels beyond just posting?

00:07:01: Well, Liam Darmady tested the trade-off between a normal algorithmic post and a direct newsletter.

00:07:06: And the post got him scale, you know, broad reach.

00:07:10: But the newsletter delivered much higher intent engagement.

00:07:13: It just confirms you need both.

00:07:16: Posts for wide awareness, newsletters to connect deeper with the people who are really interested.

00:07:21: We should also briefly touch on the platform bias conversation.

00:07:24: Yes,

00:07:24: that's important.

00:07:25: Brita Barons and Klaus Eck were discussing the debates around a potential gender reach gap in the algorithm.

00:07:32: Some users reported seeing measurable differences after testing gender changes on their profiles.

00:07:37: Yeah, it's a really critical discussion about algorithmic equity that we need to keep an eye on because any bias directly impacts visibility and professional opportunity.

00:07:45: Okay, let's pivot from creating the content to actually activating it.

00:07:51: Carrie Heath describes modern social selling as relationship selling.

00:07:55: It's not mass digital selling anymore.

00:07:57: No, this is the absolute death of the generic pitch.

00:08:00: No omni sand laid out what he called the better play cadence.

00:08:03: Okay, what's that?

00:08:04: First, you engage with their content, so your name becomes familiar.

00:08:07: Then you connect with context, never a pitch.

00:08:10: And only after that do you start a natural conversation.

00:08:13: And Jacqueline Sargent recommended, what, two or three engagements before you even send the connection request.

00:08:19: at least two to three quality engagements before you even think about hitting that connect button.

00:08:24: It's a real investment of time before you ask for anything.

00:08:27: It sounds like a lot of effort.

00:08:28: And I think Josh Ramirez hit the nail on the head.

00:08:30: He said salespeople often fail because they treat LinkedIn like a side hobby.

00:08:37: Yeah.

00:08:37: not a real sales channel.

00:08:38: that needs consistency and, you know, genuine intent.

00:08:42: Absolutely.

00:08:43: And Jan van Moser pointed out a crucial step in that process.

00:08:47: The most successful sellers combine that great content with strategic outreach because prospects always check your profile before they read your message.

00:08:55: Always.

00:08:56: If they see an empty profile, your message is basically dead on arrival.

00:08:59: Your profile is the ticket to the conversation.

00:09:02: Okay.

00:09:02: Let's put this effort into context.

00:09:04: Jules van de Geeson shared some stats that B to B buyers are what, fifty-seven to seventy percent of the way to a decision before they even talk to sales?

00:09:12: That's right.

00:09:13: They're pretty far down the road.

00:09:14: So if they're already that far along, what's the point of the outreach?

00:09:19: Are we just hoping to catch the thirty percent who are still early?

00:09:22: Not at all.

00:09:23: That fifty seven to seventy percent, that's the silent phase.

00:09:25: That's when they're doing their research, forming their opinions.

00:09:29: So this is why your content and your visibility are so critical.

00:09:32: They function as infrastructure.

00:09:35: You're not trying to make the sale and the silent phase.

00:09:37: You're trying to shape their perception so that when they finally are ready to talk, your name is the one they think of first.

00:09:43: That makes perfect sense.

00:09:45: So it's about being strategically visible.

00:09:47: Hmm Michael Hurst had a great point on this.

00:09:50: He said visibility without strategy is just wasted energy.

00:09:54: But visibility with intent means you're commenting where your ideal customer profile is already paying attention And his results were wild.

00:10:02: his comments often outperform his own post by like Ten times.

00:10:06: That is the power of targeting an already engaged audience.

00:10:10: You're basically bypassing the algorithm and inserting your expertise directly into a high-intent conversation.

00:10:16: And when you're thinking about Outbound, Dimitri Kaliznik offered a really helpful framework for choosing between LinkedIn and cold email.

00:10:23: Yeah, that was useful.

00:10:24: He says, LinkedIn is best for hyper-personalized campaigns.

00:10:28: You know, targeting maybe fifty to two hundred high value accounts.

00:10:32: Right, small and focused.

00:10:34: While cold email is better for just mass volume, but, and this is the key, LinkedIn almost always gets you higher response rates for real conversations.

00:10:44: Hyper personalization wins.

00:10:46: So let's connect all of this to the ultimate goal, right?

00:10:49: The ROI of personal branding.

00:10:51: Andy Lambert had some concrete data on this.

00:10:53: Personality led marketing.

00:10:55: Yeah.

00:10:55: It doubled sales prices and half sales cycles at content call.

00:10:58: Doubled

00:10:58: prices and half cycles.

00:11:00: I mean, that's just massive.

00:11:01: It really speaks to the power of pre-built trust.

00:11:03: Right.

00:11:04: When that trust is already there through your personal brand, prospects feel like they already know you.

00:11:09: They just skip stages of the sales cycle because they've already mentally validated you.

00:11:13: It gets you on their day one shortlist.

00:11:15: Which means leadership can't just sit on the sidelines.

00:11:18: Belman Kareleja noted that founders often make themselves invisible, but you can't delegate authority.

00:11:24: You can't delegate trust.

00:11:25: You have to show up and earn it.

00:11:27: And for anyone wondering how, Lara Acosta simplified the model, she said, to find your skills and value, craft compelling hooks, publish consistently, and then network intentionally.

00:11:38: It sounds simple, but that consistency is the killer.

00:11:41: It's a hard part.

00:11:42: Which brings us to efficiency in AI.

00:11:45: All this consistency, it could feel daunting.

00:11:48: Dennis Panjuta and Benyatta Arrizabalga's honesty were saying that AI is a huge accelerator here.

00:11:54: It can handle maybe fifty to seventy percent of the workload.

00:11:57: Things like writing for drafts, scheduling, analytics.

00:11:59: Right.

00:12:00: Mechanical stuff.

00:12:01: AI is essential for scale, definitely.

00:12:03: But there's a huge cautionary note.

00:12:05: Grant McGaw talked about the real risk of trust erosion from AI spam.

00:12:08: The platform is reacting to it.

00:12:10: How so?

00:12:11: Well, Tobias Nielsen detailed some of these automation tools, like Echo.

00:12:15: But the signals from the platform suggest that AI-only comments, or, you know, really templated comments, they might get reduced weight from the algorithm.

00:12:23: That is critical.

00:12:24: So, LinkedIn is actively downgrading activity, it thinks isn't genuinely human.

00:12:29: Which just reinforces the whole point.

00:12:31: AI amplifies your human voice, it handles the mechanics, but the unique perspective, the real engagement that has to come from you.

00:12:39: Exactly.

00:12:40: And to wrap this up, none of this individual effort really works in a vacuum, does it?

00:12:46: No.

00:12:46: Elena Ivanova made a fantastic point.

00:12:49: B to B. social media isn't just a marketing channel.

00:12:51: She calls it an organizational change management function.

00:12:54: That's a big idea.

00:12:55: It is.

00:12:56: You're asking your executives and your sales teams to communicate in a totally new way, and that requires systemic support.

00:13:02: So

00:13:02: cross-functional buy-in, training, governance,

00:13:05: all of it.

00:13:05: All of it.

00:13:06: Lee Dunsberg confirmed that's the failure point.

00:13:08: Most social programs fail not because of a bad strategy, but because there's low confidence, no training, and no mentorship inside the company.

00:13:16: It's an institutional problem.

00:13:18: Not just an individual one.

00:13:19: To synthesize everything we've discussed from weeks forty-seven and forty-eight, the social selling has undergone a fundamental permanent shift.

00:13:28: Success on LinkedIn is no longer about maximizing raw reach or implementing quick hacks to boost vanity metrics.

00:13:35: The entire system, the algorithm, the buyers, and the successful sellers is demanding that you maximize relevance and trust.

00:13:42: You have to show up authentically, solve problems with your unique expertise, and, well... you have to earn your place in the conversation long before any pitch is delivered.

00:13:50: If you enjoyed this episode, new episodes drop every two weeks.

00:13:53: Also check out our other editions on account-based marketing, field marketing, channel marketing, MarTech, GoToMarket, and AI in B to B marketing.

00:14:00: So given that visibility is non-negotiable and the algorithm is rewarding authenticity, here's a thought.

00:14:06: What specific point of view, not just a tip or a trick, will you commit to sharing consistently over the next thirty days to really establish your authority?

00:14:14: Think about that one area where you can inject your unique experience.

00:14:18: Thank you for joining us on this deep dive and don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss our next analysis.