88: LinkedIn Strategies for Podcasting with Chris Hines
LinkedIn is a platform I know almost nothing about and that’s exactly why I have a guest on the show today!
Chris Hines is host of the Personal Branding Playbook and a podcast expert for businesses and personal brands. Since 2015 he’s been hosting, producing and managing podcasts. Now, Chris owns the Elite Podcast Marketing Agency.
Chris and I actually met at Podfest in March 2020 and were able to spend some time chatting over dinner after spoke speaking at the event. I was so impressed with Chris’ approaching to marketing and promoting a podcast (which is obviously not my strong suit) and knew I had to have him on the show at some point. When he recently about how LinkedIn is an underutilized and powerful platform for podcasters, it seemed like a perfect fit.
In this episode, we talk about why podcasters should not be ignoring LinkedIn, his Three C’s Method for generating leads from LinkedIn, what you should and shouldn’t do in your LinkedIn profile, how often you should be posting on LinkedIn, what type of content you should be posting, how to build connections on LinkedIn, how to your podcast content to convert those connections into paying clients, and more!
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Transcript
Welcome to podcasting for coaches. I'm Britany Felix and I'm a podcast launch consultant who specializes in helping coaches and consultants utilize the power of podcasting as a way to build brand awareness and generate new leads for their business. I realize not every new coach or consultant can afford to hire someone to help launch their show. So I created this podcast as a way to guide you through the process of launching and utilizing your very own podcast to help you grow your business and reach a new audience of adoring followers and potential clients. If you're ready to get your voice and podcast out into the world, head over to podcasting for coaches.com to learn more. Welcome to Episode 88 of podcasting for coaches. As promised in the title of this episode, we are talking about LinkedIn today, which is a platform I know almost nothing about, which is why I have Chris Hines here. Chris Hines is the host of the personal branding playbook podcast, and a top podcast expert for businesses and personal brands. Since 2015, he has been hosting, producing and managing podcast. Now Chris owns the elite podcast marketing agency where you can create your own lane, also known as coach Chris, he speaks around the world to business owners and companies about hosting their own podcast. He's been a podcast, podcast movement and several other events. coach Chris is the marketing expert that can help you grow your show. As you'll hear me mention in this episode, Chris and I actually met at pod fest. And we were able to have some time to chat after we both spoke at the same event. And we all went to dinner with a big group of people. And he and I got to talk about how he really helps his clients with the marketing aspect and promotion and using those things to grow your audience, which are things that are not my strong suit, I help with the foundational elements of the show, get you all set up right from the get go with your podcast, to make sure that you are doing everything you should in the show. But when it comes to actually promoting on social media, as evidenced by this entire social media series I'm doing right now, that is not my zone of genius. Chris, however, is an expert at this. And in this episode, we talk about why podcaster should not be ignoring LinkedIn, it is an untapped market, and a great lead generation tool for your business. And Chris is going to explain exactly why that is, and how you can use LinkedIn to essentially funnel your connections on there into paying clients. We talk about what you should and shouldn't do in your profile, how often you should be posting what type of content you should be posting, how you should be building connections, and actually how that's probably a lot easier than you think. And then how to take those connections and use your already existing podcast content to convert them into a paying client. So let's not waste any time at all, and get right into this episode with coach Chris. Chris, thank you so much for being on the show for being so flexible with the scheduling when I had some internet issues, you are awesome. And I am really, really excited to get this chance to chat with you, as you know, but the audience doesn't. We first met at pod fest this past February. And we had a little bit of time to talk like at dinner afterwards and things like that. But I was so impressed with your presentation at the podcast editors conference. And you and I i guess technically might be seen as competitors. But I know I personally don't see us that way. Because you have a completely different style and focus from what I do. And I see your content all the time. And I know that you're just helping people in massive ways. And one of the things that we're going to talk about today on how you do that is specifically LinkedIn, because this is a platform I know absolutely nothing about. So thank you so much for being on the show. And just to kind of start, and I know that this is a broad question, but why should people be using LinkedIn for a podcast? Is it not just you know, to get a job anymore?
04:04
Oh, man, LinkedIn is way past that point of just being a job platform. I will say the introduction of content, there's really what changed their platform. Because before, it was something where people go on there and you create a profile, and you get off and you never go back on it. Yeah, you just kind of forget about it. And then when you're like, Okay, I need to find a new job, then you go on LinkedIn and update your resume and all that stuff. But now, it's an amazing platform for podcasters. Because you can connect with a ton of your ideal customers and your ideal listeners in the same place. It's just literally the best platform if you host a show.
04:44
And so what is it about the platform? I know you said the introduction of content, but how does that work? For somebody who's not familiar with LinkedIn? Is this something they should consider looking into? Or should you really have already been on there have an established presence? You know, what does that look Like in terms of the person listening to this, who is like, oh, they're, you know, their interest is piqued and they want to know more about actually using LinkedIn for their podcast,
05:09
I would say yes, you should be on there as soon as possible. The first step, go on LinkedIn, update your profile, that's the first step and get rid of the whole resume thing. Because when people go to your profile, they're not looking to see where you worked at before, what college you went to. The reality is people don't care, the only thing they care about was how can you help them? How is your podcast going to help them reach a specific result. And so the current content that really thrives on LinkedIn are the videos, but the videos must have subtitles, it's very, very important. And then articles, those do very, very well. So I tell people, when you're first starting out, don't try to do everything, because you'll burn out, you're gonna give the first week, it's much better for you to choose one style. And stick to that style, if you only want to write, write your articles. And just be consistent with that for at least a month. After three weeks, you're going to build a habit. And after a month, you'll have some solid data to see if your articles were read by anyone if people started reaching out to you because of that. So really the first step though, before you do anything like content, go and update your profile, you do not skip that step. I promise you, it's gonna be bad if you do.
06:24
So now when you say articles, is that something you write on LinkedIn? Are you writing this like in a blog post on your website and sharing it? What does that look like?
06:32
It's better if you write it on LinkedIn. Now, one thing I tell people is you might as well repurpose it right. So you can put the same blog post on your website on LinkedIn and on medium, very simple. Like that's the best way like, literally transcribe part of your episode, maybe about five minutes of it, and use that as a blog post, very, very simple use of app is called descript. We can take a small little clip of your show, transcribe that, add a title to it, maybe add some bullet points, throw, maybe some photos, and they just copy and paste that you can put it on your website, medium and LinkedIn. Now that is expanding your reach. And now you're on three different platforms with one piece of content. This is the next level repurposing that every podcast as you use when more so business podcast, if you have a business, and you host the show, you have to use this strategy,
07:26
right, because one thing that you do, which I also do is we help people who are usually utilizing a podcast as part of a business. And so they are really focused on lead generation. Now I come at it more from like that, which I know you offer this as well. But I am focused strictly on like launching, getting you set up right foundation from the beginning, you know, helping you sell on the show itself. But you expand that so much further by talking about all of these platforms helping with the growth and the lead generation. So in terms of actually generating leads from LinkedIn, and from this content, how does that work?
08:00
That really comes down to consistency, connections and conversations were received right there. That's guess my method right there, my three see method. Consistency as far as because you got to post the content, you can't just post on Monday, and not posted again, until next Monday and be upset, you didn't get any level your content. That's not how it works, you got to be consistent. And so that means posting at least once a day, sometimes even twice a day. Consistency is very, very important. And then the connections are next. Because now that you are posting content, people have things that they can see from you, they can watch your videos, read your articles, you want to connect with the right people that will be interested in that content. So I'm a health coach, and I'm writing articles, five ways you can work out during quarantine or three Mills to avoid during quarantine or something like that. I want my ideal clients to be reading that article. Because those same people also listen to my podcast, you really feed into versal once eat and so consistency is first and then connecting with the right people. Lastly, you got to start the conversation. And I know you use you don't use LinkedIn a lot. But once you start using it a lot, you're gonna see the spam is ridiculous. You have a lot of people reaching out to you instantly trying to sell instantly trying to get you to buy something and get you on the phone happens all the time. As podcasters we have an advantage because we don't have to go in and try to sell, we actually can go in and send somebody our content. Right. And this is why connecting with the right people is important. Like for me, for example, when I connect with a coach on LinkedIn that has a podcast I always reach out and say, hey, how's your show going? How long have you been hosting? How's this year been for you start a conversation that way. And then as soon as they say something along the lines of what they're struggling with what the problem may be? Always have a podcast episode. Ready to send to them. So now I'm connected to someone that's my ideal client, and they're listening to my show. So it's really, again, your feed into version one. See, it's just, it's a really, really beautiful platform. Even the way LinkedIn is set up with the connections is really, really valuable. So follow the three C's be consistent with your content, connect with your ideal clients, who should also be ideal listeners, and then start the right conversations.
10:26
And so now when you say Connect, for people who aren't familiar with LinkedIn, it actually is like a connection. That's what they call it. Right? So it's kind of like the equivalent of like a friend request on Facebook. Is that correct?
10:35
Yes, but I like it on LinkedIn a little more. Because some people don't have to actually connect with you. They can follow your content and still consume what you're putting out. But it's really a beautiful thing when you connect with someone, because now once they say, Yes, I want to connect with you, we're gonna be friends, basically, right? You can send better messages, if you're not connected, you can send a message like on Facebook, you can send messages, and they can still read them. If you're not connected. on LinkedIn, you have to pay for that. Okay, LinkedIn is put up an extra wall of security, which is beneficial, because now you get to pick and choose who you want to be connected with.
11:13
Right? I was gonna say, I don't hate that from the user who doesn't want you know, 20 people a day sending me all these spam messages. It's
11:20
exactly, it's a beautiful thing. And sometimes you'll still connect with someone and they'll end up spamming you could happen someday, right through the wall. But it's still beneficial. Because now you can set a goal for yourself, like, hey, every day, this week, I'm going to connect with 20 of my ideal clients on LinkedIn. And their search is really great as well, because I can go in search business podcasts, and I will get 1000s and 1000s of results. So it's really easy to pinpoint your ideal clients on LinkedIn.
11:48
Okay, so for somebody who is thinking, yes, I want to do this, they've gone in, they've updated their profile, they're coming up with a content schedule, how do they besides just like sending these messages to their connections? I mean, are they putting links to their podcast or to their website, in the articles that they're posting? I guess, what does that funnel system look like to turn this person from not even on their radar to paying client,
12:14
that's exactly the way you goes, you want to go over one to one route, on a place like Facebook, one to many marketing works very well, where you can write a post and you get a ton of feedback, it works extremely well, on LinkedIn, it's better when you send someone a personal message. And I even take the time to research the prospects I'm talking to, you know, I will go and look at their page. And if they have their Instagram account connected, I look at that, so I can ask about their family or their favorite sports team. Because now when I reach out and ask you about last season, the Packers had hot, what's your opinion on that you're much more likely to have that conversation with me and be open, right? So you want to break down those barriers and really build a relationship as quickly as possible, then let them know you can solve their problem. And the best way to do that is sending them episode. So part of what I work with our clients on too, is what we call the episode funnel. And it's a way you can create different types of podcast episodes, so that you can always have a ton of evergreen content for your audience. Mm hmm.
13:18
Yeah, that sounds pretty similar to what I do. Like I, I'm not on LinkedIn, but I spend a lot of my time in Facebook groups. That's how I basically built my business. And with my podcast, I have two years worth of content where I've answered the same question that I see asked every single day. And so as usually, you know, somebody comments, I'm like, Oh, well, I actually did an episode about this. It's only like eight minutes long. Do you want me to send you the link? And they're like, Yes, please. And then that starts a conversation. So it's nice to know that at least kind of that, in theory, can work the same way on LinkedIn. So you're not really changing up the strategy too much. It's more just kind of like the actual logistics of it.
13:52
Yeah, exactly. It's really the same thing. I think it's so great on LinkedIn, because that's where a lot of people that have money are, yeah, that's just the reality. You know, if you're selling a product that costs $1,000, you won't get as many sales on LinkedIn, or on Twitter, or Instagram, as you would on Facebook and LinkedIn. But I always say that if you have a business, you need to be on LinkedIn, because if you have a podcast, you got to be on there. There are sponsors on there, there are all the decision makers are on LinkedIn. And that's their social platform, you know, they may not pick up their phone, the first thing in the morning and go to Instagram or Twitter, they're going to go straight to LinkedIn and see what is trending in their most popular hashtag, right, like, that's how they use social media. So that's another strategy as well is I work with clients on picking their top hashtags. You know what, hashtags are great for your market? What is a great way for you to get in front of your people? Because when your posts are trending in a hashtag on LinkedIn, that can be a big moneymaker.
14:54
Yeah, no, that makes sense. Now, I have heard, you know, a client of mine that I edit They're show they had, you know, a LinkedIn like ads expert on? Do you recommend going down that rabbit hole? I've heard it's really, really, really expensive because most people are used to, you know, fairly cheap ads on Facebook. Is that more like a level 201? kind of a thing? What do you think about actually paying for ads on LinkedIn,
15:18
I think you could if you're selling some super high ticket product or service or software, but for most coaches, you don't need to, you literally all you need to do is update your profile, and start connecting with your ideal prospects. Just set a goal for yourself of 20 people per day. And that sounds like a lot. But it's not. If you go on there, and you search the keywords for your brand, right now, you're going to find 1000s of results, once you start connecting with those people start talking to them. And when you find out what problems they're facing the issues they have and daily life, you can send them episodes to solve their problems. That's how you're going to build an amazing brand really quickly. Awesome.
15:57
Now for going in and updating their profile or even creating it from scratch. If they don't have an account right now, is there anything they need to be aware of any special, you know, hacks, basically, any things to avoid?
16:08
When it comes to the profile? No, I mean, I will say the bio is very important. You know, you want to write that out, like you're writing your for speech, when you're going on stage or a podcast interview such as this one, you know, it's very important that you put effort into your bio, because that's the first thing people really your page, that is something that you cannot miss out on. And for your headshot for your profile, make sure it's a great picture, no selfies.
16:34
You can a picture of you on the beach with your with your dog, and then your bio just says you're a business coach.
16:39
Yeah, cuz then you look like spam. So right, it has to be professional, because again, this is where people with money are. So you have to present yourself differently than you were on Instagram or Twitter.
16:50
Right. Now I know they have like business profiles. Should that not be anything that anybody messes with? Or should they have an actual like business profile, kind of like a business page on Facebook, or is just a regular LinkedIn profile find
17:03
a regular LinkedIn profile is actually great, because when you look at the pages, and I've tested this out, when I posted content on our personal profile, it did maybe 15 times better than it did on my business page, I created a page specifically for my podcast. And while it sounds like a great idea, it's not necessary because people still connect with you. Even if your shows about your business or something bigger than yourself, your personal brand is still the foundation of all of that when they turn into a podcast or listening to your voice. And since you can't avoid that, you know, you kind of have to use your profile over anything else.
17:42
Right. And so, to wrap up here, one final question, which I know we could go into this so much deeper. So if anybody has questions about LinkedIn, or are interested in using it, Chris's information will all be in the show notes that you can find on my website that I mentioned in the intro. But what is something that you see a lot of people on LinkedIn doing incorrectly? I mean, what's the thing? Because I know like, as a broadcast consultant, I see people constantly like who were just utilizing bad advice. They're just making these these huge mistakes that they don't even realize. Is there anything like that on LinkedIn that you see people doing constantly that if you could correct this myth or correct that habit right here and right now, what would it be?
18:24
I would definitely say the lazy marketing. Okay, way too many podcasters believe that simply copying their link from Lipson and posting it on every platform is how you market and on LinkedIn, that is not how you market your show. That is the worst thing you can do. You'll come back to the polls and no comments, maybe two or three random likes and some spam messages. That's about it. You have to be engaging. And if you're going to post your episode, explain what episode is about who the guest was, what the content was, and really give people a reason to listen to you. Do not be lazy, if you're lazy the audience can do and you really won't get the result that you desire. I promise you that.
19:07
Perfect. Well, thank you so much, Chris for coming on the show. I know that I am intrigued by LinkedIn for sure because I am hearing about it more and more. And it does kind of seem like this untapped market for podcasters where it's just not being used as much not like Instagram, not like Facebook. So I do absolutely see some potential here. So thanks again.
19:27
Thank you so much for having me on man I'm actually finishing up a LinkedIn masterclass. It's perfect one of my clients with he's been using LinkedIn for about three or four months now. And this guy got a radio show he got some crazy sponsor he connected with the head of marketing at GoPro and they set up a free camera I was like you're doing better on LinkedIn and I ever have the systems are working and so I put together a LinkedIn masterclass for podcasts are just only 50 bucks. You know, I wanted to, you know, kind of just give it away to people. because like you said, it's such an untapped market. But if you want that you only you have to message me on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter. You can find me at the coach Chris underscore.
20:10
Perfect. And I will make sure that we have your Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter in the show notes for this episode. Okay, that wraps up my interview with Chris Hines, I hope that you found that really informative. It's even got me someone who has been very anti LinkedIn. Definitely at least considering it. I know I am already doing enough things. But I do believe that it is a really powerful tool. So if you have the space in your schedule and your brain, and you have a VA, especially that can help you offload some of these tasks like with the content creation, I think LinkedIn can be extremely valuable for your podcast and business. Now, before I wrap up, I do have a couple of quick announcements. And one is that I am still taking one on one clients, this will likely be the last week I'll be able to do that. And this is because I am launching my group program at the very very beginning of September. And I will be raising my one on one rates when that happens. So if you would like to work together to launch your show, create that perfect Foundation, so that you can use your podcast to help grow your business, grow your networking connections and generate new leads, of course, feel free to reach out to me, you can go to the show notes for this episode. And there will be information there for my one on one launch consultation packages. And then if you are interested in that group program, instead of that feels a little bit better to you, you want a little bit more of a sense of community. There is currently a waitlist open right now. And anyone on that waitlist will get access to the program a full week before the doors open to the public. And there are only going to be 10 spots available for that program. So that extra week could really make or break whether or not you can participate in this group program and have your podcast launched in eight weeks or less. Thank you so much for joining me and I will see you back here next week where we are going to chat about Instagram strategies. Have a fantastic week. And that wraps up another episode of podcasting for coaches. If you'd like to connect with me further, you can do so on Instagram at podcasting for coaches. If you know it's time to finally get serious about starting your podcast, go to podcasting for coaches calm and click on the work with me tab in the main menu to learn more about my one on one launch consultation packages or my self paced online course. And I look forward to seeing the podcasts that you create and put out into the world.