Nicole Osborne:

... Everything you post, ask yourself, "Am I entertaining? Am I engaging? Am I converting people? Am I showing off my expertise?" And ideally what you want to do, is for each of your posts to hit one of these content aims. It doesn't always have to be one at a time, you can combine it. But essentially, be aware that people are on social media to learn something new, to be entertained, to connect with new people, to add people to their networks. So honor these reasons why we are on social media.

Chris Do:

I want to tell a little story before I talk to my next guest. I hate to say it, I was a last-minute replacement for AutomaCon. It was one of these things where I think I was traveling, doing something else, and I see this message pop up and somebody asking me, "Hey, do you want to be a replacement speaker? Somebody had a family emergency, we'd love to have you in Newcastle." Which I've never been. It's the north of England, everybody. So I'm like, "Yeah, I'm going to go."

One of those things that I like to do is I like to go for a walk. And I run into somebody, he's like, "Hey, there's a speakers party, are you going to that?" I'm like, "Speakers party? I know nothing about this." But she said, "It's around the water. Just go down there and just follow the steps, and you'll find it." And sure enough, I found it, and I ran into all these wonderful people. And this is a story about how I met Nicole and so many other wonderful people at AutomaCon. So Nicole, welcome to the show.

Nicole Osborne:

I'm super excited, Chris. Thank you so much for having me, really appreciate it.

Chris Do:

Wonderful. I feel your energy right now, so this is going to be super positive, everybody. Now Nicole, for those people who don't know who you are, please introduce yourself, say your name, tell us your story. Give us a little insight into who you are, please.

Nicole Osborne:

Thank you. I'm Nicole Osborne. I'm a marketing coach for digital agency owners. I'm actually based in London, but I'm from former Eastern Germany. And I say this because in 1989, when the Berlin Wall came down, it was a huge moment for me because it was super exciting. But at the same time, it was really tough because, well, both of my parents lost their jobs, and suddenly they had to make ends meet. And the thing they did, they set themselves up as market traders.

Now you might be thinking, Chris, "Nicole, why are you sharing this story?" And it is because actually they sold all the kind of things Eastern Germans couldn't buy for years. And at the weekends, I was still a teenager, they put me in charge of the sunglasses section. So suddenly, there I was, a really awkward, shy teenager, thrown in the middle of having to sell something. And I really had to step up my confidence.

And what I realized really quickly, and I loved it, if I could help people on the market find a pair of sunglasses, which was within their budget and made their face just look amazing, they would walk away with a sort of spring in their steps and they would love it. And they would tell their friends and they would come back to my stand and I would earn more commission. So I clicked on, really early, this sort of light bulb moment. Gosh, if I can overcome my nerves here and learn how to build a rapport and really have lovely banter and make customers happy, that really works.

So nowadays, I love to do the same with agency owners because they're super talented, they do the most amazing creative designs and marketing campaigns. But sometimes they sort of hit that wall, maybe it's competence or they don't know what to say to promote themselves. And I love to build ladders and to really help them push through it. So that's what I do with my company Wunderstars. I'm super excited to be here, Chris.

Chris Do:

Oh, wonderful. Okay. So those who are listening very carefully, I hear a little German accent, a little English accent. It's a little bit going back and forth. It's hard to pin down. I have friends that are German, I have friends that are British, and you sound like somewhere in between. It's wonderful.

I have to ask this question before we dive into today's topic, which we'll get into one second, which is what did you learn as a teenager trying to sell sunglasses to people? What did you do? How did you get people to come to you and to try something on and to feel confident and comfortable to buy from you?

Nicole Osborne:

Great question because I'm sure when you start walking around a market stall, you don't want to be bothered by all the traders trying to do the hard sell and trying to get you to buy from them. So I knew if I looked and sounded relaxed and perhaps I looked them in the eye, even while I felt shy, and I had a smile on my face... And I really looked at them carefully, the face shape.

Because you wear glasses, so you know so well, there are specific frames which will really light up someone's face and really work well for them. But also listened to their budget, so it's really understanding what would work for them and just making it an enjoyable experience because we want to have fun. It was a weekend, we're walking along with our friends.

So having that ease and just a little bit of banter, building a rapport. And I tell you what, when you're teenager, that isn't the easiest. But I learned, you know what, Nicole? This is worth doing. My parents were really clever, but basically paid me commission. So it was come on, help your parents and earn some money as well.

Chris Do:

Okay, you eat what you kill, so you had to make some sales otherwise you're just going to get a suntan out there.

Nicole Osborne:

Absolutely. And I wanted more because there's better things to do with your time at the weekend when you're a teenager, right? Rather than help your parents.

Chris Do:

Sure. Right. So I'm going to ask you to do something a little awkward and unusual. And every time I had the opportunity to do this, I'm going to ask. And if this is too weird, we'll say, "Hard pass," and it'll be fine, okay? I want you to go back in time right now. I want you to pretend like you're that teenager again and you're at your table with your sunglasses. And I walk up and I'm of a similar age or something like that. I'm not like a 50-year-old man walking up to the stall. And I show some interest. I walk by and I kind of do a little look over my shoulder. I'm like, "Huh." Take it away from there. Let's do a quick role play. Don't talk to me the way you know how to talk to me now, but take me to the way you talk to people back then.

Nicole Osborne:

I'll be like, "Hey, how are you doing? You looking for some sunglasses?"

Chris Do:

I'm doing good. I don't know.

Nicole Osborne:

Oh, fantastical. It's really sunny day today. Are you enjoying it?

Chris Do:

I am.

Nicole Osborne:

Oh, super. Look, I spotted you looking at some of our sunglasses. Do you like to have a little try? Would you like to?

Chris Do:

Sure, yeah. Let me try this one on. This one looks pretty cool. Tell me about this. Who makes it? What's it all about?

Nicole Osborne:

Ooh, well this is definitely a good [inaudible 00:06:42] range. I'm not sure that really, really suits you. How about... We have something similar, but perhaps in this style. Do you want to try it on? And look, there's a mirror up there as well and you can show your friends. Go on, you want to try it on. Would you?

Chris Do:

Sure. Okay, well this one looks pretty cool. What does this cost?

Nicole Osborne:

Okay, so as you can see, all our sunglasses are £10. So it's £10 for one pair and it's £16 for two pairs. So if you have a mate and you want to surprise them, go ahead. Today's the day.

Chris Do:

Okay, that's a pretty good price. Let me ask you this question. So I'm kind of particular about my glasses and sunglasses. You can see I need them. And oftentimes I find these, say, more budget pair. They're not made as well, the plastic doesn't look as good and the hardware isn't great. What do you say about that?

Nicole Osborne:

Now do you know? You are absolutely right. You can see with these ones, they have UV rating, a little sign on there which will tell you how that works. But if you're really concerned, perhaps it might just be an idea to go to an optician so that you can really get those glasses which are best for your eyes and also make you look cool. So maybe these are more sort of a weakened alternative for fun, when you're going to a party. But if you really serious and you need a pair which lasts you for a long time, I would definitely recommend maybe go to the High Street optician.

Chris Do:

So these are more like a pair where if somebody sits on it or I leave them on the cafe table, I'm not going to cry my eyes out because I'll just get another pair.

Nicole Osborne:

Absolutely. Because it's nothing worse than having a favorite pair of sunglasses, and they're so expensive, if you do lose them while you're having fun, you really regret it. So yeah, these are definitely more for fun. And you can try this pair and perhaps even have the second one just in case.

Chris Do:

Sure. Okay. You know what? I don't have a friend I'm going to buy a pair for, but I want that frame and that color. And give me that one in the tortoise shell. Here's my £16, we're good to go.

Nicole Osborne:

Oh, wow. You're amazing. Thank you very much, sir. Have a good day.

Chris Do:

I'm too young for you to call me, sir. Who you calling sir?

Nicole Osborne:

In Germany you would say, "Herr." You're right, I wouldn't. Maybe it was just you putting me on the spot slightly.

Chris Do:

All right, well done. Okay, a couple of things I want to break down. Here's what I get from being a prospective buyer of sunglasses, right? You pulled me in a very gentle way. It wasn't a hard sell. You said, "I noticed you looking at a pair. Would you like to try some on?" I did. And the thing that you had was this light, effervescent energy. It was a little bubbly, it wasn't pushing too hard. And there's a demeanor about your tonality and the words that you chose that didn't make me feel like, "Oh my God, there's a high pressure squeeze coming on right now." Because oftentimes, when people do that to me, I just walk away. I'm done. Sometimes I just need to be left alone. And so people have to gauge this carefully. I don't want you hovering over me. So I thought you did a really great job there.

I also liked that you were just super honest. When I asked you a hard question, like, "Yeah, maybe these are not the best." It wasn't like you said, "They're not the best." But you really told the truth without slamming yourself, which is, "If you want a different pair, you might want to go see your optician and figure out that. These are more like... Not disposable, but it's just an extra pair to have around in case you're doing some activity and you forgot to bring your sunglasses." And I like that level of honesty and I think that is how you build rapport with people. You don't do the hard sell, you try to serve the client and you're not pushy. Anything else you want to add to that?

Nicole Osborne:

No, absolutely. And you can't make up that something is of this amazing quality if you're selling it at a market stall. And if you see someone needs something of a higher quality versus opticians... So no, that was quite challenging exercise, Chris.

Chris Do:

Was it? Are you all sweaty right now?

Nicole Osborne:

Just a little bit. But in a good way, hopefully.

Chris Do:

Yeah, I'm used to paying for sunglasses... Or not sunglasses, glasses that range from anywhere between $400 to $800 a pair. So when you said £10 pounds, I'm like, "That's 20 bucks. That's not much at all. So okay, I get it. All right." So the reason why I have this conversation is because I think people get this confused all the time. That they don't sell how they buy, that they think in one instance this works and then they flip on a totally different brain and they go off and into social media or in a sales call and they act in a way that's not congruent with who they are.

And I put out a tweet recently, I said, "People do not need to learn how to sell. They need to learn how to be human first, to be a human-centric marketer, if you will. To look at the person that's in front of them and recognize them for who they are and what their needs and wants are. And sometimes you can serve them and sometimes you can't. And that's totally okay." So we're going to get into today's topic, which is we're talking specifically about LinkedIn, how to grow your influence and generate leads. And you've got some ideas on how to do this. I'm going to turn this over to you and I'm in your hands, so take it away.

Nicole Osborne:

Oh, Chris, thank you so much. So as Chris said, super excited today to have the opportunity to share with your audience and your community, five winning posts that help you drive leads and amplify your influence. So when I say amplify your influence, I really mean getting you seen by the right people so they know about you.

Now this is one of my favorite all time marketing quotes. "Marketing is a contest for people's attention." And it's by Seth Godin. And everything you see in this slide is really underlined by this principle, that it's a busy world out there [inaudible 00:12:06] creative business owners, lots of competition. So what can you do to get noticed by the right people?

Now often I see that a lot of people on LinkedIn or even on their agency website, they kind of sound and look exactly like everyone else. And it means you blending in. Blending in, good in some scenarios. I've got a nine-year-old, so I had to bring in a picture of a clownfish. In some scenarios that kind of keeps you safe, right? The clownfish doesn't be caught up by the big fish. Or if you're a cheetah and you're on the hunt, you don't want to get noticed and you're really close to your prey.

However, when you are a creative business owner, you want to get noticed for all of the right reasons. And if you just blend in, it's a little bit like being trapped in one of these white transporters, it's really hard to find you. And I know you deserve for your amazing work to get noticed and to attract more of us clients who bring you joy, follow your processes and all the fun stuff. So today, Chris and I, we are going to do our best to really show you how to get noticed by right people.

Chris Do:

Now, for people who are listening to this, this may work best as a YouTube episode because there are so many slides and visuals. But just in case, I just want to say, if you want to get the resource that Nicole had mentioned, can you direct them to the URL, please?

Nicole Osborne:

Absolutely. If you come to my website, Wunderstars.com/thefutur, this is where you'll find the resources. And I would be delighted to share them with you to really inspire you to create some more engaging posts for LinkedIn, for those moments when you don't have any ideas.

Chris Do:

Now, Wunderstars is spelled W-N-D-E-R stars S-T-A-R-S.com.

Nicole Osborne:

That's right. W-U-N-D-E-R-S-T-A-R-S.com. And you might wonder, why does Nicole spell this so weirdly? Well, it's my mum's maiden name, so I had to get the German in, so my apologies. But yes, wunderstars.com.

Chris Do:

Is it pronounced Wunder in German?

Nicole Osborne:

Wunder. Perfect. Yeah. And if you think about it, I light people up and I give them energy to become the stars of their own marketing. So this is also the whole thinking behind it.

Chris Do:

Excellent, thank you very much, Nicole.

Nicole Osborne:

All right, so quickly, what we do today, how can you get ready for LinkedIn success? Maybe also challenging some of your LinkedIn objectives and some of the myths you hold about LinkedIn. We're going to share some real life examples to inspire you, things you can copy or some really great posts from Chris, because we love Chris's content for our design community and everyone else wanting to grow their business.

There's got to be some free resources because I want you to have some additional ideas you can easily implement. And then, in the last part, so you got to stay with us, you got to stay with us because Chris always asks all the best questions, but we are also going to show you how to thrive on LinkedIn and how it all works.

All right, very quickly, a little bit about me. I am so delighted to work with all these creative agencies, design agencies, web agencies across the globe. I actually started my career 21 years ago working at the Financial Times and I was always hot on developing new brands, launching them into new markets. And when I started working in the agency world, I actually worked with Mighty Social and they became Europe's fastest growing paid media tech company.

So throughout all my marketing time, I've always been felt drawn to working with agencies. And actually, you see a picture here of my family, my close family, my husband, my child, my mom. And they're one of the reasons I do what I do because I didn't want to be that stressed out marketing director, coming home not being in a good mood. So I set up my own business, Wunderstars, for some flexibility. But enough about me, I really want to offer you lots of value.

I've chosen this picture of this gentleman because when I start talking about LinkedIn to business owners, creative business owners, agency owners, this is somehow the face I'm getting because there's lots of things, perhaps you've tried LinkedIn before and it hasn't worked or you feel it's really stuffy, really corporate. And I know the biggest thing is probably that you're going to say it's spammy. And I agree with you, it can be spammy.

But what I like to say and point out, I showed you here on the picture, on the left-hand side is a really spammy looking email. And I'm sorry if you can't read it, but the essence is in our email inbox. We get so many emails which don't make sense, they haven't taken time to get to know us, it's totally irrelevant. And yes, we get the same on LinkedIn. But as long as you are not part of the spam society, that's all that matters. We still are using emails and that works really well for us as business owners. So still give LinkedIn that opportunity to help you promote your business.

So top guidance on this, I've been married now for 20 years, it's coming up 20 years. And when you're meeting someone new on LinkedIn, it's a little bit like taking them dating first. You know want to get to know them, you want to ask them great questions and do you want to find what you have in common. So that by the time you propose, and I think this couple definitely looks like they're going to both say yes, they already know you really, really well.

So when you are reaching out to someone on LinkedIn, make sure you date first because it's a bit like going to a networking event. You don't just go in and say, "Hey, what do you sell? This is what I sell." You ask for things in common. I remember when I met with Chris at AutomaCon pre party, I think I asked him about how he's enjoying the Northern food because it was an easy topic. And I know when you're traveling, food and getting to know the culture is really, really important. So you give it time and you ask some questions and you listen. So bear this in mind because in this way you won't be spammy.

Now the other thing you might say, "It's boring, it's really corporate. It's only for job search. And I really don't know what to post." So all I want to say, give it another opportunity. I joined the LinkedIn Creator Accelerator program, but I was chosen amongst 30,000 people who applied in the UK. So I've got lots and lots of advice for you on this, and hopefully, tips and encouragement. So give the platform another opportunity because it is the world's biggest business social media platform. And people are on a business frame of mind so that really, really works.

Chris Do:

I can't believe you were selected for the LinkedIn Accelerator Program. Because so many people applied, yours truly applied, I did not get accepted into the program. I'm like, "What do I need to do?" Apparently I need to do what you're doing. So I'm leaning in right now.

Nicole Osborne:

Oh, Chris, thank you. Thank you so much. It's so funny, when I applied, I didn't even knew there was also a grant to support the creators. I just thought, "Wow, this is amazing. I could talk to my audience, they're going to give me some coaching over six weeks. I want to do this." So I did and I was absolutely delighted. And it was hard work, but we learned loads. And lots of opportunities and it really made me break down some of these objectives I showed you earlier because I think somewhere we all have them, right? Okay, well thank you for letting me share that little story.

So in essence, what do you want to do? Everything you post, ask yourself, "Am I entertaining? Am I engaging? Am I converting people? Am I showing off my expertise?" And ideally, what you want to do, is for each of your posts to hit one of these content aims. It doesn't always have to be one at a time, you can combine it. But essentially, be aware that people are on social media to learn something new, to be entertained, to connect with new people, to add people to their networks. So honor these reasons why we are on social media.

So the biggest thing, and Chris knew that I was going to highlight this first, I was asking his permission. I did quite a bit of research looking at designers on LinkedIn and just showing how you represent yourself. And I found some amazing example. But the one opportunity I thought you are not tapping into is actually sharing your stories. Because stories is what makes you you. And it's a really easy way to connect with your audience.

And one gentleman, George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars and Indiana Jones, he's just a master of storytelling, isn't he? I'm sure many people in the audience love it. Tell us in the comments if you love Star Wars or Indiana Jones. But he basically said it, "When people get to know the people behind your product and how it's made, they talk about you more." So when you show up as yourself and show some of the processes, how you make your work happen or what you are about, that really connects with people. And the master of doing this is our very own Chris. Chris, I absolutely adored this post because what Chris did, and he told you the story, he shared the story at the beginning of us chatting.

Do you know how he was asked at such last minute to be the keynote speaker at the AutomaCon event in Newcastle? And he said, "Yes." He's really brave, right? He said yes. His plan was to finish his slides either on the plane, that didn't work. Then in the hotel, that didn't work. So he ended up really finalizing his messaging and his slide deck in the afternoon of the event. And you think, "Okay, Chris is an amazing speaker. He can do this." But listen to this. So the audience was already standing when he entered the stage. I was there and we were all really excited that Chris was there to share his sales insights. And suddenly Chris realized that the tech system wasn't showing his next slide.

Now if this is a talk you deliver many, many times you'd be like, "Okay." But because Chris had done it bespokely for this event, Chris, that must have really thrown you. But it didn't. It really didn't. And it is so lovely how you tell that story and you encourage your audience to trust themself. If someone is asking you to deliver a talk, you are the expert. And I love the way you talked about this experience and encouraged all of us. So, amazing storytelling. So thank you. So that's a really good example to follow.

Chris Do:

Thank you, Nicole, for sharing that. And you did a great job of retelling the story. And the takeaway, that's wonderful for me to hear because part of communication is I'm the transmitter, you're the receiver. And when the receiver sends back the feedback, then I know the communication loop has been closed, you got the essence of the story about what I wanted you to feel and want you to think. And this is what I do. And this was unprompted, everybody. It's not like I bribed Nicole to-

Nicole Osborne:

No, you didn't.

Chris Do:

... Tell this story. She said, "I'm going to pick something." I'm like, "Do what you want, I'm going to trust you." So here we are.

Nicole Osborne:

No, it's an amazing story. And if you think about it, Chris, you are positioning yourself to other events organizers in Europe, across the globe. And you're not just showing up like, "Hey, I'm the best." I mean, we know you are amazing, right? But you do it in such a humble and endearing way and you're bringing in the audience. Yeah, beautifully done. And everyone, I had to get this picture of Chris and I on there because I want you to see how nervous I actually was, even though he's the most approachable guy, but it's Chris Doe.

Chris Do:

Are you nervous in this picture? You don't look nervous to me.

Nicole Osborne:

Oh, I am Chris.

Chris Do:

Are you really?

Nicole Osborne:

I remember asking you, "Chris, would it be possible if we took a picture tomorrow?" And he's like, "Come on Nicole, let's do it now." So thank you for that. I really appreciate that.

Okay, so back to stories and a little bit more on that. I just wanted to briefly introduce you to someone else in my network who I actually met at the LinkedIn Creator Program. Now this is Adefunke Larigo. She is not in the sector of being a creative business, but what she does, she basically helps adoption and foster panels in the UK to be more diverse. So I love her course and I'm a great support of her, that's why I wanted to highlight.

And look at this post, a little bit different style from what Chris has done. She creates some bullet points to reflect on some of her life experiences. And it's really easy to read. And she's got this beautiful picture of her amazing family and she talks about she had her mom dying at a young age, her experience as a social worker, her sense of adventure. She was a change maker and now she's got her own agency.

And a couple of things I wanted to highlight. She does a really clever thing at the end of her post. She brings in the audience, she brings in us, she makes it easy for us to comment. She basically said, "Now over to you. What's made you who you are today? Share a couple of things in the comments below." I thought it was ingenious because this is quite a deep post, but she makes it actually really easy for us to share something positive. And you can see by the stats, I don't know if you can recognize them, over 30 comments, 150 reactions. So now she can interact with all these people and really champion her message.

And when I spoke to Ade about this, I said, Ade, I really love your work. I want to mention this in Chris's presentation if I may." And she said to me this: "Who you are is who you bring to a job." And I think that's so important across any sector because people do buy from people and they want to get to know you. So I hope this inspires you. And Ade, if you are watching this, great job, carry on.

Okay. So first type of posts we now had stories. Then the next set of stories or posts is actually talking about your clients. So you're probably thinking social proof, testimonials, case studies, showing the transformation. And all of these things are true. What you want to achieve is fear of missing out. So you want other people in your network to see, "Oh wow, John is doing an amazing job. I want to work with John." You want to keep top of mind with your existing clients because how nice is it for them to be tagged in a LinkedIn post and then to be able to comment on it? And that is really great for referrals because I know many of you will rely on referrals and word of mouth to get in front of more people.

You also show your expertise, in a non-boring way, and the impact your work has had. Because I would imagine, often with design work, it's something which happens right away. But then also, the added impact over time of having a beautiful brand presence, of having everything looking consistent or whatever it might be, what you produce for your clients.

So just some examples, some of my clients, so our left-hand side here. Travis, he flew over 7,200 kilometers, from Vancouver in the US, to London, to join us at an event. And I was so excited to host him here so I posted about this on LinkedIn. In the middle, there's Jess and I, she's a speaker, an amazing speaker. And we were allowed at the Google office in the heart of London, so it was just such a lovely moment where I celebrated her being shortlisted for an award. A little bit behind the scenes, John and I in the corner just looking like this, how we are on Zoom.

The reason why I wanted to show you these examples is that you don't always have to produce it to such a high level. It's a human story you're sharing, it's showing how you work with your clients. So I hope that really encourages you to give that more of a go.

And here, another really talented designer from the US, Kimberly. I love the way how, in this simple post, she celebrates how important it's to have a really good brand. And she has created a brand for Knox Solution. Apologies if I don't pronounce it well. And she encouraged us to be proud of our brands and if we need some help with this, let's get in touch with her. I think it's an amazing sales post, an amazing post to show off her client work. So really simple style and it's really on the money. I really love this one, so I wanted to share this with you. And Kimberly's really, really talented.

And here, just a totally different take. Conrad, one of my Wunderstars, he specializes in vacation rental marketing. Very data-driven guy, really, really interesting. So he shared some statistics and he told the story of how he was working with a client and they weren't so sure yet if it was going to work. And now he just shared a picture of their results, which shows actually, yeah, it's green, so this is good. And all these people who commented, 11 people, 28 people who celebrated a post or liked it, he can now reach out and engage and it's a quite natural kind of conversation.

Do you remember how I said at the beginning get to know people first, build that relationship before you go in with a proposal? Sorry, this was inverted commas now. And when you see someone interacting with you on one of these posts, it's quite easy to jump into direct messenger and just say, "Hey, what resonated with you? How are you finding your own results?" And having that natural conversation. And it's very much what Chris said earlier about that Twitter post. A sales conversation can go either way, but it's about listening and getting to know that person and having back and forth and a natural human conversation. So great example here to follow, right?

I believe it's now the next one. Of course, I know you are talented and you have a lot of expertise. And you know what? LinkedIn is the platform to show off because just to give you some stats, it's now 20 years old, 930 million members in over 20 countries. 63 million companies are listed and four out of five members actually drive business decisions. So it is a platform to be, right Chris?

Chris Do:

It really is.

Nicole Osborne:

There's so much you can achieve organically and our post ideas today will really enable people to really take advantage of it. So how do you show your expertise? I had to refer to a master of this. Chris, I clearly fangirl, absolutely adore your document posts. So what I mean by that, these sliding images, which take really poignant points, challenges your audiences faces, and give them a solution. And you do it in such an impactful way, it's kind of addictive clicking through, right? Because you want to know what's next. And you can see your audience really loves them, you get amazing amount of comments and some really engaging conversation.

And, Chris, I wanted to compliment you, not because you are featuring me, but I love it that you have such a big network but you're always active on all platforms. So on LinkedIn, you make time to reply to people and people really respect that. And everyone who's posting anything, if you get a comment, please make time to regular go on the platform and acknowledge that because your audience is giving you time. And Chris, you do that so well. I really struggled with which post to pick because they're all really, really cool when you do this kind of post, Chris. Thank you for making our LinkedIn experience better.

Chris Do:

Thank you.

Speaker 3:

Time for a quick break, but we'll be right back.

Chris Do:

Before we get back to this week's episode, I want to check in to see if you are an established creative service provider, coach or consultant, looking to take your business to the next level. If so, I want to personally invite you to join the Futur Pro Membership. With instant access to over 600 hours of exclusive content, live calls with myself and guest experts, and a community of peers to support you every step of the way, we hold nothing back when it comes to scaling your business. Go to thefutur.com/pro to learn more and join us inside.

Speaker 3:

Welcome back to our conversation.

Chris Do:

There's this idea that the word social media has this word social in it. And the way I like to explain this to people is you would not invite a bunch of your friends and people you want to network with or become friends with to a party and then not show up to your own party. You want to be a gracious host. You want to introduce people, you want to hang out, you want to make sure everybody's having a good time.

So this is how we become so self-centered in our marketing efforts. That we create posts that we hope people will like, engage and share with, but then we don't hang around. This is very problematic and I think it's just this one simple thing. If you don't walk away with anything more today besides telling a story, having a call to action to prompt people to comment, and then what you need to do is you just need to stick around for a period of time. You don't need to make this your entire job. Spend 10, 15 minutes after your post, engage with the people who comment early and who provide something of value to yourself and to the people who are reading the post.

And what happens is every single time somebody comments, it gets put back into the feed two more times as I've been explained. So this is how posts go viral, in air quotes. So every time somebody interacts, you get the chance of reaching two more people. And if those two people interact, you get the chance of reaching four more people and that's how it goes. So very important for you to be social on social media.

Nicole Osborne:

Absolutely. And on LinkedIn, commenting is really your superpower because as you said, the reach of the post, of the author, but also your own reach increases. And I like to encourage people to treat every comment they make as a mini prize. So try and be really meaningful. Don't just say, "Oh, this is great." Or, "Thank you very much." Try to continue the conversation and add your own take and even add an easy question. But just commenting, and for the author, for you to go in and being active... I think some of those people say, "Do it within an hour of posting and then again within a day." But make it work around your diary, not expecting anyone to be on social all the time. That's actually not good lifestyle. But yes, the power of commenting, absolutely. Thank you Chris.

Now we touched on this a little bit. I think both you and I, we talked a little bit about entertaining and engaging. And this is why people are on social, right? Is to be sociable, to learn something new. And LinkedIn, now being 20 years old, I love how many improvements they've made in terms of making it easier for us to learn new things. Absolutely spot on in terms of a platform.

But what can you do with your own posts? Just some examples here. So I often work with agency owners who are family people themselves. So every now and then I post a surprising picture with my family in there, my husband and my boy here. And in the first post, I actually take a little bit of the Mickey out of my husband, in a good way. I basically say, "After eight years of being in business, I realized that I love my husband dearly, but he's not the best person for taking business advice because he's an electrical engineer, so he really doesn't get it. So it's good to work with a business coach." And look at all the people, that really resonated. 30 comments, lots of people liking it, so I could engage with that.

Now on the right-hand side, a dear friend of mine, Helen Reynolds. I will be delivering a LinkedIn marketing class for her as well in the autumn. And she has got this really unique style. So she works with a community of communications professionals, often for local councils in the UK, for government organizations.

And life can be a bit serious so Helen has come up with this unique style. She is absolutely adorable in making these mini comics and saying, "What is in your kit bag? What do you need for being a comms professional? Tell me." And when you see that in your feed, you know immediately it's from Helen. She's found a way to really stand out and to engage with people in a way they really love. So if you want to get some inspiration, definitely check out Helen on LinkedIn. She does an amazing job.

Conrad here, on the left-hand side with his... I mean, come on, who doesn't love a small dog, right? And Conrad normally likes to talk about data and marketing theories, but I challenged him a little bit. And here, this post was really, really lovely because it was a little bit behind the scenes. He's got a new dog and he chills out with them.

And then the post on the right-hand side by Allison, I thought this was really intriguing. Now Allison is a print and brand specialist. And when I spoke to her, she knew she was going to be in this talk, she said she found LinkedIn quite stuffy, a corporate place, she didn't know what to say. But then she realized by being active on LinkedIn, she could actually build connection with the kind of people who could lead her to new clients.

So when she's on LinkedIn now, she posts advice for social media managers, for web agency owners, for copywriters, because all of these people have networks of potential clients themselves. And I thought this post is such fun. So she basically went on holiday and she saw all these transporters. It was beautiful wrapping, but there was one thing missing. And maybe tell us in comments if you can see it. Basically there are no contact details, basically no contact details. So how does this business hope to get additional bookings? But what a fun post, really easy and engaging. So well done Alison, do more of it. We love it.

Now we said earlier we wanted to convert as well. So some of our posts, I invite you that they push your offers. Maybe if you have a timely offer or you encourage them to download a freebie or hand raise a [inaudible 00:35:57].

And a couple of examples of how people do this. Kimberly, I thought it was such a clever post. So here in this post, she directly addresses a niche of contractors and she's promoting budget websites for contractors. And why I loved it, is it's so succinct. If you need a fast turnaround, if you want a professional design, if you want a worry free service, why not visit our website to learn more? And it's such a beautifully designed post and it wouldn't have taken her that long. It's really great way of every now and then have a sales message for exactly the service you are promoting at that moment. So well done, Kimberly.

Here, just a dear friend of mine, Lee Matthew Jackson, he runs agency events in the UK, web agency events. And come on, how often do you see people on the stage, dancing at an event, right? So when he posted that on LinkedIn, he had only one ticket left and it really caused some excitement. So, great technique there. Having a sense of urgency, having a really eye catching image. And yes, I'm one of the people dancing on the stage supporting another speaker. So Lee, thank you very much for doing that. A great LinkedIn poster.

Okay, the next area is actually... You know your audience, you know what we're struggling with. So how can you create a poll on LinkedIn, giving people some easy options to let them tell you what their worries and concerns are? Or their preferences? And someone who does this super, super, super well is Amanda Webb. And Chris, you might have met Amanda as well in Newcastle. She was there in Newcastle as well. And I know she absolutely adored your talk.

Amanda, in the summer, was planning a online training program. It was to do with the switch over from Google Analytics. So she created this post, and now look at this question. Do you take courses and online programs during the summer holidays? And she had over 30 people reacting to this and she could now follow up with everyone individually, asking them what kind of courses they're looking for, what do they enjoy in a course, the duration they're after. And Amanda actually regularly does this and it's a really good business driver for her.

So perhaps you could turn it into a poll about is your brand currently out of date? Have you seen your competitors doing something better? Whatever might drive your potential customers to look out for a talented designer like yourself. So polls are a really great way of doing it and it's great for engagement because it doesn't take much commitment from people to answer.

So we've given you different post types, sharing your stories, talking about your clients, doing posts which convert, doing posts which are polls. I want to show you now how you can really explode your results on LinkedIn. So let's do this. Now, the first thing you need to bear in mind, how easily are you found? Is your LinkedIn profile optimized? A LinkedIn profile homepage is a bit like your best sales page or a physical shop window page. So are you displaying all the best things which will attract your kind of people? So consider that and try to always optimize that.

Now, someone who's done this really, really well, and I've come across the lovely Angela, she's actually one of your alumnis. And I contacted her and I said, "Do you know what Angela? I absolutely love what you do with your LinkedIn profile. I think it so on the money." Angela has this amazing image, launch your knockout brand in just one day, seriously. And it's really stands out, it grabs your attention. And you've probably also noticed how she has a really cool headline, knockout brands that get you noticed, launched in a day. And it's really bold and it really supports her branding. So, well done Angela, and I'm really, really happy you allowed me to feature this.

Now Angela, when she started using LinkedIn, she literally sent you this today, overnight. She really thought, "Oh my God, I don't know what to say. I'm sounding like everyone else and I want to be taken seriously." And by sounding like everyone else, she didn't do herself any favors. But she now loves the platform, she loves learning from others, smart people she finds there. And she's inspired to share her stories and her expertise and her unique voice.

So I wanted to give you courage because this is Angela saying, "Look, in the beginning I really froze and I buttoned up and I didn't know what to say. But I allowed myself to show my true personality." Which is a really great way of not blending in, of becoming that orange transporter I showed you at the beginning, of standing out in a good way.

And just how do you stand out? How do you get seen? Well, your content, your posting, needs to be as juicy as bees to honey, by which I mean really, really irresistible. So how do you get there? Angela does this really, really well. She works with business owners who want to get business growth. And here in this post she shares her own story and some of her struggles she has experienced growing her agency. Things she learned, like listen to your gut, pushing yourself past your comfort zone, finding what lights you up.

And she posted this beautiful image to go with it, because we know on LinkedIn, if you have an image, you're twice as likely to get comments. So well done, Angela. Really beautiful story post talking about the struggles of your audience and really making yourself relatable. Because if I'm looking out for a designer, I might be worried, will they be chatting too much? Will I like my first design? What are their processes like? Will they be on time? And by being so approachable and really showing how you understand your audience, top-notch. So Angela, well done and thank you for letting me share this.

So understanding your audience, this is a term, right Chris, we throw around all the time. But what particular do you need to know? And I recommend that you really understand what keeps them awake at night. What are their worries? What are their aspirations? If company owners hire you, they probably have limited budgets or they've seen a competitor who's doing really well or they want to feel more professional, really, really level up.

So talk to these worries because the likelihood is that someone has perhaps maybe had even a negative experience in the past with another designer. So it's hard for people to know who to trust. What if, as a prospective client, I don't like the concepts you're presenting? Or maybe I'm so busy in my own world that I won't have enough time to share feedback or I don't know whether my feedback will be any good. Or maybe you're just too expensive and you don't have a budget. So if you know these are the kind of things, the kind of objections people have to potentially working with you, and you learn these through really listening carefully, you can use them and you can address them in your content on LinkedIn.

And then the other thing you want to know is why now? What triggers them now to look for a design? And I was really fortunate, I reached out to one of my good contacts, actually, Jennifer Bourn, CMO of Motivations AI. She's a top-notch designer and she really is a great content marketer and she helped me with this. So thank you, Jennifer. Sometimes it could be that you don't have enough clients or you don't have enough leads, maybe you even feel embarrassed about your branding, about your website, about your social media appearance. Or you want to look better than your competitors or you really want to level up. You know what you're offering is amazing but you don't feel people really get what you're offering.

And this is why people will think of hiring a designer. Now I know you will know your audience better and there are lots and lots of more reasons, but really think about what could be the objections and how can I address those in my content? Because what you want to give on LinkedIn is that reassurance and that peace of mind. And if you share stories, for example, where you worked on a project with a client and maybe you've overcome some of these things, maybe we didn't have enough time or the design brief has changed midway through a project. We all know with projects, it reassures people that you've had that experience and you know how to deal with that. And it gives them confidence in considering you as a potential supplier to put you onto that brilliant shortlist when it's time for them to look for a designer.

So I've given you some hints of how you know your audience. Best thing is always to pick up a phone and ask them. And even your current clients, what were you worried about when you purchased from me? What were some of the things you searched for on LinkedIn? And use that in your content.

But I want to give you some more tips here on how to thrive on LinkedIn. And Chris has already elaborated on some of them, which is amazing. It's this sociable platform, right? So you've got to be sociable. I cannot imagine many sectors when it's not appropriate to be sociable. So see it as that social media platform. People want to have some fun, they want to be entertained. You want to connect with new people, people you are interested in, but also people's networks you're really interested in. You want to comment. Chris said that the earlier, commenting really is a superpower to really place meaningful comments which go beyond three or five words and really add some value.

You want to post regularly, have a variety of posts. Review how you're doing and also use LinkedIn to learn all latest features. Because since Microsoft has taken them over all those years ago, we're constantly turning up new features and it's lovely to get involved with them and make the most of them.

So in essence, if you want to get noticed by the right people, the kind of people who give you joy and you would love to work with, be more you, try and stand out. And I wanted to just give you a couple of examples. So this is Tom Amos from Design Box, one of my original Wunderstars. And they've also created my website and my brand, which I absolutely love. And I can tell you, Tom was really, really LinkedIn resistant. So what we did, we updated his profile and he applied some LinkedIn hacks and actually, he got a new project which was 15 times worth the kind of projects he normally gets.

Chris Do:

Wow.

Nicole Osborne:

It's good, isn't it? And it actually developed into a niche for his business, which he absolutely adores. So this was LinkedIn to him and to this day he uses it for referrals. We are actually catching up soon because he wants to be a bit more active again on LinkedIn with his personal brands. But well done, Tom. What a beautiful picture of his team. It's nothing fancy, we went out to a team lunch.

I think we all have these moments in our working life, I call it behind the scenes content, where we could show off what we do. And it doesn't have to be fancy. Looking at different design drafts, where do you get your inspiration from? How do you make decisions? What does your office look like? Obviously tidy it up a little bit. But there's simple things you can do to show up for your audience in a way which reflects your personality and what you are about. Because people want to get to know people on LinkedIn.

Just talking about values, I forgot to mention John. Because Chris, John and his team are so excited that you and I are getting to talk because they completely follow you and they love your advice. And John was the reason why I reached out to you while I was in Newcastle, because I was brave on his behalf because I wanted to send a picture. Do you know, I say all this because I know I don't come across as an introvert or shy, but I am as well sometimes. So I have John a lot to thank for and he's an amazing client.

And what I love about John is he has packed his LinkedIn profile with personality. He's shown a picture of his adorable family. He talks about how he used to be into hockey and he still watches it, he says who his favorite team is. So all of the typical things you might not associate with a boring or dry corporate kind of presence on LinkedIn. But John likes to work with people who are local businesses. So for him, sharing his personality and his family values is really, really important and it's working well. So I hope that encourages you to give it a go and to just open up a bit more on what you are about as a person.

And finally, I showed you Conrad earlier, he's really experimenting on LinkedIn and having fun with it. You can see this from a range of images, right? And for him, the purpose of stepping up on LinkedIn was to get more leads in, to get more high quality leads in. And he's doing amazingly and he's really embracing the platform. We're having lots of fun. The next area we are really working on is more of a story sharing. So at the moment it's quite tech and very thought-provoking, but we want to get some more story sharing in. But well done, Conrad. So if Conrad can have fun, we can have a bit more fun and just experimenting and enjoy that learning curve.

So, you guys ready to thrive on LinkedIn? I think let's go. Just one more goodie, I promised you a goodie. I would invite you guys to come and download a small booklet with over 30 ideas, particularly for agency owners, content ideas which will help you to engage, which will help you to convert, which will help you tell your stories. So come to our website, this is the link. I would love for you to get this freebie. And thank you so much, Chris. This is me. I clearly need to get a new photo shoot done, which I'm doing tomorrow with my curly hair. But I would love for people to reach out to connect on LinkedIn. This is where I hang out. So yes, danke schon. In German it means thank you.

Chris Do:

Okay, let's talk a little bit. Now, you shared earlier the story about how you got your foray into sales by helping your parents' business out by selling sunglasses, but also to make some pocket money, I think.

Nicole Osborne:

Yeah.

Chris Do:

And then over the last 20 years you've done this professionally as a coach and someone to teach other people how to grow in the digital space. Do you exclusively work with creative agencies and entrepreneurs or do you work with all types of entrepreneurs?

Nicole Osborne:

Great question. I find it so important to niche down in your content because if you are there for everyone, you don't get noticed. And I, early on, decided I'm so passionate about agency, so all my content, all my marketing is focused on that. But no, by now I'm really, really lucky, I work with entrepreneurs in the online space. So yes, for me it's more about what do they need? Can I help? Will we have fun working together? But yeah, predominantly it is in the agency space.

But just to keep things interesting, right, it's really cool to work with different sectors. As I mentioned just earlier, award-winning speaker, and I also work with a lady who runs her own membership and it's nice to face these different marketing challenges. So yes, I do work with other people as well. It's just in my content and marketing, I'm really focused on agencies because I want to help them and my content is all about helping agencies.

Chris Do:

Wonderful. If people want to find out more about you and they want to dig a little bit deeper or maybe on social, where's the best place for them to find out about you?

Nicole Osborne:

The best place to connect with me is on LinkedIn.

Chris Do:

Of course.

Nicole Osborne:

Nicole Osborne. And on my website, wunderstars.com

Chris Do:

Excellent. Thank you very much for sharing that presentation. I think you gave people a masterclass on what they need to do on LinkedIn. So if you've been struggling, if you've been on the fence, I'm going to say this one last little bit, which is I heard a stat, and unless the stat has changed, I think it's true. That less than 1% of people who are on LinkedIn actually ever create any piece of content. Anything. So there's a lot of people that are on there, the competition's relatively low.

And I have to tell you, if I were looking for a job, this would be an amazing place, or even if I were looking for clients. Because when I look at the analytics, as to who's engaging with my posts, many of them are founders, are in the C-suite, like CEO, CMO, CRO, something like that, with the C from some of the most successful and valuable brands and companies in the world. We're talking about the Fortune 100. So one day, if it ever should happens, should fortune no longer favor me and I have to go crawling back to the corporate world and get a job, I know I'll be on LinkedIn and there'll be many people there that can connect with, that'll hopefully open doors for me. And I just want to maintain those relationships.

The last thing I want to say is this, and I think some marketers get this all wrong, especially as a creative person, you sometimes slip into a space where you feel really desperate and you need work and need opportunities. The worst possible thing that you can do is not to listen to what Nicole is saying, where you slip into the DMs and you start pitching and selling right away. It's a massive turnoff. Massive turnoff. So what you want to do is you want to build a relationship that's coming from a genuine place of you exchanging value with someone else, where you're able to build rapport and you engage naturally in a way that's beneficial to the person that you're talking about. They will ask you, "What do you have to sell?"

Now, I've been speaking at different conferences, and what's really cool is if I do my job well, which is to deliver massive amounts of value, then people will naturally come up to me and start asking me, "Hey, what else do you do? What programs are you running? Can I get coaching from you?" Or, "Can you speak at this other event?" And that's really what I'm there to do. I'm there to give value and then the opportunities materialize. Do you have any other thoughts on that, Nicole?

Nicole Osborne:

Completely. Give value, give it freely, and opportunities arise. I had all my best business opportunities via LinkedIn, so I completely buy into listening to people, commenting and gating. And just the global nature of it is so amazing. You could be working with people anywhere and it feels like you at a networking event. So no, it's amazing.

Just be yourself. Don't be all corporate and stuff, we don't want that. We're people, it's okay to show you flaws. Particularly since the global pandemic, we work from home, everyone now works in hybrid environments. It doesn't always have to be perfect. Show up as yourself. We are humans. And be supportive of other people as well. If you have few creators in your space, there's obviously enough cake to go around. Interact with them, support each other. That's a social kind of behavior, right? Let's not forget we're human people first. So yeah. No, embrace LinkedIn. I'm obviously a fan.

Chris Do:

Okay, one last little question. Where are you speaking next? Maybe I'll run into you at the next speaking engagement.

Nicole Osborne:

Oh, I have to keep a wraps on it yet.

Chris Do:

Oh, you can't announce?

Nicole Osborne:

I'm really hoping Brighton SEO in April. Brighton is such a beautiful city and the SEO agencies are amazing. But like everyone else, I'm applying too. They have a really fair process. So yeah, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. But Chris, I hope you're in the UK again soon, so I'll come up anywhere where you are.

Chris Do:

Well, the number one place I've visited the most in Europe is London. So if you're around, I'm sure we have opportunity to get together.

Nicole Osborne:

That would be adorable. I live in London, so yeah, let me know. I'll drop anything.

Chris Do:

Okay, and you won't be shy next time, right?

Nicole Osborne:

Nope. No. I'll just remember how approachable you are.

Chris Do:

I have to say, I didn't fully believe your answer there because you kind of looked away for a second.

Nicole Osborne:

I'm still a bit shy.

Chris Do:

I guess. And that's okay, I'm shy too, so I need someone less shy than me so that we can actually have a real conversation, I hope. Like many things, things begin on social, where people get to know you first at a distance. And then when the opportunity happens and when you share physical space together, there's a opportunity to build a greater bond or connection, at least, at the minimum. And then if you keep not being a weirdo, maybe things get better and we'll eventually feel like, hey, hey old friend, how you doing today? And we'll see each other in the streets, and I'll say, "Hey, there she is. She's walking right there."

Nicole Osborne:

I need to come over to California. That will work.

Chris Do:

Well, I can promise you this, the weather is a little bit better than where you're at. Just a little bit.

Nicole Osborne:

And the food and the seaside, all of it. I love it. I absolutely adore it.

Chris Do:

Okay, maybe I'll see you stateside then.

Nicole Osborne:

Definitely. It's a promise.

Chris Do:

All right, thanks so much, Nicole. I'm going to keep you to that promise.

Nicole Osborne:

My name is Nicole Osborne and you are listening to the future.

Speaker 3:

Thanks for joining us. If you haven't already, subscribe to our show on your favorite podcasting app and get a new insightful episode from us every week.

The Futur Podcast is hosted by Chris Doe and produced by me, Stuart Schuster. Thank you to Anthony Barrow for editing and mixing this episode. And thank you to Adam Sanborn for our intro music.

If you enjoyed this episode, then do us a favor by reviewing and rating our show on Apple Podcasts. It will help us grow the show and make future episodes that much better.

Have a question for Chris or me? Head over to the futur.com/heychris and ask away. We read every submission and we just might answer yours in a later episode.

If you'd like to support the show and invest in yourself while you're at it, visit the futur.com. You'll find video courses, digital products, and a bunch of helpful resources about design and creative business. Thanks again for listening and we'll see you next time.

‍