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April 21, 2025 18 mins

If you're struggling with LinkedIn engagement, it's time for some tough love. No more blaming the algorithm - time to look in the mirror. Learn how to understand and serve your audience better, leading to higher engagement and business growth.

Perfect for marketers and business owners alike, this podcast is packed with practical insights and actionable tips.

Key moments in this episode - 

00:00 Tough Love Truth

03:29 Common LinkedIn Content Issues

08:00 The Power of Empathy

11:01 The R.A.T.E Framework

15:11 Self-Audit Challenge

17:24 Empathy for the Win

CONNECT WITH MICHELLE J RAYMOND


Today's episode is sponsored by Metricool. Make sure to register for a FREE Metricool account today. Use Code MICHELLE30 to try any Premium Plan FREE for 30 days. 

METRICOOL REPORT - https://metricool.com/linkedin-trends-study/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=influencer&utm_campaign=20250422_michelle-raymond_2025-linkedin-study_en&utm_content=audio&utm_term=q1

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
You're doing all the things.
You're posting, you're sharing, you'reshowing up, and still you're not getting
any closer towards your business goals.
I'm here to break it to you.
It's probably because youraudience doesn't care about you.
There.
I said it.
They do not care.
And in today's episode, I've got abit of tough love for you listeners.
So stick around and we'regonna fix this problem and get

(00:21):
your engagement back on track.
G'Day everyone.
It is Coach Michelle J Raymond,and welcome back for another
episode of the podcast, and thisis a really important podcast.
This is something that is going to comeacross as a bit of tough love, like I said

(00:42):
in the intro, but something that I thinkis so valuable to marketers and business
owners looking to grow their businesses.
And we're hearing so much on theplatform, that the algorithm isn't
showing our content as far, you'rewatching your numbers go plummeting,
and it's happening to everyone.
It's not just you.

(01:03):
And very soon my friend Richard vander Blom will release an algorithm
investigation report and he's gonna teachyou lots of tips and tricks around things
that you can do to tweak what you do onLinkedIn to get more reach and engagement.
Now, I'm here to tell you, youdon't need to wait for that.
You can get in early and fix theproblems with your content today.

(01:26):
That's right, we can fix this today.
I'm gonna share what the problem is,the solution, and give you the tools
to do a quick audit of your own contentso you can fix this immediately.
No tools are required, it isjust your time and attention.
Getting your time and attentionis easier said than done because I
appreciate that this is only one partof what you have to get done every day.

(01:51):
For marketers, you might be acrossmultiple platforms in and out of
meetings, probably managing a team ifyou're a senior marketer, possibly you
are somebody that's starting out andmanaging different social media platforms.
I get it.
And you know, especially a shout out tothose business owners who are responsible
for everything in the business.
Yay.
Don't you love that?
It's so cool to try andkeep up with everything.

(02:14):
But this episode is going tobe short, sharp, and practical.
My favorite types of episodes.
Before we dive into all of that coolstuff today, here's a quick word
from our podcast sponsors, Metricool.

(03:29):
let's start out and talk about the mostcommon issues that I see with content,
and can I be honest for a moment?
I don't think that anybodysets out to make bad content.
And I don't even think it's bad content.
It's just ineffective content.
And I understand that from timeto time, it could be because you

(03:51):
just had to get the job done.
And unfortunately, your audience canfeel that you've just ticked and flicked
and created content with that in mind.
I also understand that there arepressures internally that people come
to you and say, do a post on this.
Reach our audience.
We wanna tell the whole world about it.
And I honestly think that that is thebeginning of the end for poor content,

(04:14):
especially when it comes to Pages.
If I had to say what the biggest issuewith content was that I see as I'm
scrolling LinkedIn or working with myclients in two words, self-absorption.
That's right, we onlycare about ourselves.
We don't pay enoughattention to our audience.

(04:37):
ChatGPT it doesn't know your audience.
It doesn't care about your audience.
It is searching the internet forthe average of all of that content
out there and serving up somethingthat is not specific to the people
that you're trying to target.
When you are self-absorbed and talkabout yourself or have no consideration
for the people that you are trying totarget with your content, they know it.

(05:01):
They feel it.
It doesn't resonate, andthey keep on scrolling.
That then plays out when weuse so much corporate jargon.
We don't need any more of thatin our lives, and it doesn't
matter which industry you work in.
This is a big part of content that Isee with company pages, is that we feel
like if we use the jargon and we soundsmart, then people wanna buy only from

(05:26):
the companies that sound the smartest.
That's not actually the case.
We are looking for companies thatalign with our values, that we
feel seen, that we feel heard.
I'm gonna go into this a little bitwhen we talk about the solutions,
but ultimately, jargon is a killerfor your content engagement.
The other thing that you probablyhaven't thought about when

(05:48):
you're in self-absorption modeis what's a day in the life of
your target audience really like?
No, really.
Do they get up early?
Do they have familiesto get off to school?
Are they highly strung professionals thatare in back-to-back meetings all day?
Do they take lunch breaks?
Do they probably skip their lunch breaks?

(06:09):
Are they working on weekends?
What is life like whenthey get home from work?
Are they dealing with homework?
Do they have kids' sports?
Are they trying to doself-care for themselves?
Do they stay up late?
Are they night owls?
If you can't come back to me with somegeneralised answers to many of those
questions that I've just asked, thenthe answer is you're self-absorbed.

(06:32):
You actually don't careabout your audience.
You have something you wanna say.
You are just going to broadcastit at them, and they're just gonna
take it whether they like it or not.
You know that they don't like itbecause your numbers aren't working.
You cannot blame the LinkedInalgorithm all the time.
It is not the fault of the algorithmthat you are not getting engagement.

(06:54):
LinkedIn is showingyour content elsewhere.
It is making sure that you are being seen.
It may not be by as much aswhat we were historically.
But what happens when peoplesee it, that's on you.
And ultimately, I am going to guess, andI see this when I do audits for Company
Pages or people book a Power Hour withme, the first thing I do is I look at

(07:18):
their content and say, you know what?
Your content, it's allabout you, and nobody cares.
And it's really a harsh truth, butit's also the most powerful thing
that I can share with people.
After this short break, let'scome back and talk about the fix.
I've got the solution for you.

(08:00):
It's never doom and gloom listeners.
There is always, if we have a problem,there are solutions, and especially
when it comes back to content.
And if talking about yourself and beingself-absorbed is the kryptonite to your
content, the good news is you also havethe superpower within you to be able to

(08:23):
fix this, and that superpower is empathy.
Having empathy for what it's like forpeople on the other side and really
getting to understand what is a dayin the life like for them, can allow
you to quickly fix your content.
What are the key problems that they have?

(08:44):
What are the challenges that theyhave in achieving their KPIs?
If you work for somebody else, you'reshowing up every day trying to get
closer to those goals so you canachieve your personal career goals.
And that could be because itlinks to getting a promotion,
it could be more wages.
It could be bonuses, itcould be all kinds of things.

(09:06):
But as a creator, creating foryour audience, think about what
motivates people on the other side.
What are they trying to achieve?
And for some of your audience, it couldbe that they're really motivated by
shared values, and we see that, especiallywith Gen Z. They're looking to work with
people that have an opinion, that standfor something, that share their values.

(09:28):
And if you don't show that in yourcontent, then they could be swiping on by.
Now when you bring empathy yourcontent will shift and it will
have an amazing impact on thepeople that are on the other side.
Because all of a sudden it feelslike they're invited to your party.
It feels like they're thecentre of attention and we

(09:51):
pretty much all love that.
Let's put this in a face-to-face context.
We meet at a party or a networkingevent you come up and start talking
to me and I start blabberingon about how amazing I am.
I've just been on this world tour.
I wrote books.
I've got a YouTube channel.
I'm amazing.
I've done this, I've done that.
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

(10:13):
Everybody switches off.
We all do it.
That's when we say, oh, I'm justgonna go and get a drink, or
I'm just going to the bathroom.
People will walk away from that, andit's no different in an online world.
The cool part is when you flick thatswitch, all of a sudden you'll have people
flocking to you because they feel seen.
They feel heard.

(10:34):
They can understand your content.
It's easy to consume and itoffers a fair value exchange.
Their time for your value.
If those two things are aligned,they'll keep coming back.
That's where your engagement willgo up and when your engagement
goes up, then also you're reach andimpressions and views also will go up.

(11:02):
How can you check where things are atto make sure that you are using empathy
as your superpower to win on LinkedIn?
Let's go back to the R.A.T.E framework.
If you missed that podcast episode,I'm gonna put the details in the show
notes because I dedicated a wholeepisode to this because it's really that
important, and the R.A.T.E frameworkis R.A.T.E, so it's easy to remember.

(11:24):
R.A.T.E your content, R.A.T.E yourcomments, and this is how it works.
R, is your post relevant to your audience?
That is very different to,this is what I want to post.
This is what my boss wants me to post.
This is what the companywants to talk about.
Nobody cares about that stuff.
They are looking for contentthat is relevant to them, that

(11:46):
meets them where they're at.
That helps them achieve their goals.
I'm gonna keep repeatingthis over and over again.
When it's relevant theywill consume your content.
Then we look at A authenticity.
Authenticity in this case, Imean that we are not just using
those templated approaches.
That you really come across asthe individual or the brand,

(12:09):
and you are genuinely creatingcontent with that audience in mind.
And we ditch the jargon.
We make it easy for people to read.
So one quick check, if you put yourpost into ChatGPT and ask it is this
suitable for a level four reader?
And this is because we wanna make surethat our content is most accessible

(12:32):
by the most number of people.
And especially on a global platform,you're gonna have people from all
walks of life, all backgrounds,all education levels, and we wanna
make sure that we can reach 'em.
And yes, this includes even if theperson that you are targeting is the
CEO or someone high up in a business,make it easy for them to consume.
That's a really quick and easy tip.

(12:54):
T is thought leadership.
Now for me, thought leadershipis always all about just having
something that's original.
That shows your positioningin the industry.
That you have a great understandingof the topic, and you can
share your own opinion on this.
There are so many different ways thatyou can use the word thought leadership.

(13:18):
But for me, the key point is alwayshaving your own opinions and your own
experiences, and using that to leadother people to get closer to their
goals and what they're trying to achieve.
Always coming back.
We're serving our audience andsolving the challenges that they have.
E. E comes back to empathy.

(13:39):
The superpower of all content.
And empathy is so importantbecause I want you to check in
and say, in this piece of content?
Do I really see things fromthe same view of my audience?
Do I understand what it's like for them?
Are they time poor?

(13:59):
Are they drowning?
Have they just had budgets cut?
When you have empathy for the people onthe other side, you don't come across
like a robot, you will stand out.
It will be immediately obvious thatyou've done your research and homework
and understand your clients, yourindustry, and really what makes them tick.
And putting yourself in somebodyelse's shoes is really powerful

(14:23):
because you'll be able to very quicklyand easily understand what kind of
content can I create that really helpsthat person with where they're at?
We're coming back toR.A.T.E. Is it relevant?
Is it authentic?
Does it express thought leadership?
And am I showing empathy forthe people on the other side?

(14:45):
So they're the four steps.

(15:11):
I wanna set a little self-audit challengefor you listeners, because it's all well
and good to listen to the podcast, but youdon't get anywhere closer to your business
goals if you don't implement these.
So I want you to go back and check yourlast five to 10 posts, depending how much
time you've got, and have a look with theR.A.T.E framework and see is it relevant

(15:33):
to my audience, is it authentically me orhas some jargon or terminology crept in?
Is it thought leadership?
Am I sharing something that's originaland helpful and shares my opinion
and leads people towards their goals?
If the answer is yes, youcan tick that one off.
And do I show empathy?

(15:53):
Do I have a good understandingof what it's like a day in the
life for my target audience?
If you can tick all four of those thingsoff for the majority of your posts, and
of course it's not gonna be every postI don't believe in formulas for content
because sometimes we've just gotta dothings because we enjoy them and have fun.
But if we apply the 80 20 rulewhere we R.A.T.E our posts and make

(16:18):
sure they're fine, then you canfreestyle those other posts and people
will still engage and enjoy them.
So that's your homeworkfor this week, listeners.
If after you do this self audit, youdiscover that you've got a bad case of
all about me, you now know how to fix it.
If you wanna use LinkedIn to help you growyour business, it all starts with empathy.

(16:42):
If you need any help implementing this,reach out it might be that having a Power
Hour session with me where I can reviewyour content with you, make suggestions,
and then set you up for success inthe future, all within 60 minutes.
Might be the ideal wayfor you to get results.
and I've had so much fun this week doinga couple of those as I just got back

(17:06):
into the office and it's so cool to watchmy clients go from oh yeah, it's really
obvious now to, yes, I can't wait to makethis switch and make my content in service
of our audience, and I know that they'regonna get the results that they're after.
So there you have it listeners.

(17:26):
Empathy for the win.
Until next week, cheers.
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