August 13, 2025 • 20 mins
Ever feel like your LinkedIn profile is just collecting digital dust? You're not alone! In this episode, I chat with Al Kushner, bestselling author and LinkedIn growth strategist, about transforming your professional presence on the platform.
Optimizing Your Profile for Impact
- Why your profile is your digital first impression
- Key elements that make profiles stand out
- The often-overlooked power of recommendations
Content Creation Strategies
- Why video is a game-changer on LinkedIn
- The ideal length for maximum engagement
- How AI can supercharge your content game
Common LinkedIn Pitfalls
- Treating LinkedIn like other social platforms
- The "post and ghost" trap
- Neglecting to update your profile regularly
AI's Role in LinkedIn's Future
- How AI is reshaping content creation
- Potential new features on the horizon
- Balancing AI assistance with authentic engagement
Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting out, Al's insights will help you make the most of LinkedIn's potential. From crafting compelling content to building meaningful connections, discover how to stand out in the digital professional landscape.
"You don't get a second chance to make a first impression." - Al Kushner
Ready to revamp your LinkedIn strategy? Tune in to learn how to transform your profile from a static resume to a dynamic networking powerhouse!
Al's Book: https://amzn.to/4lsCVCT
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Foreign.
That's good. Hey guys, it's a new episode
and always I'm going to give you some little tips and
(00:21):
tricks that I've actually learned from this. But this week is all
about LinkedIn and I have Al and he is the best selling author
and sought after LinkedIn growth strategist, Renown
on his innovative approach to digital marketing. His
groundbreaking book, the AI LinkedIn Advantage has
transformed how professionals and businesses leverage
(00:42):
artificial intelligence to prioritize their LinkedIn
presence. But I've learned so much from this. I've
learned just how to optimize my LinkedIn profile, what to do, what
not to do. And so my questions for you is,
how have you optimized your LinkedIn profile? What areas do you still
need to optimize it? And what did you learn out of this that you didn't
(01:05):
know about LinkedIn? All right, let's get on to the episode. Thank you.
Great to be here. And first question is all my guest is,
are you a coffee or tea drinker? Neither. I don't do caffeine.
So you just do like straight water or do you have like other things you
do? Herbal tea is great. I like robust tea. Um,
you know, it depends on the time of day, but I don't need anything to
(01:28):
wake me up in the morning. I just wake up naturally, so that's a
good thing. My wife is another story, but, you. Know, so she
takes all the caffeine for you is what I'm hearing. It is unfortunate, but
hey, listen, you gotta work with what you're given and, you know,
if it makes it hap. Makes her happy, why not? You know, I'm all for
it, but we have a little coffee maker which we use the pods
(01:51):
so we don't get the. Unlike a traditional coffee maker where they fills up the
whole room with coffee smell, this is just individual. So it's really great. And I
use it for other things too. They have one for hot chocolate and one
for herbal tea. So it's really quite convenient. And
especially when you have guests over there, you give them a lot of options, you
know, it's great. So options are always good, but too many
(02:12):
options and people go, I don't know what to choose. Just pick one for me.
That's why we have a little revolving carousel for different
pods. They could choose what they want. You know, we don't have to discriminate. Some
people want decaf, other people want regular. People want dark rose, they
want light roast. I give them options. So why not make them
make them? And I Gave a brief some of your
(02:33):
expertise. Can you give our listeners a little bit more about what you do? Well,
I'm LinkedIn. I help people
optimize their profile. I work with a lot of
individuals as well as companies training them to
make their, you know, profile more impactful,
which is important. I do speaking engagements, so I speak to
(02:56):
groups on LinkedIn strategies. So I
just basically help people to make it more
a platform that's more easy to use and more, more
better for what they do. Got you. And how have your
approaches to AI and LinkedIn strategy evolved over time in any
particular pivotal lessons from the early stages of your career? I would say
(03:19):
that AI has been pretty significant in
creating content as well as
developing different types of strategies that
normally were not available years ago. So it's really been a game changer, I
think, and a lot of people are really not understanding the
process. But I was an early adapter to it, so I found it to be
(03:40):
really, you know, a great way to
connect with people by using this tool, which saves time.
But there are learning curves you need to understand.
So it's not a type of tool that, you know, is one size,
fit all, you know, you need to really understand the purposes
of it and sometimes it makes mistakes. It is evolving,
(04:03):
so, but I, I embrace it, so that's a good thing. What makes
your approach to LinkedIn strategy distinct from others? I mean, I
embrace AI technology whereby others may not
necessarily on board with that, you know, and they don't really
understand it for the most part. So I'm really became
more of a thought leader and I create articles and
(04:26):
content to educate people. Why? AI is definitely
the future for any type of relationship building, which
I think is key for engagement on
platforms like LinkedIn, you know, and that's really essential. You know, you
relate to either, you know, you, you get with the program
or you get left behind. And I wasn't going to be in that situation,
(04:48):
so I really took advantage of the different, you
know, applications are. Available and how do you
incorporate it into LinkedIn strategies to create standout results for clients?
Content creation obviously is key also
when you are on LinkedIn to focus in on
making your profile stand out, you know, because before you do any type
(05:11):
of outreach, you really need to understand that people are going to
look at your profile and judge you based on that. You only got a few
seconds, you know, and they say you don't get a second chance to make a
first impression. And that's true. You know, that's something that I find to be
Important. So before you do any outreach, you really need to look at your
profile and understand what you're
(05:32):
presenting, you know, and that really is going to make a difference in terms
of the value that you are given to someone,
you know, in terms of what you present. I mean, a lot of times
they'll judge you based on the amount of followers that you have or the amount
of recommendations you have. And people really don't understand if it's important
or not, you know, and for me, recommendations are essential,
(05:54):
you know, for any type of, you know,
trust, you know, when, when dealing with people. Have
you looked at your profile at all? Have you thought about anything
that might be held for improvement at all? Basically
recommendations. Okay, well,
touched a nerve there. Yeah, I mean, I got
(06:16):
everything pretty much okay. That's the
most I already know that's the most that I need to actually focus on a
little bit more. I mean, I do create the content, I do use the
newsletter like I do use all the features. It's just the one thing that's the
older thing of all the other tools that I don't use very well.
Well, that's essential, you know, when you're looking at that, you know, updating, you
(06:38):
know, portraits, looking at the background images as well
are essential. But any recommendations are something a lot of people just
seem to ignore or don't know how to do. And I'm very good at, you
know, doing that and helping people. And that really is going to build a lot
of trust you, you know, because it's about who you say you are and
it's social proof, it's third party endorsements that's going to be your key to gain
(07:00):
trust. So I work with people to help them develop that and become
more proactive in getting that. So that's important. Is there like
one good tip you could tell our listeners to like get more recommendations? Because I
feel like it's the asking part that stops a lot of people from doing
it because you're like, I don't know if I'm ever rejected or not or
if I asked the wrong person that really doesn't like me. Well, the ideal way
(07:22):
to do it is that if you are working with a client who's very happy
with your work, I'd reach out to them and just say, you know, ask
them for a couple of kind words, you know, to share that, you know, help
them in, you know, in what you did for them. That really makes a
difference, you know. So if you have a relationship with someone, they're on LinkedIn
you know, it really works out and a lot of times they'll appreciate a recommendation
(07:45):
on your part too. So it's usually a win, win situation.
And that's something that you really got to be more proactive in doing because that
really is going to make a difference, you know, and getting, you know, the
trust value that really makes a difference. Are there
any surprising or unconventional tactics you employ with LinkedIn
that produce significant outcomes? Videos. Videos
(08:08):
on LinkedIn are game changer. You know, people post
articles, but the fact is, is that you're competing with so
many people out there for articles and
sometimes people skip that. But videos are getting a lot of more
attention than they didn't have before. And LinkedIn is promoting
videos with their algorithm. So you'll find you'll get a lot more
(08:30):
views by creating video content that really is
going to make you set, set yourself apart from the competition.
And this is the short videos because they, they've had like two different versions of
it. They had like the square version and then they pivoted over to more of
the vertical YouTube shorts. LinkedIn, I
mean, TikTok and stuff. Well, they have both, you know, so it's still there.
(08:53):
But I think if you provide a video
and ideally the content should be under 2 minutes,
sweet spot is about 90 seconds, enough to get
attention and to provide value to whoever you're connecting
with and, and that's really what you want to focus on. Keep it under the
2 minutes and provide information that would be valuable
(09:16):
to the people watching. Oh, and most importantly, have subtitles
that people need to understand. Subtitles in your videos
are crucial because a lot of people watch videos but they don't have the sound
on. So without a subtitle, a lot of times they'll just
skip it. So that's something you should have when
posting videos. What are some of the other common challenges
(09:37):
that clients face with LinkedIn growth? Is it not enough videos? Is
it not really caring about your profile? Like, what are
the common challenges? Well, being consistent, of course. You know, having
newsletters would be ideal. You can do up to five newsletters, I believe,
with LinkedIn. So you should optimize that and do it at least once a
week if you can, you know, so people get to see you and the
(10:00):
algorithm loves it, you know, which is great. Having
newsletter, being consistent with that and also using some of the more
advanced tools on LinkedIn like Sales Navigator, which
allows you to know who's looked at your profile so you can kind of
reply back to people who checked out your profile and Ask them. Hey, thanks for
stopping by. What drove you to look at my profile? You know, that's
(10:22):
something important to have engagement, you know, that's really a
good thing to have. What are the misconceptions
do people have often with LinkedIn for professional development or branding? Because
I see on YouTube like LinkedIn cringe, and there is some cringe on LinkedIn where
it's like a little overdone, where it's like, I care about my job
this much and normal people are like, okay, you don't care about your job that
(10:44):
much. I find it's kind of almost ridiculous that some people treat it
like Facebook, you know, and they post like they drink in the morning. Here's my
coffee, is what I had for lunch. People don't care on LinkedIn about that,
the case, you know, and they really just get so self absorbed, you know,
or they're just promoting themselves. You know, that's really something that is a turn
off for a lot of people who are on there, you know, and then you're
(11:06):
not going to get a lot of traction keeping posting things that are really
just narcissistic, if you want to say
so. You really got to give value whoever you're posting to. And
that's really the key to win on LinkedIn. You know, give value,
give more than you receive. That's what you have to do. And should
people be commenting more on other people's posts to get them in kind of in
(11:29):
the, in the mind's eye or the awareness of you? Because
I've seen a lot of people say, like commenting other people's posts that you may
want to meet eventually or have a virtual chat or whatever could help as
well. Well, commenting is, is, is important, but
it's also what you say that is, brings
meaning and value. You know, just saying, you know, hey, thanks for sharing,
(11:51):
really. It's just, you know, it's almost a default on LinkedIn,
you know, itself and that should not be the case. You know, be sincere in
your praise, offer, you know,
constructive criticism, you know, talk about things that are going to
add value to that individual's post. Because a lot of times when
people post, they really get very few replies at all, if
(12:13):
anything. So if you're posting, you know, make it meaningful, make it
count. So you get someone who may decide they'll check out your profile
because you left a great comment that, you know, made their day. That's funny
because today I just got someone saying, thanks for sharing. I
was like, I don't know what to do with this, but okay, yeah. So that's
really, that's something that people don't understand. You gotta go beyond that, you know, and
(12:35):
there's really, there's no excuse not to do that. So you're better off not
saying anything than saying thanks for sharing. So where do you see AI making the
biggest impact on LinkedIn marketing in the next five years? Well, I, I
certainly see it with content creation. I see it with video
creation. This is definitely the, the future of it
and it's just going to be a great way to
(12:58):
save people a lot of time and energy on posting and,
and using a platform compared to the old
fashioned method of trying to think of what to say. You know, LinkedIn
with Plat, you know, products like ChatGPT
could help create ideas for content or ideas for a
(13:18):
video that are important for growth.
And that's when I see the future is AI, is
the future of LinkedIn. So that's important.
And do you think like the AI
avatars that the script has just come out with will play on it
apart as well? Because the script, I think a few weeks ago came out
(13:41):
with their actual AI avatars that will, you don't even have to be on the
video now. It can kind of mimic you or mimic somebody else. I mean,
certainly it's going to, you know, create attention.
If you are giving information that's going to be of value, you know,
to whoever's going to be watching. Remember, you got to keep it short, you know,
make it 90 seconds and you got to grab their attention, you know, just like
(14:03):
a movie trailer. If you don't get their attention the first five or 10 seconds,
they're not going to watch your video. So regardless of whatever avatar using, if it's
boring, you know, or it's not captivating, you're not going to get
anyone to watch it. And it's just going to be something that's
not ideal. So you got to be really
more important to be editing whatever you're doing and
(14:25):
making sure that it's going to be something that somebody's going to watch.
And if LinkedIn were to adopt new AI features, what,
what would you like to see? Well, I would say that,
you know, you know, help with creating content would be
a good thing to have, you know, whether it's helping
with videos, but also,
(14:48):
you know, finding people who are active on LinkedIn, you know, a
lot of people are really not active and you're sending out messages to
people that don't respond and sometimes that could
hurt you as a way too because you send a lot of invites and then,
you know, get responses or people don't know who you are, you know,
that hurts your outreach, you know, so LinkedIn will
(15:11):
slow you down or even shut you down because you're doing these things
that are not, you know, you know, ideal for
LinkedIn, you know, setting their standards as being, you
know, professional platform. It becomes a spammer's paradise. And that's not a way
to do that. So the, the old way of looking at LinkedIn was
basically you just create an account, put up your resume
(15:33):
and then you kind of left like it was. There's nothing to do for it.
So that's. Yes, I don't get it. You know, that's what people think, you know,
and it surprises me and shocks me that so
many of these profiles are just lay dormant, you know, or they have images
of things years ago, they haven't updated. It's just
part of the. Yeah, I guess the people
(15:56):
look at it as just, you know, another tool like a resume, but it's not,
it's a lot more than that. So you really need to understand it. That's why
I wrote in my book, to learn about some of the resources available. There's no
reason why you can't be More active on LinkedIn if you use the tools that
are available with AI to help you become more proactive
and become more to stand out among the crowd. And
(16:17):
it's because there's just too many other social media networks that people
are, I guess, more or less addicted to. Like, people
check Tick Tock all the time, people check Instagram, YouTube,
and it's just not in their habit of actually like wanting to
engage on LinkedIn. Is that part of the problem? Well, I think the problem is,
is that they kind of mesh it all together and they think it's all the
(16:39):
same. Like Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn are all part of the
same ecosystem. I mean, it's a social media platform. That's the only thing they have
in common. But you know, LinkedIn is known for, you know, business to business
type connections, you know, and someone who's posting on Facebook,
you know, personal things or should not be posting the same
things on LinkedIn, you know, but they do, you know, it's really
(17:01):
shocking. But, you know, you have to treat LinkedIn as a professional
platform like a, like a networking type of event.
And you only have a short period or a short amount of time to
engage with someone that, you know, you need to provide value to whatever you're
doing, dealing with you Know, you have to give more than you receive. That's how
you do it. And most people don't do that. And what advice
(17:23):
do you give someone just starting to use LinkedIn and wanting to tap into
just growth and AI. Using Simple, you know, you have to have a foundation.
And most important foundation is optimizing your profile. You know, before you do
any outreach, you really need to focus on your profile, you know, focus
on things that matter to most people, you know, when they
connect with you, you know, was who your connections are, who you know,
(17:47):
you know, any achievements that you have, awards that you've won,
any articles that you published, any recognition.
These are things that are crucial as part of a profile, you know, and
most importantly, recommendations. You know, that's social proof right there, you
know, so these things are just part of it. And unless you don't have
that established, you know, it doesn't make sense to do any outreach
(18:10):
because people are going to judge you quick and not even look at you, you
know, because they just look at your profile as something that is, you
know, neglected or unprofessional. So you're
really going to really optimize your profile, become more of
a. To make the most out of LinkedIn, I would say.
And people listening to this episode, they're wondering, where can they find you online? To
(18:31):
learn more, go on LinkedIn, look under Al Kushner,
check out my profile, reach out. I accept most
connections. Of course. I have my book
available, LinkedIn Advantage, they can get it on
Amazon, also available on Spotify Audiobook if they prefer.
So these things are available, these resources. Someone
(18:55):
should go ahead and, you know, understand more about it and
reach out to me if they want to get some more information.
Training, I do as well. So I'm happy to help people wherever
I can. And any final thoughts for the listeners on that?
You know, there are resources I can send people. An ebook
is available as resource. Want to connect with me to learn how to
(19:18):
some tips on how to optimize a profile that's free. So just reach out
on LinkedIn. Happy to help and connect and, you know,
just don't give up on LinkedIn. You know, there is
a light at the end of the tunnel. You just need to, you know, get
your, you know, your home in order by making your
profile the best it can be and at that point go forward
(19:40):
and, you know, make, you know, positive connections and
make sure it'll be at least a week, you know, respond to people
in a timely fashion. That's the way to make the most on LinkedIn, don't post
and ghost. You know, a lot of people do that and that's not a thing
to do. You really gotta like, I don't. Eh, they,
they responded. They only wait a week. You know, that's not a thing to do.
(20:01):
So just be more proactive with your connections.
All right. Thank you, Al for joining Digital Coffee Marketing Brewing, sharing knowledge on AI
and LinkedIn. Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity.
So guys, how was that episode? Was that good? Was that good? What, what did
you learn? Let me know in the comments below. As always, always comment because it's
always good. But as always, just subscribe to this
(20:24):
podcast. Let me know what you think. Who, who I should bring on the guest
if you want to in the comments below as well. But make sure
your LinkedIn profile is optimized and ready for your
needs for your business or finding a new job. And I'll see you next week
where I talk to another great thought leader in the PR marketing industry.
All right guys, stay safe. Later.
Foreign.
That's good. Hey guys, it's a new episode
and always I'm going to give you some little tips and
(00:21):
tricks that I've actually learned from this. But this week is all
about LinkedIn and I have Al and he is the best selling author
and sought after LinkedIn growth strategist, Renown
on his innovative approach to digital marketing. His
groundbreaking book, the AI LinkedIn Advantage has
transformed how professionals and businesses leverage
(00:42):
artificial intelligence to prioritize their LinkedIn
presence. But I've learned so much from this. I've
learned just how to optimize my LinkedIn profile, what to do, what
not to do. And so my questions for you is,
how have you optimized your LinkedIn profile? What areas do you still
need to optimize it? And what did you learn out of this that you didn't
(01:05):
know about LinkedIn? All right, let's get on to the episode. Thank you.
Great to be here. And first question is all my guest is,
are you a coffee or tea drinker? Neither. I don't do caffeine.
So you just do like straight water or do you have like other things you
do? Herbal tea is great. I like robust tea. Um,
you know, it depends on the time of day, but I don't need anything to
(01:28):
wake me up in the morning. I just wake up naturally, so that's a
good thing. My wife is another story, but, you. Know, so she
takes all the caffeine for you is what I'm hearing. It is unfortunate, but
hey, listen, you gotta work with what you're given and, you know,
if it makes it hap. Makes her happy, why not? You know, I'm all for
it, but we have a little coffee maker which we use the pods
(01:51):
so we don't get the. Unlike a traditional coffee maker where they fills up the
whole room with coffee smell, this is just individual. So it's really great. And I
use it for other things too. They have one for hot chocolate and one
for herbal tea. So it's really quite convenient. And
especially when you have guests over there, you give them a lot of options, you
know, it's great. So options are always good, but too many
(02:12):
options and people go, I don't know what to choose. Just pick one for me.
That's why we have a little revolving carousel for different
pods. They could choose what they want. You know, we don't have to discriminate. Some
people want decaf, other people want regular. People want dark rose, they
want light roast. I give them options. So why not make them
make them? And I Gave a brief some of your
(02:33):
expertise. Can you give our listeners a little bit more about what you do? Well,
I'm LinkedIn. I help people
optimize their profile. I work with a lot of
individuals as well as companies training them to
make their, you know, profile more impactful,
which is important. I do speaking engagements, so I speak to
(02:56):
groups on LinkedIn strategies. So I
just basically help people to make it more
a platform that's more easy to use and more, more
better for what they do. Got you. And how have your
approaches to AI and LinkedIn strategy evolved over time in any
particular pivotal lessons from the early stages of your career? I would say
(03:19):
that AI has been pretty significant in
creating content as well as
developing different types of strategies that
normally were not available years ago. So it's really been a game changer, I
think, and a lot of people are really not understanding the
process. But I was an early adapter to it, so I found it to be
(03:40):
really, you know, a great way to
connect with people by using this tool, which saves time.
But there are learning curves you need to understand.
So it's not a type of tool that, you know, is one size,
fit all, you know, you need to really understand the purposes
of it and sometimes it makes mistakes. It is evolving,
(04:03):
so, but I, I embrace it, so that's a good thing. What makes
your approach to LinkedIn strategy distinct from others? I mean, I
embrace AI technology whereby others may not
necessarily on board with that, you know, and they don't really
understand it for the most part. So I'm really became
more of a thought leader and I create articles and
(04:26):
content to educate people. Why? AI is definitely
the future for any type of relationship building, which
I think is key for engagement on
platforms like LinkedIn, you know, and that's really essential. You know, you
relate to either, you know, you, you get with the program
or you get left behind. And I wasn't going to be in that situation,
(04:48):
so I really took advantage of the different, you
know, applications are. Available and how do you
incorporate it into LinkedIn strategies to create standout results for clients?
Content creation obviously is key also
when you are on LinkedIn to focus in on
making your profile stand out, you know, because before you do any type
(05:11):
of outreach, you really need to understand that people are going to
look at your profile and judge you based on that. You only got a few
seconds, you know, and they say you don't get a second chance to make a
first impression. And that's true. You know, that's something that I find to be
Important. So before you do any outreach, you really need to look at your
profile and understand what you're
(05:32):
presenting, you know, and that really is going to make a difference in terms
of the value that you are given to someone,
you know, in terms of what you present. I mean, a lot of times
they'll judge you based on the amount of followers that you have or the amount
of recommendations you have. And people really don't understand if it's important
or not, you know, and for me, recommendations are essential,
(05:54):
you know, for any type of, you know,
trust, you know, when, when dealing with people. Have
you looked at your profile at all? Have you thought about anything
that might be held for improvement at all? Basically
recommendations. Okay, well,
touched a nerve there. Yeah, I mean, I got
(06:16):
everything pretty much okay. That's the
most I already know that's the most that I need to actually focus on a
little bit more. I mean, I do create the content, I do use the
newsletter like I do use all the features. It's just the one thing that's the
older thing of all the other tools that I don't use very well.
Well, that's essential, you know, when you're looking at that, you know, updating, you
(06:38):
know, portraits, looking at the background images as well
are essential. But any recommendations are something a lot of people just
seem to ignore or don't know how to do. And I'm very good at, you
know, doing that and helping people. And that really is going to build a lot
of trust you, you know, because it's about who you say you are and
it's social proof, it's third party endorsements that's going to be your key to gain
(07:00):
trust. So I work with people to help them develop that and become
more proactive in getting that. So that's important. Is there like
one good tip you could tell our listeners to like get more recommendations? Because I
feel like it's the asking part that stops a lot of people from doing
it because you're like, I don't know if I'm ever rejected or not or
if I asked the wrong person that really doesn't like me. Well, the ideal way
(07:22):
to do it is that if you are working with a client who's very happy
with your work, I'd reach out to them and just say, you know, ask
them for a couple of kind words, you know, to share that, you know, help
them in, you know, in what you did for them. That really makes a
difference, you know. So if you have a relationship with someone, they're on LinkedIn
you know, it really works out and a lot of times they'll appreciate a recommendation
(07:45):
on your part too. So it's usually a win, win situation.
And that's something that you really got to be more proactive in doing because that
really is going to make a difference, you know, and getting, you know, the
trust value that really makes a difference. Are there
any surprising or unconventional tactics you employ with LinkedIn
that produce significant outcomes? Videos. Videos
(08:08):
on LinkedIn are game changer. You know, people post
articles, but the fact is, is that you're competing with so
many people out there for articles and
sometimes people skip that. But videos are getting a lot of more
attention than they didn't have before. And LinkedIn is promoting
videos with their algorithm. So you'll find you'll get a lot more
(08:30):
views by creating video content that really is
going to make you set, set yourself apart from the competition.
And this is the short videos because they, they've had like two different versions of
it. They had like the square version and then they pivoted over to more of
the vertical YouTube shorts. LinkedIn, I
mean, TikTok and stuff. Well, they have both, you know, so it's still there.
(08:53):
But I think if you provide a video
and ideally the content should be under 2 minutes,
sweet spot is about 90 seconds, enough to get
attention and to provide value to whoever you're connecting
with and, and that's really what you want to focus on. Keep it under the
2 minutes and provide information that would be valuable
(09:16):
to the people watching. Oh, and most importantly, have subtitles
that people need to understand. Subtitles in your videos
are crucial because a lot of people watch videos but they don't have the sound
on. So without a subtitle, a lot of times they'll just
skip it. So that's something you should have when
posting videos. What are some of the other common challenges
(09:37):
that clients face with LinkedIn growth? Is it not enough videos? Is
it not really caring about your profile? Like, what are
the common challenges? Well, being consistent, of course. You know, having
newsletters would be ideal. You can do up to five newsletters, I believe,
with LinkedIn. So you should optimize that and do it at least once a
week if you can, you know, so people get to see you and the
(10:00):
algorithm loves it, you know, which is great. Having
newsletter, being consistent with that and also using some of the more
advanced tools on LinkedIn like Sales Navigator, which
allows you to know who's looked at your profile so you can kind of
reply back to people who checked out your profile and Ask them. Hey, thanks for
stopping by. What drove you to look at my profile? You know, that's
(10:22):
something important to have engagement, you know, that's really a
good thing to have. What are the misconceptions
do people have often with LinkedIn for professional development or branding? Because
I see on YouTube like LinkedIn cringe, and there is some cringe on LinkedIn where
it's like a little overdone, where it's like, I care about my job
this much and normal people are like, okay, you don't care about your job that
(10:44):
much. I find it's kind of almost ridiculous that some people treat it
like Facebook, you know, and they post like they drink in the morning. Here's my
coffee, is what I had for lunch. People don't care on LinkedIn about that,
the case, you know, and they really just get so self absorbed, you know,
or they're just promoting themselves. You know, that's really something that is a turn
off for a lot of people who are on there, you know, and then you're
(11:06):
not going to get a lot of traction keeping posting things that are really
just narcissistic, if you want to say
so. You really got to give value whoever you're posting to. And
that's really the key to win on LinkedIn. You know, give value,
give more than you receive. That's what you have to do. And should
people be commenting more on other people's posts to get them in kind of in
(11:29):
the, in the mind's eye or the awareness of you? Because
I've seen a lot of people say, like commenting other people's posts that you may
want to meet eventually or have a virtual chat or whatever could help as
well. Well, commenting is, is, is important, but
it's also what you say that is, brings
meaning and value. You know, just saying, you know, hey, thanks for sharing,
(11:51):
really. It's just, you know, it's almost a default on LinkedIn,
you know, itself and that should not be the case. You know, be sincere in
your praise, offer, you know,
constructive criticism, you know, talk about things that are going to
add value to that individual's post. Because a lot of times when
people post, they really get very few replies at all, if
(12:13):
anything. So if you're posting, you know, make it meaningful, make it
count. So you get someone who may decide they'll check out your profile
because you left a great comment that, you know, made their day. That's funny
because today I just got someone saying, thanks for sharing. I
was like, I don't know what to do with this, but okay, yeah. So that's
really, that's something that people don't understand. You gotta go beyond that, you know, and
(12:35):
there's really, there's no excuse not to do that. So you're better off not
saying anything than saying thanks for sharing. So where do you see AI making the
biggest impact on LinkedIn marketing in the next five years? Well, I, I
certainly see it with content creation. I see it with video
creation. This is definitely the, the future of it
and it's just going to be a great way to
(12:58):
save people a lot of time and energy on posting and,
and using a platform compared to the old
fashioned method of trying to think of what to say. You know, LinkedIn
with Plat, you know, products like ChatGPT
could help create ideas for content or ideas for a
(13:18):
video that are important for growth.
And that's when I see the future is AI, is
the future of LinkedIn. So that's important.
And do you think like the AI
avatars that the script has just come out with will play on it
apart as well? Because the script, I think a few weeks ago came out
(13:41):
with their actual AI avatars that will, you don't even have to be on the
video now. It can kind of mimic you or mimic somebody else. I mean,
certainly it's going to, you know, create attention.
If you are giving information that's going to be of value, you know,
to whoever's going to be watching. Remember, you got to keep it short, you know,
make it 90 seconds and you got to grab their attention, you know, just like
(14:03):
a movie trailer. If you don't get their attention the first five or 10 seconds,
they're not going to watch your video. So regardless of whatever avatar using, if it's
boring, you know, or it's not captivating, you're not going to get
anyone to watch it. And it's just going to be something that's
not ideal. So you got to be really
more important to be editing whatever you're doing and
(14:25):
making sure that it's going to be something that somebody's going to watch.
And if LinkedIn were to adopt new AI features, what,
what would you like to see? Well, I would say that,
you know, you know, help with creating content would be
a good thing to have, you know, whether it's helping
with videos, but also,
(14:48):
you know, finding people who are active on LinkedIn, you know, a
lot of people are really not active and you're sending out messages to
people that don't respond and sometimes that could
hurt you as a way too because you send a lot of invites and then,
you know, get responses or people don't know who you are, you know,
that hurts your outreach, you know, so LinkedIn will
(15:11):
slow you down or even shut you down because you're doing these things
that are not, you know, you know, ideal for
LinkedIn, you know, setting their standards as being, you
know, professional platform. It becomes a spammer's paradise. And that's not a way
to do that. So the, the old way of looking at LinkedIn was
basically you just create an account, put up your resume
(15:33):
and then you kind of left like it was. There's nothing to do for it.
So that's. Yes, I don't get it. You know, that's what people think, you know,
and it surprises me and shocks me that so
many of these profiles are just lay dormant, you know, or they have images
of things years ago, they haven't updated. It's just
part of the. Yeah, I guess the people
(15:56):
look at it as just, you know, another tool like a resume, but it's not,
it's a lot more than that. So you really need to understand it. That's why
I wrote in my book, to learn about some of the resources available. There's no
reason why you can't be More active on LinkedIn if you use the tools that
are available with AI to help you become more proactive
and become more to stand out among the crowd. And
(16:17):
it's because there's just too many other social media networks that people
are, I guess, more or less addicted to. Like, people
check Tick Tock all the time, people check Instagram, YouTube,
and it's just not in their habit of actually like wanting to
engage on LinkedIn. Is that part of the problem? Well, I think the problem is,
is that they kind of mesh it all together and they think it's all the
(16:39):
same. Like Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn are all part of the
same ecosystem. I mean, it's a social media platform. That's the only thing they have
in common. But you know, LinkedIn is known for, you know, business to business
type connections, you know, and someone who's posting on Facebook,
you know, personal things or should not be posting the same
things on LinkedIn, you know, but they do, you know, it's really
(17:01):
shocking. But, you know, you have to treat LinkedIn as a professional
platform like a, like a networking type of event.
And you only have a short period or a short amount of time to
engage with someone that, you know, you need to provide value to whatever you're
doing, dealing with you Know, you have to give more than you receive. That's how
you do it. And most people don't do that. And what advice
(17:23):
do you give someone just starting to use LinkedIn and wanting to tap into
just growth and AI. Using Simple, you know, you have to have a foundation.
And most important foundation is optimizing your profile. You know, before you do
any outreach, you really need to focus on your profile, you know, focus
on things that matter to most people, you know, when they
connect with you, you know, was who your connections are, who you know,
(17:47):
you know, any achievements that you have, awards that you've won,
any articles that you published, any recognition.
These are things that are crucial as part of a profile, you know, and
most importantly, recommendations. You know, that's social proof right there, you
know, so these things are just part of it. And unless you don't have
that established, you know, it doesn't make sense to do any outreach
(18:10):
because people are going to judge you quick and not even look at you, you
know, because they just look at your profile as something that is, you
know, neglected or unprofessional. So you're
really going to really optimize your profile, become more of
a. To make the most out of LinkedIn, I would say.
And people listening to this episode, they're wondering, where can they find you online? To
(18:31):
learn more, go on LinkedIn, look under Al Kushner,
check out my profile, reach out. I accept most
connections. Of course. I have my book
available, LinkedIn Advantage, they can get it on
Amazon, also available on Spotify Audiobook if they prefer.
So these things are available, these resources. Someone
(18:55):
should go ahead and, you know, understand more about it and
reach out to me if they want to get some more information.
Training, I do as well. So I'm happy to help people wherever
I can. And any final thoughts for the listeners on that?
You know, there are resources I can send people. An ebook
is available as resource. Want to connect with me to learn how to
(19:18):
some tips on how to optimize a profile that's free. So just reach out
on LinkedIn. Happy to help and connect and, you know,
just don't give up on LinkedIn. You know, there is
a light at the end of the tunnel. You just need to, you know, get
your, you know, your home in order by making your
profile the best it can be and at that point go forward
(19:40):
and, you know, make, you know, positive connections and
make sure it'll be at least a week, you know, respond to people
in a timely fashion. That's the way to make the most on LinkedIn, don't post
and ghost. You know, a lot of people do that and that's not a thing
to do. You really gotta like, I don't. Eh, they,
they responded. They only wait a week. You know, that's not a thing to do.
(20:01):
So just be more proactive with your connections.
All right. Thank you, Al for joining Digital Coffee Marketing Brewing, sharing knowledge on AI
and LinkedIn. Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity.
So guys, how was that episode? Was that good? Was that good? What, what did
you learn? Let me know in the comments below. As always, always comment because it's
always good. But as always, just subscribe to this
(20:24):
podcast. Let me know what you think. Who, who I should bring on the guest
if you want to in the comments below as well. But make sure
your LinkedIn profile is optimized and ready for your
needs for your business or finding a new job. And I'll see you next week
where I talk to another great thought leader in the PR marketing industry.
All right guys, stay safe. Later.
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