Guy Tano, demand-generation lead at Nextiva, explains why LinkedIn's old cold-sales playbook no longer works. He shares five tactics: post controversial videos (his mall cold-pitch experiment hit 100K views), tell personal stories, start with bold questions, compare competitors directly, and share unique insights. The platform rewards engagement and content now, not generic InMails.
All right, so in this clip we're going to talk about how to target effectively on LinkedIn or how to get juiced on LinkedIn, whatever that means. You guys have to find out in this clip. So before we continue, if you enjoy clips like this on marketing, entrepreneurship, growth, don't forget to follow or subscribe whatever platform you are on. So my buddy Guy Tano from Nextiva, super smart guy, he has really cracked the code for LinkedIn. And whenever I look at him post something, it's always got like a couple hundred likes on it and a couple hundred comments. And he just knows how to make it happen when it comes to LinkedIn, generates opportunities from LinkedIn all day long. Um, and look, really good friends with the guy. I love what he does. Love him as a person. So without further ado, check out this video. Guy Tano, take it away.
What's up ladies and gentlemen, it's your boy Guy Tano. I lead demand generation at Nextiva, a business communication solution that allows you to run your entire business from the cloud and you can even run it from your smartphone if you want to. To. But today we're talking about LinkedIn and specifically the biggest problem with LinkedIn that people don't get these days and how to overcome that problem. So let's just start with the problem, okay? Too many people think LinkedIn is just a place to sell shit. And, you know, they're treating LinkedIn how it was used back in 2015 or 2014. They're only accepting invites from people that they know personally. Okay, they're using very sales-oriented messages in the DMs. I see a lot of problems with InMail and recruiters, all right? They're just like, you know, spamming and blasting and all this stuff. And, you know, as the saturation continues to pick up, the noise keeps getting louder. It's going to get harder and harder and harder to stand out. Everybody's trying to take advantage of this algorithmic juice that's happening right now with the platform, and, you know, they can't figure out how to quite crack it, right? And that's really the problem. You know, how do you overcome that problem? Well, you have to realize that the platform has changed, and now you would just be much better off using the platform for what it is today. And you have to, you know, face the music, accept reality, and understand that LinkedIn now is an engagement and amplification platform. It is a content promotion engine. It is a forum for igniting discussion and debate. What you've got to think about is adapting to the way people want to use the platform and sharing content types and content topics that people want to hear on LinkedIn rather than doing what you want to do. So here's an example. I work at Nextiva, a business communications company. So if I were to go on LinkedIn and start talking about phone service and phones and all this techie stuff and products and features, people would hate me and no one would care about what I had to say. But because I do things like I go to the mall and I cold pitch people in real life and I record videos and I post engaging discussion-based content, right? It's different. 'Cause I'm optimizing for engagement. Here are 5 ways to optimize for engagement on LinkedIn and use the platform for what it's worth today. Type 1 is controversial videos. So like I said, I went to the mall, you know, I cold pitched people in real life. Hi, how are you?
Good.
You know, I'm really intrigued. I think there may be some synergy here. I was wondering if I can get 15 minutes on your calendar next week to discuss your 2019 business goals. My 2019 business goals? Yeah, your business goals. Oh, my business goals? Yeah, for 2019. Oh, well, I'm at work right now. Oh really? Okay, okay, gotcha. Maybe I'll follow up with you.
Okay, yeah.
Okay, do you have like a card or something like that? And yes, I really did that, and I had a guy following me around and recording me and stuff, and I published that on LinkedIn, and you know, boom, within one week, 100K views. And that kind of falls into this new style of content that you're seeing on LinkedIn, which is— which I would call or categorize as infotainment. So how can you inject humor and personality and creativity into boring B2B subjects, right? Like, that's what is really all about. Content type number 2 is stories with an emotional hook. So if you can get really inspirational but not too cheesy, but like really relatable and, and, and down-to-earth and humble with your content and write how you speak, you're gonna get a lot of engagement. Tip number 3 with content is try some question-based content. If you start your post with a very bold or provocative question, you're likely to see a really good debate or really good thread of comments, and you're going to optimize for views and engagement and comments by doing that. And of course, you know, also content that stirs the pot. That's another thing. You know, the other day I posted Drift versus Intercom. Who's better? You know, that thing exploded. So, you know, it's— you got to use LinkedIn for what it is now, guys. Come on. Like, you know, the old, you know, hey, do you have 15 minutes on your calendar thing is all played out. You know, there's obviously the spam that doesn't work, but even the trying to connect with someone and seeming genuine, and then as soon as they connect you or a few days later, they flip the switch on you and they try to pitch you something, you know, it just doesn't work. So that's the thing, guys. Here's the problem, you know, you got to stop thinking about LinkedIn like it's 2015. And just accept it for what it is. It's a content amplification and engagement platform now. You don't see blog comments popping anymore on any of these blogs because everybody's taking their, their discussions to LinkedIn. So use LinkedIn like a discussion forum, optimize for engagement, post inspirational stories from your day-to-day, drop unique knowledge, or dare do I say unique value. Everybody's saying you gotta add value, so Got to do that, right? And there you go, the guys, you know, you do this and you're likely going to see some results. So best of luck to you. And there you go. Stop being a dinosaur.
All right. So I hope you enjoyed this clip on effectively targeting on LinkedIn. Gaetano did a really good job. We've got more stuff like this. Just check out the next video if you like stuff like this and let us know in the comments what you think about this video. Video, if you think about if LinkedIn's even worth it or not. And don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe, whatever platform you're on, and we'll see you tomorrow.
