Mastering LinkedIn Growth and AI Strategies with Al Kushner and Donna Mitchell

Donna Mitchell [00:00:00]:
Welcome to Pivoting to Web three. And today we have Al Kushner. And Al Kushner, he is an award winning author and a LinkedIn growth strategist. He's an independent and he has a lot of benefits and features and ideas and insights and practical applications. Is the most important thing I need to mention about all of us that are using LinkedIn business to business, who's trying to grow a business, maintain the business, get to the next level. But, but I'm not going to keep talking. I'm going to turn this over to Al so he can tell us how he became LinkedIn Vantage or Linked Vantage. Am I saying this correctly? You're really linked vantage, not LinkedIn vantage, is that correct? Is that what I'm seeing in the background?

Al Kushner [00:00:45]:
Yeah, well that's, that's the website Linked Vantage. That's why I do a lot of my training for those who are want to know more about how to use LinkedIn to optimize their profile and become better connected on the platform. So yeah, they can go there and there's a free ebook available they can check out to help with their profile, some tips. So yeah, happy to be here and appreciate the opportunity.

Donna Mitchell [00:01:09]:
Well, you have a book called AI LinkedIn Advantage, is that correct?

Al Kushner [00:01:13]:
That is correct. It is available. It's going to be released July 4th. You can pre order it on Amazon or Spotify for those who prefer audiobook versions is available. So yeah, I'm excited to.

Donna Mitchell [00:01:26]:
So tell us, I didn't mean to interrupt you right there, but tell us, how did you end up being Linked Vantage? When I look at your profile, there's a lot of information you have there about AI, you being a strategist, a thought leader, executives. Tell us what you do, how you do so we can get into the nuts and bolts of LinkedIn and how to grow.

Al Kushner [00:01:48]:
Grow. Sure. Well, first I view myself as an educator, so I like to educate and inform people about how to use LinkedIn and use in a way which saves you a lot of time because LinkedIn could be pretty much a time suck, you know, it is a lot of things. You could work on it and it's just never ending. So there are ways to use AI to help, you know, create content, for example, or help to respond to posts on LinkedIn and a lot of uses, creating newsletters, creating scripts for, I would say videos. So this is definitely something that my book addresses and which of the latest tools to use to help save you time and become better equipped. So when you go on LinkedIn because the most important thing about LinkedIn is you're having your profile optimized because, you know, they say in life, you know, you don't get a second chance to make a first impression, and that's pretty much how it is. So if you're trying to connect with someone on there, the first thing to look at is your profile.

Al Kushner [00:02:47]:
And if it's not the way it should be, you're going to lose a lot of people interested in what you have to say. So those things.

Donna Mitchell [00:02:55]:
So how should it be? What does optimize mean for those that are listening and not sure what that means? What do they need to do?

Al Kushner [00:03:00]:
Well, first of all, when you working on your profile, it's a number of components that are in there that should be addressed. For example, your headshot, it should be a professional headshot taken by a professional photographer, which is ideal. You know, you want to have something because it's not like Facebook or whatever, it's more where professionals meet. So it's just imagine yourself, you're giving it a business card and real estate, you know, you want to put your best foot forward. So having a professional headshot portrait will definitely get the ball rolling. That's definitely important for your LinkedIn, as well as having a background image that also represents who you are and what you say. And that's something that is crucial, I would think, because you only have a few seconds to get someone to decide whether they want to continue reading on or not, you know, so that's just for starters, you know, so that just gives you an example and a lot of other components in the profile that my book goes into. But, yeah, that's just a good starting point.

Donna Mitchell [00:04:03]:
So let's get into the nitty gritty about the AI piece, because I'm sure that's what a lot of people are talking about. I'm hearing conversations where some don't like the fact that a lot of the comments are AI generated or automated, and then others feel it should be authentic. Can you have both at the same time? Can you give us some insight in regards to how these tools are being utilized on LinkedIn and how do we make it to our advantage?

Al Kushner [00:04:33]:
Very simple. Number one is you have to be authentic. So you could certainly use AI to help create an idea or an outline for a topic, but you really need to put your own words into that so it comes across as you're talking as opposed to something that's generated. So that's really important. You know, it's a tool to use, but it's not an End all. And a lot of people use it as an end all and it ends up becoming a little bit, you know, generated and such. And it's a big controversy nowadays. In fact, I know colleges are dealing with these issues with their students who are using, you know, ChatGPT to do their term papers on and they're getting called out in know because professors are saying that they're all AI generated and that's becoming an issue.

Al Kushner [00:05:20]:
I mean, you know, students are becoming less efficient at what they're supposed to do but, but it's not really their fault also because a lot of times the teachers do the same thing as well. They also use AI to review their term papers and what have you. So it is something that is controversial to say the least.

Donna Mitchell [00:05:41]:
But when you're utilizing the comments, what do you do at this particular point as a strategist, what do you recommend? Should people be using automation? Should they be using AI? Should there be a seller, an agent seller or someone who's really leaving those comments? Where do you draw the line or is there a line to be drawn?

Al Kushner [00:06:01]:
Well, I mean when commenting on an influencer, always good to do more than say like thanks for sharing, you know, you want to, you know, read the comment from the individual and be able to reply in a way that is perhaps complimentary or if anything address an issue that the influencer didn't talk about. And that's something that would be appreciated by that and also helps raise the, the algorithm appreciates that and helps raise a level awareness of both the influencer and the one who's posting.

Donna Mitchell [00:06:35]:
So when you talk about the algorithm or AI, can you tell us how AI is being used now on LinkedIn or how do you recommend using AI at all with LinkedIn?

Al Kushner [00:06:47]:
Well, yeah, I mean if you're looking for ideas to create articles and content, AI definitely is a great resource for that. It can come up with hundreds of topics that could be useful because when it comes to LinkedIn, you want to give more than you receive. And when you're doing that, you're considered as a thought leader and that's the most important. Most people are doing the opposite. You know, they're self serving, you know, they're using, you know, LinkedIn to post, you know, like ads or something. And that really turns off people for the most part. You know, people want to learn something, they want to, they don't want to be sold, they want to be understood or dealing with the problems that they are having issues with. So you, if you can address those points, whether it's a newsletter or creating a post, that's something that's going to help raise your level of awareness and you become a thought leader in that respect.

Donna Mitchell [00:07:38]:
So when you start talking about the vantage, the LinkedIn vantage, what does that really mean? Or what is the scope of information that you think one needs to be able to grasp and understand? What are the main three key elements that people really need to wrap their minds around?

Al Kushner [00:07:59]:
Well, most important is to get your house in order. That means get your profile optimized, you know, professional headshot being done, professional background, image, expand upon your particular work history. Your about section should be much easier to read, should have bullet points in there as opposed to a long drawn out sentence or paragraphs. These things are helpful for those who are deciding whether or not they want to connect with you. That's very important. Other things to also consider is not just your experience, but if you've done any volunteer work that also is considered very much a respected profile edition, if you won any awards, if you have published any articles in other magazines and you have links to that, that's very good and that's also important of your profile. And most critical, okay. Is getting recommendations.

Al Kushner [00:08:55]:
Third party endorsements are essential for getting recognition on LinkedIn and to be placing an emphasis on that is something that I always stress, you know, that's important. In addition to belonging to groups on LinkedIn, if you have not reached out to groups, there are hundreds of groups on LinkedIn that you can be part of. I believe you can join up to 20 or 25 groups and try to be active in those groups. So you can also be recognized as possibly a thought leader. If you're posting on there, make sure you're giving information that's going to be helpful and not self serving.

Donna Mitchell [00:09:34]:
So when we think about, I think right now everybody's really talking about the algorithms and the content and your strategy. Is there a cadence for posting or you know, what options or strategies do you think LinkedIn is really looking for when you're using AI?

Al Kushner [00:09:55]:
What strategies that LinkedIn loves and I would say that they really appreciate content, it's going to offer value. I think a lot of times if you can post a video that will give you a lot more advantages over most people who don't do that. And the algorithm of LinkedIn loves that. They love videos, particularly videos that are short, make it between 30 seconds to 90 seconds tops is ideal. And if you post those videos on groups, well, guess what, you'll get a lot more attention that way. A lot more raising Your level of awareness to those who may want to do business with you or work with you. So that's just an example. And AI could help write scripts for those particular videos, you know, which is great.

Al Kushner [00:10:39]:
So it saves you a lot of time. And it's amazing how these tools could really help to increase awareness on LinkedIn and gain more followers much faster than any other method that I've looked at at all.

Donna Mitchell [00:10:52]:
Is there a maximum number of videos or groups that you can put the video in? Let's say there's something that you want to inform everybody about, or a live LinkedIn or a recommendation on usage or something that's educational. Is there a maximum amount of groups that you could pop it in since you.

Al Kushner [00:11:15]:
Well, the fact is that groups are not like something you just like, you know, go ahead. They. You have to be accepted into the group. Not every group is going to take you.

Donna Mitchell [00:11:22]:
I mean, if you're, if you're a member of the group, you have a few groups that you're a member in. For those that are listening, can you, can you put that same video maybe in 10 groups if they're talking about AI and they're in 10 groups? Or is that.

Al Kushner [00:11:34]:
Yep, you can do that.

Donna Mitchell [00:11:35]:
Oh, you can, you can do that.

Al Kushner [00:11:37]:
And what's great about it is that a lot of times it bypasses the approval of the moderator. So, for example, when you do a text post and you put in there and it doesn't usually show up immediately, for the most part, a lot of times it may take a couple of days, if at all, to show up. You know, if they decide that's not interesting for them, that won't be the case. But with videos, it's pretty much a carte blanche. You just go in, post it, and you usually see it within seconds, and if not a minute or two afterwards, which is great, really. So. And what's good about it is that when you have videos in the group, it showcases that it really drives the algorithm. They love it.

Al Kushner [00:12:15]:
And you'll also, you know, if you're in competitive situation, you'll be the one who'll be standing out above other people who are posting in the group. So that really is going to set you apart. That's really where AI comes in very handy, creating the content for those videos.

Donna Mitchell [00:12:29]:
So, yeah, does it help with your, with your algorithm, the group?

Al Kushner [00:12:36]:
Well, as far as getting. Well, yeah, because engagement is all about it. I mean, if you get more people viewing your post, I mean, certainly you'll get a lot more people looking at your Profile, you know, and deciding maybe they want to connect with you or they follow you because they find your information informative. And if you post three times a week on LinkedIn, you know, into those groups guarantee you will raise your level of awareness. You'll get a lot more connections, more followers, and you'll basically become dominant in your field if you do it the right way.

Donna Mitchell [00:13:07]:
So what is the right way? I was coming to that. What is the right way to post?

Al Kushner [00:13:13]:
Well, the right way to post is ideally between certain days of the week. Tuesdays through Thursdays are kind of a sweet spot. Hours between 8am to 10am in the morning or in the afternoon from 12 to 2pm I recommend posting at least three times a week, you know, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, which is what I do. And then do it. Be consistent. Every week is do it. And you can schedule your post in advance, which is important to know. So let's say you decide on the weekend you want to create these videos you can do on the weekend and then schedule the post in advance so it will show up at that time you designate.

Al Kushner [00:13:46]:
So that really makes it much easier. And then, you know, watch the people you know, you'll see the results on your profile, how many people viewed it, how many looked at the video, how much time they spent on the video. And you can see which videos are more viral than others. So these are great opportunities to take advantage of.

Donna Mitchell [00:14:04]:
Okay, that's a lot of great information. So let's move into the networking piece for why Everybody is on LinkedIn and when you're networking with AI, how do you go about. I know what I'm doing, but. And for those that are listening, because this is very educational, this podcast also. So could you tell us what's the best way to do the research or to personalize your message and, and get scale. What are some of the things people should be doing?

Al Kushner [00:14:36]:
Well, I guess depends on, you know, what they're kind of focusing on, if.

Donna Mitchell [00:14:40]:
They'Re in health, if they're in health, or they're looking at health and AI, or they're in a particular area. Can you, or can you give us an example that you worked with a client and what they weren't doing and what they were doing after they started working with you, that was very successful?

Al Kushner [00:14:56]:
Well, yeah, well, I worked with a client who was trying to do an outreach and was not really familiar with LinkedIn. And the individual was want to become a thought leader on LinkedIn. And I told him the, the first thing to do is create content, you know, Articles that will help establish you as the thought leader. So we worked on creating a newsletter for LinkedIn and individual had gained over close to 300 followers as a result of creating the newsletter. And they send out a newsletter each week. And what's interesting about the newsletters on LinkedIn is that not only do the followers get notified and alerted on LinkedIn, but also through their email they receive directly. And a lot of times it doesn't get caught up in spam filter either. So they'll get more reach than they would if they sent out a newsletter separately from LinkedIn itself.

Al Kushner [00:15:48]:
So because LinkedIn has such a high authority that the spam filter is almost like welcome, giving them a red carpet right into their inbox. So that makes a difference. And he's seen the results and he was amazed on how easy it was to set up and how important was. And you can do actually up to five newsletters on LinkedIn and you can do it on different specialties. I have five newsletters that I do on different specialties and people look forward to that each week to get notified of what's the latest techniques that they should know about LinkedIn.

Donna Mitchell [00:16:20]:
That sounds pretty interesting too. So what is it that you feel is missing on LinkedIn that you wish existed? Is there anything that you really thought about that you're like, I really wish this was happening or I wish they'd stopped doing this? I usually ask what catches your eye on your wish list or really what makes you nervous?

Al Kushner [00:16:49]:
Well, well, there's always situations where you may be doing something that will hurt the algorithm. They're not really kind of forthcoming in things that may help compromise your account if you do that. For example, a lot of people do an outreach and try to connect with everyone on LinkedIn. And a lot of times they don't realize that if people don't accept turns up looking like spam in the algorithm and that will actually hurt. And a lot of people are unaware of that situation. And the problem is that there's no1@ LinkedIn they can kind of talk to if their account gets closed and such that or compromised. So LinkedIn should have a way to at least tell people, you know, stop doing it. If you continue doing it, we're going to do this to you.

Al Kushner [00:17:33]:
Doesn't allow you to do that, just doesn't say anything. So you got to really be careful when you're doing any kind of outreach to make sure whoever you're connecting with, give them a reason why you want to connect with them. I tell people you're better off following the individual first and then commenting on it so they at least get to see who you are and comment, being sincere in those comments. And at that point they may decide to either accept your connection if you decide to reach out, hey, let's connect. And at that point, if they accept it, then that's great. And that really makes a difference because the algorithm appreciates those who are more authentic and sincere and making connections with people that you may know by following them on their feed.

Donna Mitchell [00:18:17]:
So you're saying versus I know some may do an invite or look at their next connection or their second generation and, and try to connect with people they don't know. You really should be following them, getting to know them and doing a genuine process is what it sounds like.

Al Kushner [00:18:38]:
Exactly. She you know, when you post on their particular, if they post and you make a comment, they get notified that you commented on their post and all of a sudden you get on their radar, you know, and that's a good thing because if you continue to do that and they reply to that post, thanks for your comments, whatever it is, there may be an opportunity at that point to connect with that individual because that's the key thing to look at. You know, there are a lot of influencers on LinkedIn with hundreds of followers, if not thousands. And sure I'd be love for them to connect with you directly, but most part they won't because they know who you are and everybody wants to be connected with, whether it's a Gary Vaynerchuk or some other influencer. Online are inundated obviously with a lot of requests to connect, but very few get past that because if it's not an introduction you have to look at possibly just following a post and commenting on it until they respond back to you. And that may be the best solution is just being slow and steady, you know, working the post and replying and at that point, you know, request a connection. That would be a good starting point.

Donna Mitchell [00:19:46]:
Thank you. So I think one of my last questions is going to be analytics. What are the best analytics to follow or to look at to really know how you're doing with the algorithm and LinkedIn? And if you're coming into that, you know, that LinkedIn voice or are there different levels of LinkedIn or what do people need to know as far as.

Al Kushner [00:20:09]:
What do you mean like connecting with someone?

Donna Mitchell [00:20:11]:
Well, there's analytics where you have impressions and you have, you know, your roi. Are there any particular analytics that you recommend that people should be paying attention to? That's my real Question?

Al Kushner [00:20:24]:
Well, I mean, I would say that if you want LinkedIn to love you is to create content that will get views and get interest to people at that some point. LinkedIn will give you, at the end of the week, how many views were. Were looked at your profile or how many views were at your post. And each week you can follow that whether or not you have made any increases or if you have, you know, done something that decreased, you know, it's about being consistent, you know, with your post. You should post at least every week. And most importantly, don't post and ghost. Have you heard of that term?

Donna Mitchell [00:21:04]:
No, I haven't.

Al Kushner [00:21:05]:
All right, well, what people do is that they post a video, for example, and they leave it there. And when people reply to it, nobody responds to that, you know, oh, that's not good. Just. Yeah, and they come back next week and they post again, do the same thing. And it's all about, you know, responding to anyone who, you know, replies to your post. Maybe they say, thanks for sharing. Reply back to that individual, you know, just let them know that you appreciate their thoughts, you know. But most people don't do it because they have these systems set up where they use, I don't know, maybe a hootsuite or something, which post on various platforms like Facebook and Instagram and other places, and they just shoot it all at once.

Al Kushner [00:21:45]:
But they don't even bother to look at their own profile or what have you people, because it doesn't tell you who responded to it at all. So you really need to be, you know, on LinkedIn and check in at least once a day to see if anybody responded to your post and reply back usually, hopefully within 24 hours. The sooner the better. So they get, you get recognition. Because people will get turned off if you're not responding to the replies.

Donna Mitchell [00:22:10]:
As I think about it, there's Sales Navigator, you've got premium. What can you share with us in regards to utilizing Sales Navigator? What's the correct way to use that? Some people say, you don't need Sales Navigator. You don't need to spend the money. It's a waste. And then other people say, oh, do you have Sales Navigator? So when should you use Sales Navigator? For those that don't know that that Sales Navigator even exists.

Al Kushner [00:22:35]:
Okay, well, that's a good question. I guess it depends on what you're looking to do on LinkedIn. For those who are entrepreneurs and like, looking to make quality connections, what I like about Sales Navigator, it lets you know who's looked at your profile. All right? So you'll actually get notified who's checked out your profile, which can give you an opportunity to connect with an individual or ask them a question. You know, as far as what made you decide to look at my profile, you know, that could be a great way. Thanks for, thanks for looking at my profile. What made you stop by and maybe they heard you on a podcast or whatever. So this is kind of gives you a little marketing insight and maybe it could be something valuable, you know, which is important.

Al Kushner [00:23:14]:
So that's one of the features. Like about Sales Navigator, another feature also is that it lets you know who is active on LinkedIn, particularly in the past 30 days. There's a lot of times people have profiles on it, but they usually not active at all. And if you're doing any kind of outreach, if they haven't been on LinkedIn for months, maybe even years, you'll. You won't be, you won't know about it, but LinkedIn Navigator will tell you in advance. And that's what I like about it, let you know who's been active on LinkedIn. And also you can look for people based on connections. If they're a second or third connection, you can use the tool to really look into possible industries.

Al Kushner [00:23:52]:
Let's say if you're an accountant and you want to connect with an attorney, you can use the tool to find attorneys within a certain mile radius, you know, who are, who's active on LinkedIn and maybe had done some recent post that could be a great opportunity to learn about that individual. If they're, you know, within, I don't know, driving distance could be great. If you want to connect locally, you can use the feature based on zip code within a up to 100 mile radius, I believe, you know, which is great. Or you connect across the country or across the world. I mean, there are great tools in there if you're looking for a certain type of job title, you know, for example, I'm looking for event planners, you know, for speaking opportunities. So I will look under associations and reach out to those who run associations under certain titles that, and there should be an organization, should at least five workers or more because they obviously will have a budget for paid speakers, you know, which is a good thing and make a connection through that. If they're active on LinkedIn, you know, it's a great way to outreach where normally on LinkedIn you won't be able to find that through the standard free options there. So is it worthwhile? Oh yeah, definitely worthwhile.

Al Kushner [00:25:03]:
For me it's really a Great game changer. I would say in addition to that, on your profile, you have a feature in the background which is kind of static, but they also allow you with Sales Navigator to have a slider for your background where you can do up to five slides that are used in the background photo. So, for example, let's say in your photo you have, you know, pivoting the web, you know, three. But let's say you want to have four other additional slides to maybe talk about some other things that you do besides that, you know, like transforming your business or, you know, other things that you want to share that may not be conveyed in that particular. Because think of it like a billboard, okay? That's really what it is. You know, you got a billboard, and Navigator is allowing you to do up to five billboards. And they'll. Billboards will slide every few seconds.

Al Kushner [00:25:53]:
So when people are looking at your profile for a few seconds, they'll see the first one, and then the next slide will go into the next one, talking about different aspects of your skills that you have. You know, maybe you want to do public speaking and you want an event planner to hire you. You can also feature that as a part of the billboard or another example, you know, use Canva to create, you know, great, you know, billboards that, you know, could fit into that space. You know, these are great ways that Navigator allows you to do that to make yourself set apart from the competition, I would say.

Donna Mitchell [00:26:25]:
So now, that's a golden nugget. That is a real golden nugget, Right? So tell us, what is the best way to reach out and connect with you? Who's first? Who's your customer? Who are you looking to connect with?

Al Kushner [00:26:36]:
Well, anyone who wants to optimize their profile. For example, I sent you a connection still waiting to be received on your end.

Donna Mitchell [00:26:44]:
So hopefully we did that just before the show. You weren't on it.

Al Kushner [00:26:50]:
Okay, well, that's always a good thing. Well, that's great. So getting back to that. So what would you say? Like, the first thing people should do, you would say, or how to reach out to me, Certainly connect with me on LinkedIn is a great opportunity. You go to my website, linkvantage.com you have access to a free ebook book which has tips on how to optimize your profile. It's free to download, which is great. My book will be available July 4th in the paperback version, both on Amazon and other fine retailers. And if you like audiobooks, it'll be on Spotify as well, so worth checking out, which is a Good thing.

Al Kushner [00:27:25]:
And if you want to work with me directly, reach out, go to my website, LinkVantage. I'm happy to help people optimize their profile, work on strategies to become dominant in your field, become a thought leader.

Donna Mitchell [00:27:39]:
And any last words regarding their use on AI going forward on LinkedIn, any warnings or anything you want to share that you find most important, you want them to remember when using AI.

Al Kushner [00:27:52]:
Absolutely. You want to be sincere when you're posting. Use AI as a tool, not a means or an end all because if you just creating something from AI and just posting and taking whatever it's created and posting on it, it's going to look inauthentic and people will read through that. You know, you want to use it as a template, you know, an overall. And then put your own words in there that could help to convey yourself as the person who is posting itself. You know, if it's coming from your voice, yes, but coming from AI, it's. It could be pretty, pretty obvious, you know, and you don't want to have that because then people will see you as inauthentic and not sincere. So that, you know, just use as a tool, as a template, but use that as a way to help create ideas for posting or to help you to develop ideas for, you know, scripts or videos, you know, as a tool, it's a great usage, but it's not at the point where it's actually replacing authentic writing, which really makes a difference.

Donna Mitchell [00:28:48]:
Yeah, it does. So I'd like to thank you for coming on Pivoting the Web three podcast. And this is Al Kushner and Donna Mitchell with Pivoting to Web three Shaping Tomorrow. Together.