Marketing Strategy Talk w/ Basant Shenouda, BLP Associate @ LinkedIn

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Marketing Strategy Talk w/ Basant Shenouda, BLP Associate @ LinkedIn

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Hello all you marketers out there, my name is Ian from Marketing Strategy.com  and you’re listening to another Marketing Strategy talk.

Recently I had the pleasure to sit down with Basant Shenouda. She’s an incoming Business Leadership Program Associate at LinkedIn and owner of Basant Blast, her company where she helps clients with career advice and personal branding.

Now, this Strategy Talk will admittedly be a little different than some of the others you’ve heard on the podcast. While we definitely cover marketing and personal branding on LinkedIn, which Basant is an absolute pro at with 19 thousand followers and crazy engagement on her posts, we actually kick off this talk with a deep dive on interviewing tips and job prospecting hacks for marketers. For any of you talented marketers out of a job or between jobs, we hope these tips come in handy. Because Basant is THE source for this type of advice after interviewing at major tech companies like Google and Facebook and eventually landing her job at Linkedin.

But she didn’t get there without dealing with a good amount of rejection along the way and she has an amazing outlook on rejection which you all have to hear. In addition to the job hacking tips, we’ll touch on a couple of great strategies for building your LinkedIn personal brand and even how she more than doubled her audience from 8k to 19k in a matter of a few months!

I’m really excited about this one so get comfortable and let’s dive right in. Don’t forget to follow us on LinkedIn and visit us at marketingstrategy.com where you’ll find the most effective strategies for rapid growth for marketers, by marketers.

Till next time.
Ian Luck
Founder
Marketing Strategy

Transcript

  • Ian
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    Ian

    So Basant, thank you so much for joining me.

  • Basant
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    Basant

    Thank you for having me and I’m really looking forward to our convo.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    Yeah. So I’ve been following your content on LinkedIn for a while, and again, I’ve been super impressed by what you’ve been posting and how much value you offer to the community. So I figured let’s get you out on the marketing strategy talk, and talk through how you’ve approached LinkedIn, but also maybe a couple of other things like how you’ve approached interviewing, prospecting for new jobs, things like that. I think you have a lot to offer

  • Basant
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    Basant

    Absolutely, looking forward to it.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    So, one of the things that I’ve run into on your posts is this theme of rejection. And it sounds shocking, because I think you’re so young and full of potential, but it seems like you’ve talked about rejection, a good amount. Right? And I love this because it’s a topic so near and dear to my heart. I cannot tell you how many jobs I’ve been rejected from, over 200 probably, and I’ve been let go in my career. So rejection is, I think, something that everybody deals with, and I love that you’re brave enough to put it out there and say, “You know what? I’ve been rejected by…” And you had this great line that I just keep coming back to, and it was, “Rejection is opportunity.”

  • Basant
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    Basant

    Mm-hmm.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    So, walk me through what you mean by that, and how has rejection provided you with opportunities in your life, so far?

  • Basant
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    Basant

    Absolutely. It’s such a good question. I think rejection is such a taboo topic, like you said. And the reason I try to write and speak about it so much is, I had the support system that was there to tell me that rejection is okay. And I think most people don’t actually have that, unfortunately. So a lot of the time when we have these pitfalls, we think, “That’s it, this is the done deal, okay.”

  • Ian
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    Ian

    Yeah

  • Basant
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    Basant

    “I can’t come back from this.” And unfortunately, because of this, so many people don’t try and get past the rejection, or look at it as an opportunity. Right? So that’s why I write about it so much, just to be that support system that a lot of people are missing out on. And the reason I say rejection is an opportunity is because in every rejection I have had, it’s taught me something.

  • Basant
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    Basant

    Never has been there an opportunity from a rejection, that didn’t help me even get ahead. And at the moment it’s always super difficult, it’s tough, right? If you get laid off, if you get rejected or something, it seems awful at the moment. But I think if you look at things with more of a growth mindset, and you think of things like, “How is this going to push me forward?” That’s how you make opportunity in life, from failures, rejections. And it’s funny, I’ve built a whole business on it, which I love, but it’s important to take these weaknesses that we think are weaknesses, and turn them into something more positive. And I think that’s how we all evolve in life really.I think if you get rejected and you learn nothing, that is truly for the most part a failure.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    If you’re learning something constantly and you’re evolving, I think that’s opportunity to grow, to grow as a professional, to grow as a person. And you’re spot on when you say that, that’s a really deep statement. So I did want to lead off with that because I thought it was just so compelling, and truthful right now. And I’m guessing everybody that’s listening to this is like, “All right, why are we talking about rejection on a marketing strategy podcast?” Because I think with everything going on in the world, there is a good amount of people that are laid off, especially marketers right now. And like I said, I’ve been in your shoes and I know what it feels like to be laid off, and how scary it can be.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    And again, Basant, you’ve done such a great job providing value to not only what to focus on in job interviews, but how to prospect those jobs. And I’ve had a couple people reach out to me recently, that are marketers, that have been laid off, and said, “How do I do this? I need help.” So can you shed some light? You said you had 15 job interviews right out of college, and you got rejected from them all. Give me some tactical learnings, and I’ll get into also, how you’ve been super successful in landing that LinkedIn job, which I’m going to drop that name because I don’t want to just focus all on the rejection. Because there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and I want to really get that out there to the audience, that if you apply yourself and you have a strategy, things will work out for you in the long run. So give me one or two things that you’ve learned from those job interviews.

  • Basant
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    Basant

    Absolutely. I always think interviews are an interrogation, and we’re mostly focused on me. But I think when I turned… Flip coin almost, then started getting to know the interviewing more, it’s almost like a sales call, right? When you’re trying to sell yourself you’re not focusing on yourself, actually, you’re focusing on the other person. And that’s exactly how interviewing was me, how to make it successful. Right? If I focused on the other person, if I notice these small hints and what makes them excited, what they don’t like talking about even, what their mood is like, all these different things really took the interview process, for me, next level. When you are focusing on the other then things get a lot easier. And I think that’s how you see yourself in general, you need to focus on the other person. Right?

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    Basant

    And one other thing is, I always do a ton of research before I go into the interview. Just because then, if I’m missing on some experience, if I’m unaware of certain topics, if I’m not really aware of the industry, when you do your research, all of that is abolished in a way. And when you answer questions or when you ask questions at the end, it becomes a bit more deep. It’s not just these, “Oh, what’s the company culture like?” Or “This is a small example of something you did.” You know what they’re looking for from your research, and you can ask really detailed questions as opposed to something a bit more basic. So those are my two tips.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    Yeah, really nice. You nailed it, doing the research, having deeper conversations but not being rehearsed. And I think you said that in one of your posts too.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    … You can’t just spit out the rehearsed answers. You have to market yourself, but it has to be in a genuine way where you can demonstrate that you truly understand the values and the mission of the company, but you’re not just some robot spitting out something from their website. I think that’s where the real magic happens, as they say.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    So let’s dive into a couple of your, I think, famous interviews. So you’ve interviewed at Google and you got pretty far in the process, what was that like? Because I think that’s always one of those hot topics, Google is famous for having some tough interviews. Any stories you can share with the audience from that?

  • Basant
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    Basant

    It was an amazing process. I got to meet such cool people, and I think that’s the awesome part about interviewing. Even if you do get rejected, you get to network, which is awesome. I kept in touch with a lot of them and we’re pretty close now, which is awesome, but really cool people, really awesome culture, it wasn’t an easy interview, I have to say. In the final stage, which I got into, they had three interviews right after the other, which was brutal.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    Wow

  • Basant
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    Basant

    And it wasn’t just asking, I don’t know, these behavioral questions that are very basic like, “Oh, what would you do if you have an issue with a colleague?” Or an easy question. It really dived deep into what I would be doing on the job, and it was awesome. Who knows what will happen next? But it was awesome process. It’s not as scary as people make it up to be, it’s nothing insane, but it is quite challenging. And I think that makes people want to get it more, which is a good employer branding to be honest.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    Yeah. I think that’s great. And they are definitely famous for it, so it does attract a higher caliber prospect that isn’t afraid of that type of a stressful situation. So let’s start back one step and then we’re going to get into the marketing, I swear. Because I think you have an amazing LinkedIn presence and I want to really dive deep into that. But one other question that I think a lot of these listeners, that most likely have been laid off, are struggling with is, how do you actually prospect the job? So are you the type of person that just goes and submits your LinkedIn profile for a job, and just leaves it be to the gods, and let them sort it out? Or do you have a strategy or tactical approach that puts you in front of the stack, so to speak, to get to those? Can you walk through some strategies you have there?

  • Basant
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    Basant

    The one thing that has gotten me noticed every single time, when I was applying to Google, Facebook, any of the big tech companies, was doing everything. So I don’t just send something in and pray to God, I even tell my clients, “Do everything you can to make the best resume you can, that’s personalized for each job, that really showcases your skill to that job, not just a general spotlight of you. And then before you apply, you have a referral, you’ve done the networking aspect, on top of that you have a networking bench almost, in that particular company, so they can vouch for you.”

  • Basant
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    Basant

    So while I was applying to LinkedIn, a few people I knew at LinkedIn sent emails for me, telling people like, “You need to hire her,” right? And it’s much stronger when people advocate for you. On top of it, my interviewing skills were on point as well, also following up, building relationships with people. I think because… I’m an expat so a lot of the time, I have circumstances that are already not making things easy in terms of paperwork. So I’ve just been trying to always do everything I can to get the job, and I think everyone should do that, regardless of your circumstances. And that really, really makes your chances of getting the job very high. So just do everything, that’s what I always tell people.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    So you’re starting your job at LinkedIn in the fall, right?

  • Basant
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    Basant

    Oh, actually it got postponed, so it’s starting in January now.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    Oh, okay, cool. Yeah, I figured that’s probably the case for a lot of companies these days.

  • Basant
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    Basant

    Yeah

  • Ian
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    Ian

    Start the new year fresh. But I’m guessing your presence on LinkedIn had some effect on you being able to get a job at LinkedIn, but also getting interviews at all of these other companies. I mean, you interviewed at some of the top tech companies in the world. So walk me through… And this is really what I want to focus on because I think you have done a great job developing an audience, you have over 19,000 followers on LinkedIn. So walk me through why developing a personal brand is important to you, and maybe how it impacted your job prospects.

  • Basant
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    Basant

    Well, the reason for my personal branding changed over time, so when I first started, it was just because I was experimenting, it seemed interesting to do because the organic reach on LinkedIn is insane. But people are always talking about TikTok and I’m always like, “LinkedIn has so much potential to reach so many people.” So at the beginning I was just experimenting, seeing what to do with this. And then it turned into me using it as a tool, to reach certain employers through presenting my soft skills and hard skills, through specific content pieces. And because of me presenting myself, it came parallel to my job applications. So for example, I sent out an application, I connected with a hiring manager who would be interviewing me. When I connected, he would be able to see my content before our interviews, I’m posting say twice a week. As I’m posting, he’s looking at this, he’s learning about me without me having to say anything. It’s a lot more powerful than going up to someone and being like, “Hire me.”

  • Basant
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    Basant

    They can see everything from afar almost. So it acted like a really good tool to sell yourself without having to sell yourself, is this mass networking tool. So it was very beneficial, and I think having gotten a job from that and evolving my brand, along with me getting a job, it’s really helped me build my business from nothing. So it’s content creation and getting all the inbound leads just from that. So it really depends on your goals, so if you’re looking to build a business, it’s perfect for that. If you’re looking to create opportunities for yourself in your career, it’s also perfect for that. It really depends on your goals but there’s so much you can do with it, really.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    Yeah. And I think people are starting to wake up to the organic reach of it, it’s the only business platform that has that type of reach, without paying a ton of money. So it is interesting, especially from the personal side. So I think what a lot of companies struggle with is, they put a ton of effort behind the company brand. And these don’t actually pan out as well as, for example, if you have a couple of key people, in the actual company, promoting their own content. I feel like the LinkedIn algorithm is more centered on people versus brands, which rightfully so. But walk me through, tactically, how do you get to 19,000 followers? And I know there’s a lot of hard work that goes into it, and thought. But walk me through, if you were talking to somebody that wants to get to 19,000 followers, what should they focus on?

  • Basant
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    Basant

    Value and consistency, for sure. So on one hand, this wasn’t something that happened overnight, for sure. This was me consistently posting every week, at least twice, for two years, a little under two years. So the consistency aspect of it is really important. So I see people who post once a month, or every now and then, without a proper plan behind it. And I think when starting out, it’s really important to put a content plan in place and make sure that you’re posting consistently, because that’s just what the algorithm prioritizes, right? If it notices you’re not posting so much, you’re not going to do so well.

  • Basant
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    Basant

    On top of it, it’s very value based. So LinkedIn in general, it’s not… A lot of people think it’s for announcements, it’s for saying, “I got this certification, I did this.” But the content that really gets to people, is ones that are very value based and consists basically of things that are helpful. And I think a lot of people think that value is just things that you can Google, but when it comes to my own content, if it’s something that’s common knowledge or something that’s very easily Google-able.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    That’s so true.

  • Basant
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    Basant

    I don’t forward, I don’t put it up. I don’t put it up just because, if people find this value elsewhere, what’s the point of me putting up? And adding more to that noise, right? And it was a process. I even look back at content written three months ago and I’m like, “That’s not very good.” So it’s definitely a process, it takes a lot of time but, I think what really differentiates me apart from the value ideas, and talking about all these different taboo topics in the workplace, was just the community building aspect of it. So when someone likes my posts, especially early on, or comments on my post, I treat this person like part of my network. Right?

  • Basant
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    Basant

    I check in on them, I make sure they’re okay. If they wrote something specific in my comment section, I check in on them later if they were struggling with something or so on. This is a community building thing, a two sided conversation, rather than me just putting up content and being like, “Oh, here, I hope you like this.”

  • Basant
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    Basant

    It’s really listening to people and their struggles, and I think because I was able to really understand people, and create content that speaks to a very specific community, that relates to me and I relate to them, it created this loyalty and this bond between the two of us. So it was a lot of consistency in that manner, making sure I built that community, it’s for creating value to them, and always engaging with them and making sure that the posts are really valuable to them, that formula.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    Yeah. And I definitely echo that sentiment, the value first, for sure. It’s not about just bragging about, “Hey, my post is trending on LinkedIn, look at me.”

  • Basant
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    Basant

    Mm-hmm

  • Ian
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    Ian

    That stuff doesn’t work that well. If you provide value… And I love that term you said, “If it’s Google-able, it’s not worth putting on LinkedIn,” that is such a good way to look at it. And I think marketers across the globe should take that to heart because, there are a good amount of people out there that are just posting stuff, it’s like, “Yep, that makes sense.” And it’s not super compelling, and I think taking that next step of, “Is it common knowledge? Is it something that you can find on the internet already? No.” I mean, and I’ve looked at your post, you speak to your personal experience, you speak honestly about it, which I think is another key piece, is being honest.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    And like I said, we lead with rejection because you talk about it a good amount, and that’s brave, that’s not something everybody does. Everybody on LinkedIn seems to think they need to put their best face forward, and they need to be the perfect business person. And if you look at some people, you would think that they’re Elon Musk or something, right? That they’re perfect, they’re… That’s probably a bad example. But I guess my point is, there is something to be said about being genuine, and approaching it from both angles. Because you’ve talked about your struggles, but you’ve also talked about your wins, you’ve talked about how you got a job at LinkedIn, which is super amazing and very exciting. And I think you wouldn’t have gotten that job if you probably didn’t have those failures, and learn.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    So I think it’s that journey right? Of that whole process that, if you share it, people find value. And I do also love the reaching out and treating each person that comments as a part of your community. And I’ll never forget some of those people that have reached out to me, when I’ve commented, and had some thoughtful piece of advice or feedback for me. And I do remember those people and they do take a place above some of the other just random people that like my posts, or I liked their posts, because you create that bond that I think is a little bit further than just engaging. So, yeah.

  • Basant
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    Yeah. I really agree and I think recently someone sent me a message because I always respond to my comments, which can get difficult, but I really prioritize that. And she said, out of all the influencers on LinkedIn I’m the most… Person seems a bit close to, almost. And she feels like she can reach out for any… Which from a network perspective, amazing, from a business perspective, even more amazing.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    Yeah

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    Basant

    So it’s really important to have that kind of connection with people, because I think if you look at YouTube, take any of the other channels, they’re relatable. And I think that’s translating to LinkedIn, in a way, where you need to be human first, no one’s perfect. Like you said, some people will act like Elon Musk almost, online, but no one’s like that. And coming from a place of honesty is very important, that’s definitely very true. Yeah.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    Yeah, I love it. And I think one thing I noticed when I was digging through your posts, was that you went from roughly, I think it was eight months ago, you were at I think 4,000 or 5,000 followers and then within eight months you skyrocketed up, did you have something that propelled you to that? Doubling your following? Was there one event that you can attribute it to?

  • Basant
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    Basant

    To be honest, it was mostly not the eight months, it was two months ago, when quarantine happened. So I think mid April I had 8,000 followers, and now I have, like you said, about 19,000. So it was really down to these two months where things just exploded almost. And I think what changed everything, it didn’t happen when quarantine happened. So I was experimenting when things started because it was very interesting from a marketing perspective. Because usually, for example, if you have a certain thing in the US, they only effect the US, right?

  • Ian
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    Ian

    Yeah

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    Basant

    Or if something happened in India, politically, it’s only in India. March happened, and I noticed a weird drop in my engagement, because everyone was struggling collectively. Right?

  • Basant
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    Basant

    Yeah

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    Basant

    And I think what I did was, I really tried to target that in a way. So what are people looking for right now? Hope, support, community, and speaking about rejection, something I’m very good at, all of these different kind of things. And I noticed that in my audience and my community in general, and I was able to target that specifically.

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    Basant

    Influencers, a lot of people who do produce a lot of content, is they kept going in the same rate. Everything in terms of content at that point completely flipped, right? People continuously are struggling so much, they don’t want to hear about your plan or what’s going on in your company, everyone’s so engrossed in themselves right now. And that’s what I focused on, I made sure I was really focusing on my community, especially since I was home all the time. How can I create stories that really cater to their struggles right now, as opposed to what I was writing about before?

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    Basant

    And I think that was really important from an adaptability standpoint. And that’s, I think, how I’ve continuously grown in the last few years, it was just always adapting to my audience, adapting to what they’re going through, and growing with my audience. So I’m growing as a person, they’re growing with me, we’re not all static people. Right? And a lot of the time, if I spoke about certain issues that were happening with me, they were also happening to them, because we’re all changing and growing together. So that was the… It was just the adaptability.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    So, and I wanted to call that out because I think that’s a really, really good example of a marketing pivot. I think you realize it, but you listen to your audience, and I think this is something that marketers struggle with, right? And I think a lot of people are saying it on LinkedIn, is like, “Oh, marketing has to be agile, you have to pivot,” but nobody really knows how to do it because either they’ve never been through it before, or they’re just not super in touch with their audience.

  • Basant
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    Basant

    Mm-hmm.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    And I think you nailed it when you said, “Listening to what your audience is struggling with, and creating content around that first.” That’s empathy, because you’re trying to help them during their time of struggle, but it’s also interesting because I think, like I said, 80% to 90% of those marketers right now are struggling to do that exact thing, which is, adjust to their audiences needs. And the ones that have done it, and done it successfully, are doing very well right now, because I do think we’re at the tail end of this thing, knock on wood.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    But I just want to commend you for that, because it does seem like you’ve made an adjustment, you’ve tailored your message to what I think the people are struggling with right now, and delivered that and it’s valuable, and you’ve literally doubled your following and more than doubled, in basically eight months or something like that. So I think that’s something that I don’t want to understate, that’s really hard to do. And the fact that you had enough wherewithal to do that, I just want to commend you on that. So that’s really cool.

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    Basant

    Thank you. Thank you.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    That’s a good lesson for all of the other marketers out there.

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    Basant

    I think when it comes to marketing, the problem is there’s so many different layers when it comes to marketing. And I think a lot of marketers aren’t even very in tune with their product or service, to be honest, based on the places I’ve worked with. And I have used the services I am providing to people almost, and I’m also going through exactly what they’re going through. And I think… These influencers in your company that know exactly what we’re talking about… Because I think it’s really missing right now, like you said, in different departments should really think about.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    Yeah, it is. And I think as we go through this, people will obviously adjust. I just think that the ones that have done it quicker than others, will be on top probably for the next, at least a couple months if not year or so. So pivoting and adjusting to your audience’s needs is always a good thing to practice.

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    Basant

    Mm-hmm.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    So keep that in mind, marketers. But all right, so another thing I wanted to cover is, LinkedIn, there are some hacks out there for getting audience engagement. Are there anything that comes to mind for you? For example, do you use emojis? Do you structure your posts in a certain way? Do you have a long list? Anything that you’ve found that has driven more engagement, other than obviously the main pieces, which is just add value and speak to your audience?

  • Basant
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    Basant

    Mm-hmm. Yeah. It’s moving so fast. It’s insane how crazy the algorithm is always shifting, and in general my posts are in lens, always changing, it is crazy. And I think LinkedIn, thinking about it now, it needs a lot of adaptability. That’s why I love these podcasts, you start thinking about it. But as of recently, I’m noticing that in general, people want it a bit simpler. And I think that’s because of everything going on, they don’t want to think a lot, which is totally understandable.

  • Basant
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    Basant

    And I think right now the simpler, the better. So if you look at my posts, it’d be full of hacks, full of things you need to do. And I think now people just want really snappy and quickly. So I think if you can bring your story and message in a very short way, that would be great.

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    Basant

    In general bullet points used to do very well, now they don’t, it really depends. So it depends on when they’re listening to this, but in general, right now, the short posts are what’s doing really well. And if you can get not a clickbait title, but something in the beginning of the post, that’s super catchy-

  • Ian
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    Ian

    Grabs them.

  • Basant
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    Basant

    … That’s really how you get your posts to grab people.

  • Ian
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    Ian

    Yeah. I think that’s really good advice. I’ve also found something similar as, I tune out halfway through a really long post, where it’s like a book. I don’t have the attention span, so I think you’re spot on with that. I want to shift gears real quick, so we’ve got about five or 10 minutes left. You are also a accomplished speaker, so you have a really good story about how you landed a speaking engagement, I think with Microsoft, right?

  • Basant
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    Basant

    Mm-hmm

  • Ian
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    Ian

    Walk me and the audience through how you landed that, and why speaking is important for personal brands.

  • Basant
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    Basant

    Oh, it’s not so exciting. I think a lot of people think they reached out to me, and they made a whole hub about it. But when I was a student, I think it was my last year of university, I was trying to find ways where I could speak more just because it’s very important. Online personal branding is amazing and you can get a lot done through it, but there’s nothing like normal human connection. And just speaking to people face to face, and looking them in the eye.

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    Basant

    But I was going through Eventbrite, which is a great place to find different events that are happening, especially right now virtually. And I noticed they were holding a workshop for women in tech, and basically what I did is I emailed them, because they said they were looking for speakers, and I just asked if I could speak, and they said, “Yes,” which is amazing.

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    Basant

    And it opened so many doors for me from, first off, having that on your ticking list is amazing, second off, I met so many incredible people and speaking is a form of giving value, and similarly to you creating content. And I think a lot of marketers have also lost that, it’s now more of a sales pitch, “Let me speak about my service or product, or what my company is doing.” But in my opinion, it’s really about adding value to people, and really helping them through holding these workshops or speaking engagements. Right? And while I was doing my speaking engagement, giving value to these amazing women, a lot of them reached out to me either for me to help them more individually, in a coaching format, or so they could refer me to the companies they were. It’s really a win-win, when you think about giving value to people, and personal branding is just so important for that support.

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    Ian

    The reason why I brought this up is because I love the simplicity of ‘just ask’, because I cannot tell you how many times ‘just ask’ is the solution in a lot of things in life. I mean, literally, you want the title? Just ask, you want the pay raise? Just ask, you want to speak at this big conference? Just ask. I mean, I just love it because it’s so simple but it’s such a good message, especially, again, with a lot of people out of work, just ask for what you want and take it. Because that’s really what people are waiting for, it’s just somebody to ask for it, half the time.

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    Basant

    Yeah

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    Ian

    So good on you.

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    Basant

    I always say, if we’re going to anything… I think people have this fear of, if I create content, if I ask for this thing, it’s really scary and I’ll get rejected. But at the end of the day, maybe I’m just immune to it at this point from the amount of times I’ve been rejected, but the worst is they’re going to say, “No,” or the worst is they’re not going to answer, and that’s not that big a deal. I think people are so engrossed in themselves that they think it’s a huge deal if they get out of their comfort zone, but people forget very quickly. So I wouldn’t be too worried.

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    Ian

    That’s a great point. And again, I think you just have a really good outlook on this stuff so congrats. So, all right, let’s close up, what’s your favorite marketing book of all time?

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    Basant

    The Originals by Adam Grant, it speaks a lot about content creation and how you can create quality plus quantity, so I liked that book.

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    Ian

    All right. Good one. So what’s the one thing that you want marketers listening right now, to take away from this talk?

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    Basant

    Add real value to other people, not just because you want to sell something, really seek out helping, and really seek out creating community as opposed to just trying to sell something.

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    Ian

    Yep. Nailed it. All right. So Basant, it’s been amazing. Thank you so much for joining me. Where can people find you? Where can people reach? Throw out some plugs.

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    Basant

    Yeah, Basant Shenouda on LinkedIn, I’m really active on there as you’ve heard, [email protected] if you want to get in touch with me, for speaking engagements or something. Would love to help out, learn more about you.

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    Ian

    Perfect. Thank you so much. It’s been very insightful. I wish you the best at LinkedIn starting in January. Thanks again for joining up and we’ll talk soon.

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    Basant

    Thank you too, I had a great time.

About the Participants

  • Basant
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    Basant Shenouda

    BLP Associate, LinkedIn

    I am an [in]coming Global Sales Associate at LinkedIn for MENA markets. This is my dream job because I am passionate about creating economic growth and opportunity for my home region. I help my community, through my LI and online content, become less fearful and more resourceful towards their career and personal development, garnishing 3+ million views in less than 2 years.
    Whether you are job seeking or need a resume and personal branding optimization, I will help you reach your dream career and life as a career coach.

  • Ian
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    Ian Luck

    Founder, Marketing Strategy

    Ian has marketed for some of the world’s best-known brands like Hewlett-Packard, Ryder, Force Factor, and CIT Bank. His content has been downloaded 50,000+ times and viewed by over 90% of the Fortune 500. His marketing has been featured in Forbes, Inc. Magazine, Adweek, Business Insider, Seeking Alpha, Tech Crunch, Y Combinator, and Lifehacker. With over 10 startups under his belt, Ian’s been described as a serial entrepreneur— a badge he wears with pride. Ian’s a published author and musician and when he’s not obsessively testing the next marketing idea, he can be found hanging out with family and friends north of Boston.

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