Welcome to the Count Me In Podcast! Join host Adam Larson and special guest Donna Serdula, founder of Vision Board Media, a professional branding company, as they dive into the world of leveraging LinkedIn for finance and accounting professionals. In this episode, Donna shares valuable insights on making the most of your online presence and building meaningful connections in the finance industry. So grab a cup of coffee and join us for an engaging discussion on boosting your professional brand on LinkedIn!
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Welcome to Count Me In. I'm your host, Adam Larson. And in this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with LinkedIn expert, Donna Sardula. Donna is the Founder and President of Vision Board Media, a professional branding company. Our conversation delves into the intricacies of personal branding and networking on LinkedIn with a special focus on how financial and accounting professionals can make the most of the platform.
Adam Larson:Donna shares invaluable insights into standing out in a crowded marketplace and emphasizes the significance of building a strong network and crafting an impressive online profile. We also explore the future of LinkedIn and the impact of AI, shedding light on the importance of maintaining a human touch in a digital age. Join me as Don and I uncover the secrets to leveraging LinkedIn effectively for professional success. Donna, I'm really excited to have you on the podcast today. We're gonna be focusing in on LinkedIn and how financial and accounting professionals can really utilize it as to the best of their abilities.
Adam Larson:And so maybe we can start there. You know, using LinkedIn as a professional, especially in the accounting and finance industry, how can you brand yourself to stand out, among all the others that are out there? Because everybody's using it right now.
Donna Serdula:Yeah. You know, people people are using LinkedIn, and it's it's really become such a popular place to be considering for years it was sort of like the ugly stepchild of the social media platforms. But it's it's something that a lot of people are looking at and using, and they're finding a lot of value. And and, you know, so your question was, like, how do you how do you brand yourself? How do you how do you stand out in this crowded marketplace?
Adam Larson:Yeah.
Donna Serdula:So, you know, I think with LinkedIn, you know, the one thing you wanna do is maybe make it a smaller marketplace.
Adam Larson:Okay.
Donna Serdula:And the way you do that is you make sure that your network is reflected Mhmm. In your online network. So it's it's one of those places with LinkedIn. You wanna make sure that all of the people that you know and you trust and you like and you've met and you worked with and and you talk to, that you've created that that network on the platform. Mhmm.
Donna Serdula:Right? And so then when you are posting, that's the network that gets to see you. So it's not like Ah. You're on x or you're on Instagram, and and you really have the entire world at your feet. You can really say, look, I wanna first really make sure that the people when when I'm talking, the people that are getting this are the people that already know me.
Donna Serdula:So to stand out isn't that huge of a deal because they they see me, they hear me, they know me, and that's a good thing. So the first thing is make sure you're building that network.
Adam Larson:Mhmm.
Donna Serdula:That's going to definitely help you. But once you have a a network that's strong and one that is continually growing, That's that's important. Mhmm. The next thing is you wanna look at your your profile. Mhmm.
Donna Serdula:And you wanna say, alright. How how is this showcasing me? Is this something that's impressive? Is this forwarding my goals? Is this putting me where I wanna be, or is this something that maybe echoes back 5 years ago, the last time I updated my profile?
Donna Serdula:Mhmm. So that's something that you really need to think in terms of is that LinkedIn profile piece. That's a very foundational aspect. And how are you, you know, how are you showcasing yourself? What story are you telling there?
Adam Larson:Mhmm. That's interesting because, you know, when you think of other social media platforms, it's all about the virality of getting things out there, getting things that somebody that millions of people look at, and you'll get more followers that way. But what I'm hearing you saying, it's more about intention when it comes to LinkedIn.
Donna Serdula:It is. It is. And and and it's it's looking and saying, hey. Here is here's my network. You know?
Donna Serdula:These are the people that that I know, that I've met, and I wanna keep showing up on their radar. I don't want them to forget me. And when they have a good experience, I want them to talk about me and tell their friends. And there something happens. Something very magical happens.
Donna Serdula:It's like that old, you know, commercial. I told 2 people, and she told 2 people, and they told 2. It has this it has that similar quality. It's and, I mean, you can still go crazy viral Mhmm. On LinkedIn.
Donna Serdula:I mean, it's not like it doesn't happen, but I I think you're better off saying, let me really define my audience. Let me define my topics. Let me Mhmm. You know, give add value, you know, really define myself, but also, you know, forward my message. And if you do it in that way, without self, but also, you know, forward my message.
Donna Serdula:And if you do it in that way without thinking about the stars in the moon, but you sort of keep what's what's, like, right in front of you, that's when really good things happen.
Adam Larson:So can we dig into that a little bit more? What do you mean by define yourself? Like, how do you define yourself on on an online platform like
Donna Serdula:that? Yeah. So there's there's 2 ways of looking at it. Right? There's there's your profile.
Donna Serdula:It's like that that LinkedIn profile that people go to learn who they just met or who they're going to talk to or who they're going to be working with or who they're considering working with. People go to that profile. They want to know more about you. You know, and it's not always just about your company. It's just about you.
Donna Serdula:Like, who is this person that I'm thinking about working with? And this is where you have a chance to tell your story. And it's so different than the other platforms out there. You know, like, you look at Facebook, you look at Instagram, you look at TikToks. You know, the the bio is, like, you know, just a couple 100 characters.
Donna Serdula:There's not a lot of room there to tell a story or even to show your trajectory, to show your background, to show where you came from. LinkedIn is different. I mean, it really is a place to say, this is this is who I am. This is where I've come from. But even more so, this is where I'm going.
Donna Serdula:And so that right there is really an important place. And so many people are like, oh, I'll do it in 5 minutes. So let me copy and paste a resume or a bio, or let me grab the about section from my company website and slam it in there, and it's good enough. Good enough isn't gonna cut it here. This is where you really wanna look at it and think of it as, you know, how you want to be perceived by other people.
Donna Serdula:You want to help people understand who you are and how to think about you. And so this is where we want to get really deliberate and think, you know, like, what is, you know, what is my introduction? How do I want to introduce myself? Mhmm. How do I want people to think about me?
Donna Serdula:You know, what is that manifesto? And let's put it out there in a manner that really engages and intrigues people and gets them excited.
Adam Larson:Yeah. So what do you think about when people say, hey, throw all your stuff in LinkedIn onto chat GPT and have it spit out something better for you? What do you think about the use of gender deviate as a tool to help help because not everybody can write that manifesto
Donna Serdula:Yeah.
Adam Larson:Easily. It's difficult.
Donna Serdula:It is. It is. And and and, you know, with AI, there is a it does, you know, an offer a level of, democratization of it. Right? It it allows anyone to put something up there, but you really do wanna get smart.
Donna Serdula:You really wanna get strategic. Mhmm. And you wanna think. It's not about, let's just throw the entire kitchen sink at this profile, but let's really think about our target audience. What do they need to know about?
Donna Serdula:You know? What do they need to know about you? You know, really think about what is it that makes you, you. Right? What's what differentiates?
Donna Serdula:What's your goal? What's your, you know, like, what's your why? Those are all things to to really consider and put out there in a in a smart way. And and so, you know, in in some ways, I'd rather a person use AI than, ways, I'd rather a person use AI than have something that's empty or have something that's, you know, like, you know, dotty in terms of content. Mhmm.
Donna Serdula:But, you know, I really think that, you know, whether you use a person who can help you or you use, you know, one of these AI, things just be really, really smart and really think, like, is this how I wanna be perceived? Mhmm. Is this representative of who I am and who I wanna be? And a lot of times a lot of times for most people, they really don't know what looks good. Right?
Donna Serdula:It's like, I don't even know if this is like, I sit so close even with an AI generator. Is this is this dotting the i's and crossing the t's? Sometimes that's difficult to judge.
Adam Larson:It's almost like you need to sit down with a therapist and discover who your why is and do some deep self searching before you can put it out there and say, hey. This is who I am. Right?
Donna Serdula:Yeah. Yeah. And and and that's that's what our, you know, our branding specialists do. It's it's really helping, and it's it's almost forcing a person challenging them Mhmm. To say, like, why are you doing this?
Donna Serdula:Why not something else? Why why here? Why now? Why this audience? You know, what differentiates you?
Donna Serdula:Like, really, what differentiates you? And I'm not talking about the first thing that you think about, but, like, really considering what, you know, what do these clients say when they come back? You know, what what really separates you?
Adam Larson:Mhmm.
Donna Serdula:And those are things that you just you just can't do in 5 minutes.
Adam Larson:Yeah. It takes time to build those things, and it's not an easy thing. And I think I so you've defined yourself. You've figured all that out for the most part. Now let's talk about building that network.
Adam Larson:What are what are ways to start building network? Because it's not something that happens like that. It's not a viral moment. Networking is not viral. Networking takes time, slowly building over time.
Adam Larson:So Yeah. How do you start doing that?
Donna Serdula:So there's two aspects here. Right? It's building the network, you know, and LinkedIn has placed several limits now on free accounts Mhmm. Where you don't have the ability to send out 100 and 100 of invites and, you know, create these personalized notes anymore. They're locking Mhmm.
Donna Serdula:It down. So you it's one of those things where you really do need to, every day, think in terms of who do I know, who have I met, and and make those connections right then and there on the spot so you don't even need that personalized invite because the person knows you. They see you. It's like, oh, the person's gonna hit accept. They don't need to write a personalized note.
Donna Serdula:We were just chatting yesterday. So, you know, you have to really, you know, be on point here. You know, when you meet people, connect with them. And in fact, you know, you can connect with people using the QR code. So if you're in person with someone, flash them the QR code from your LinkedIn app.
Donna Serdula:Let them, you know, scan it, connect right then and there. It's not like you even have to wait to get back to your office to do it. Right? You just do it right then and there on the spot. But it is something that you wanna keep connecting.
Donna Serdula:Always connect. Always connect. I know it's like a pain in the butt, but in some ways, you know, when you think of how, you know, sales has always been taught, there's this element of and there's always a different number. It's like 6 the 6 points or 12 points of connection, but it's really these touch points. And so if you've met someone, maybe they would be a great client.
Donna Serdula:You know, maybe they do wanna hire you. Maybe, you know, whatever it might be, but, you know, it's those little touch points that reinforce this is a real person. This is someone that I like. This is someone that I now know. This is someone I can work with.
Donna Serdula:Mhmm. And so these little touch points make it you know, they're they're important. And so make sure you're connecting. But once you connect, then is it responding to the their connection request? Is responding to them, accepting it?
Donna Serdula:And then that's when we start to get into the networking piece. Right? We have the network. How do you network? Hey.
Donna Serdula:We have the network. How do you network? But the the idea there is, you know, make sure you post. You know, make sure you run through that LinkedIn feed and see what people are talking about. Get into the comments and and add, add something, add value, add advice, add a story, add feedback, add insight.
Donna Serdula:But it's doing that and doing it consistently that you keep showing up on people's radar. And that's when people say, oh, I know who this person is, and I know what their expertise is as well.
Adam Larson:Now I I can feel that that can be overwhelming with with the way the market is going. Organizations are making layoffs, and there's more that we have to do every and every day. And now is like, wait. I have to add in Mhmm. Reading LinkedIn and adding thoughtful posts to that?
Adam Larson:What what is this? You know, how do what would you say to somebody saying that to you?
Donna Serdula:Yeah. You know, I I know that it sounds, you know, ins like, crazy insane and overwhelming, but you have to say, wait wait. Stop. You're on Facebook. You're on TikTok.
Donna Serdula:You're on Instagram. You're on something else
Adam Larson:Mhmm.
Donna Serdula:That's fun. You know, LinkedIn can be fun too, and it can help your career. Mhmm. Right? So maybe maybe there's a trade off, or maybe it's just saying, yeah.
Donna Serdula:You know what? 15 minutes, I have 15 minutes. I can do that while I'm drinking my coffee in the morning. It's not an overwhelming scent. And here's the thing.
Donna Serdula:With LinkedIn, it's not like those other platforms where, in some ways, to really shine, you have to post over and over and over again
Adam Larson:Mhmm.
Donna Serdula:Especially in one day, and that is that's hard. With LinkedIn, can you post twice a week? Mhmm. Can you post once a week? That's that works.
Donna Serdula:That's fine. 22 times a week, one one time a week, once every 2 weeks, I'll take it. But, you know, when you're not posting, scroll through, see what's going on in your network, and make a comment or 2. Yeah. But if you do that consistently, that's only then only then will really good things happen.
Donna Serdula:Yet with LinkedIn, there is a bit of a passive aspect where if you have a strong profile, you've got the right keywords in there, you know, people see, you know, oh, you know, this person's a great fit. Your phone could ring. Mhmm. And that does happen. So in some ways, it's it's a fabulous passive network.
Donna Serdula:By just putting a little bit of effort in Mhmm. That's when you really ratchet up, and you can see a lot more
Adam Larson:success. I like that you disarmed my my argument very quickly in saying, hey, it doesn't have to be overwhelming because you'd look at it this way. It's all about how you frame the perspective. Because anything that we're doing can be overwhelming, but it's it's how you frame it. And so when it comes to networking, it's not this, like, I'm giving my card out to everybody.
Adam Larson:Because for those of for people who aren't traveling, who aren't meeting people in person, and you're only doing virtual meetings, it's harder to network. But things like, hey, I'm on a webinar with a speaker, and I see that speaker on LinkedIn. I'm gonna connect with them and say, hey, I loved your webinar. And that's a connection point.
Donna Serdula:Yeah. And then let's take it another step further. Maybe you put in a post, and you've taken a picture of the you know, one of their slides. Yeah. And you tag the person, and you say, this was a fabulous webinar.
Donna Serdula:I learned so much. Well, one, that presenter is going to love it. The organizers are going to love it. And then maybe if you jump into the comments and you tag in a couple of the other attendees that you noticed and and were there, suddenly having a little party on LinkedIn.
Adam Larson:Mhmm. I like that. I like that. Even if you're listening to this podcast, go to our show notes and click the link to our LinkedIn pages and connect with us and say, hey. I liked when you said and start a conversation.
Adam Larson:But it's like little like you said, little things like that that kind of slowly build it.
Donna Serdula:Yeah. And and, you know, there there's a power to tagging people and pulling them into these conversations on LinkedIn. Mhmm. Because sometimes, you know, that's that's the thing with LinkedIn. I think there's a there's a lot of people who are very much, they're lurkers, they're voyeurs, They're there.
Donna Serdula:They're paying attention. They're taking it all in, but they're not really engaging. They're not really loud Mhmm. On LinkedIn. And so by getting in there and say, hey, like, here's here's how I would love you to, you know, react to this post.
Donna Serdula:Let me put in a question at the end of the post. Rather than just put out the post, whether it's a quote or an idea or, you know, whatever it might be. Like, give them a reason to respond in the comments, and then even go so far as to maybe get into those comments and pull people in and say, hey. I just would love to hear what you have to say. And it's it's it's you acting almost as a host on the platform.
Adam Larson:I like that. I like that you're acting as a host, and it's thoughtfully bringing people in. But then it goes back to having people to bring into that conversation. So it's building that network so that you can bring those people in. Yeah.
Adam Larson:Because you're like, oh, I was listening to so and so the other day. They were talking about that. Let me bring them in. But you have to be thoughtful about that as well.
Donna Serdula:Yeah. It's and you know what? I I I've talked to a lot of people. You know, how are you best using LinkedIn? How does it work for you?
Donna Serdula:And and a lot of people, they don't really talk about this, but they have spreadsheets. They have a they have a LinkedIn spreadsheet. Wow. And on that LinkedIn spreadsheet, here's the people that they're paying attention to, and let's categorize these people. You know, these are prospects.
Donna Serdula:These are clients. These are experts. These are vendors. These are potential partners. Right?
Donna Serdula:Like, because there's so much going on in this world. It's just so easy to forget people.
Adam Larson:Yeah. It's very easy to forget people. And I was thinking, like, we've been talking about about individual LinkedIn pages. But you think about from, like, a company perspective, unless you have your LinkedIn profile and you want like, how do you empower your employees to connect the right way to the post you're making and the post they're making so that everything's on brand and everything's kind of growing? Because it's not an easy thing to do because let's see if a hundred people working for you.
Adam Larson:Can you balance all where all those people are posting, and are you okay with everything they're posting and how they're connected to you?
Donna Serdula:Yeah. Oh, there's and and, you know, and employees get scared. Mhmm. Right? I mean, when you're working for someone, you don't wanna just get on LinkedIn and start, yeah, posting because maybe HR is going to think that you're leaving your or, oh, no.
Donna Serdula:I've just made a I, you know, I I mistakenly posted something that I should like, there's there's so many fears there. Mhmm. But with that said, it's it is important. You you you need to own your brand.
Adam Larson:Mhmm.
Donna Serdula:But if you can if you can weave it with the company brand, most companies want you, would love for you to be posting, would love for you to be showcasing how much you love the culture and love the workplace and how you support the clients and how it all feeds together. They would love that. We and we have to remember that LinkedIn really isn't just a job search platform. We we've almost been conditioned to believe, get on LinkedIn when you're looking, but that's not true. Mhmm.
Donna Serdula:It's not true. And so, you know, one, it's it's really letting the employees know that we're we're okay with this. We're open to this. We would love for you to post in a manner that's you know, showcases you and your brand and and how, you know, how it it it almost become a brand advocate or a brand ambassador, you know, for the company. Right?
Donna Serdula:And so I would say the best way to do that is, you know, there's 2 things. 1, the executive team needs to be doing it. Because if they're doing it, that'll that makes it that makes it okay. If they're doing it, we can do it. Right?
Donna Serdula:So you have to lead by example. Mhmm. But then on the on the flip side, you know, internally, there needs to be that, yeah, we would love for you to do it. And and if they do do it, jump in and congratulate them and, you know, show that you're loving what they're posting. Mhmm.
Donna Serdula:But also, you know, really say, Hey, the company page is posting, and maybe, not every day, not all the time, but maybe there are some certain posts that are really, really important. Send it out. Say, hey, guys. This is something we'd love for you to share.
Adam Larson:Mhmm. I like that. I like leaning by example. Because a lot of times, you only see the CEO or 1 or 2 executives who will post things because the marketing person is posting for them, and there's really no connection point. It's almost like you need to find that balance of obviously, there's somebody helping them write the post sometimes because, you know, everybody's busy and everybody knows how to post things.
Adam Larson:But you need to find that balance of making sure that there's clear guidelines, but then also people are actually doing it because that's the hard part too.
Donna Serdula:Yeah. And I think it's also mixing. Mhmm. Because, yeah, there is, like, yeah, we know they're gonna get help. We know that.
Adam Larson:Yes, of course. Of course.
Donna Serdula:We know that. And and and, of course, they should. They should be getting help because their plates are full. But at the same time, there should be an authenticity to it. Mhmm.
Donna Serdula:You know, if it's all we, we, we, and, you know, the big company message and nothing more, then it's really clear that you're they're not doing it. Mhmm. You know? So if
Adam Larson:It feels very stale when you get to that point.
Donna Serdula:Mhmm. And cold. Mhmm. Right? But I think if if you can interject and intermingle those messages so, yeah, there are some, you know, marketing ones.
Donna Serdula:There's some that are Mhmm. Clearly written by someone in marketing. But every now and then, there's something that's really authentic. It's very real. It's clearly from that executive's point of view.
Donna Serdula:That's that's gold.
Adam Larson:Yeah. And it almost it I think LinkedIn seems like the best place to kinda brand yourself as, like, hey, I'm an expert in the industry. I'm an expert on x y z subject. Like, for finance, like, hey. I'm an FP and A person.
Adam Larson:This is what I like to post about. Here's all the things I'm posting about. You know, it's the perfect place platform to say, here's what I can here's what I like to talk about and what I'm Yeah. What I wanna converse about and make comments about.
Donna Serdula:Yeah. And and also and here's my team, and and here's what I'm proud of, and these are the things that we're doing, and this is how it's fulfilling, and this is why we love it. You know, it it doesn't always have to be strictly, here's my topic, and here's, like, for you know, like, endless, an endless array of links to different articles. Mhmm. Like, you can, you know, take some pictures, and you can talk about the books that you're reading.
Donna Serdula:And there there's there's there's a lot that can be stated.
Adam Larson:It seems lately when I'm scrolling through LinkedIn, it's a lot of, hey, this is my latest product that I have, or this is the latest thing that I have. And it seems to be flooded with those things you don't see enough of. Hey. Our team had a great, experience, and here's a cool photo. And you may you may know one of the people in the picture, but it's a connection point with that group saying, hey.
Adam Larson:That's really cool. They're doing that. Oh, that's a great idea. I wanna try that. How do you find that balance?
Adam Larson:Because a lot of like like I said, when you're scrolling, a lot of times, that's all you're seeing is people promoting things.
Donna Serdula:Yeah. Well, you know, it really depends upon your network too.
Adam Larson:That's true.
Donna Serdula:And it depends on how you've trained your your feed.
Adam Larson:Uh-huh. Right? Okay.
Donna Serdula:And so if you engage in those types of sales y posts, you're gonna keep seeing more and more sales y posts. You know, so what you have to do is, in a way, you almost have to train that algorithm and say, Hey, you know, like, these are the people you know, visit the profiles of the people that you enjoy and you wanna Mhmm. Hear more from. You know, make sure you ring the bell on their profile, you know, so it always notifies you. But the more like, when you see something that you don't like, just do not dwell on it.
Donna Serdula:Do not like it. Just scroll past it quickly, and make sure that when you do see stuff that's good, that's what you engage with. That's what you like, and that's what you comment, and that's what you repost. So that helps train it. But finding that balance, it's just one of those things where, you know, having a content calendar, you know, really being thoughtful Mhmm.
Donna Serdula:And almost training yourself, you know, to say, wait, you know, I I live in the real world, but, you know, I also am here in this cyber world, and and let's, you know, let's think, you know, what did what happened last week? What happened this week? What's going to happen? And how can maybe I, you know, take that photo or create something that would be engaging and interesting to put on LinkedIn?
Adam Larson:Yeah. It's almost like you need to find a balance between personal insights, maintain that professional image, and kinda the personability, but also thought leader. It's like, you gotta, like, balance all of those things and say, okay. Here, I'm gonna post that. Like you said, mentioning a calendar.
Adam Larson:And also, we have to remember too that this feed that we're seeing is AI generated. You know, it's it's there's algorithms in the background saying, oh, they've stopped on here. Let me put this out there. Oh, they spent 25 minutes staring at this, or they may have just put their phone down, but the thing thinks they're staring at it, you know, and you left this scope open. So, you know, how do you like, what are things what are some steps we can take to try to train that algorithm and find that balance?
Donna Serdula:Yeah. You know, and and really, it comes down to, you know, making sure that you're you're creating that time.
Adam Larson:Yeah.
Donna Serdula:Right? It's not like you're just doing it once every 2 weeks. You know, once every 2 weeks, I'm I'm cool with you posting once every 2 weeks. Right? I'm I'm good with that.
Adam Larson:Okay. Alright.
Donna Serdula:I'd I'd like it to be more, but I will take once every 2 weeks for a really fun, interesting post to go out. That's great. But, you know, to scroll, I would suggest scrolling more than once every 2 weeks. And and so, you know, you get onto get onto the LinkedIn feed. Maybe it's on your phone.
Donna Serdula:Mhmm. And it doesn't have to be on your desktop. I mean, you can do it when you're drinking your coffee. Mhmm. Doesn't have to be like you're sitting down to work and now you're scrolling.
Donna Serdula:It could be done, you know, in other times. But as you scroll, keep an eye out. Like, who's who do you know? Like, do you really maybe you know this person and they're posting. Don't just scroll past it.
Donna Serdula:Give them some props.
Adam Larson:Mhmm.
Donna Serdula:Like, comment, share. You know, do something. Don't just scroll without any follow-up. Mhmm. And that does help because when you start to see people I like that.
Donna Serdula:I like that creating your own tribe, the the connection points. Mhmm. And you're going to start to create that tribe.
Adam Larson:I like that. I like that creating your own tribe, the the connection points. Because I I feel like LinkedIn can become like any other social media platform where you're scrolling endlessly, not really reading anything, just kinda glancing through things. And if I'm hearing you correctly, you're saying be intentional. Intentional.
Adam Larson:Yeah. I like that.
Donna Serdula:Yeah. And and have fun with it, and and be personable. Like, do it because like, recognize that that thumb or that index finger plays a role in the other person's success. Right? Because with LinkedIn, the posts that do well typically are the posts that, not even just typically, are the posts that cause engagement.
Donna Serdula:They cause activity on the other side. Right? So by you hitting like, you know, that's that means that more people will see it, and you're helping them. You're helping them gain more eyesight eyeballs. Right?
Donna Serdula:And that's what it's a good thing to do.
Adam Larson:That is a good thing to do. Because if you click like, then people in your network will see that you liked it, and then they may connect with that person, and they and the more that you engage, when when you do your post, people will engage with you as well. So it's kind of a a give and take.
Donna Serdula:Autumn, you got it. Alright. You got it. There you have it.
Adam Larson:I like that. So before we end the conversation, this has been really great. Let's look to the future. You know, what changes are coming or what do you see happening as we go on to, you know, 2024 and beyond? And, you know, especially with LinkedIn, like, how do how can we adapt and prepare for what's coming?
Donna Serdula:What's coming down the LinkedIn path? You know, I've been on LinkedIn since 2,005. It's been a long time. And, you know, looking forward, I I do believe that there's still so much runway Mhmm. For LinkedIn.
Donna Serdula:And, really, they have differentiated themselves because it is it's it's career oriented. It's Mhmm. It's, you know, it's professional. And you can't say that about any of the other platforms. You know?
Donna Serdula:This is they they know their audience. They know what they're doing. Mhmm. And and I think what we're going to see is I do think we're gonna see more more people posting, more people commenting. I think we're gonna start to see the end of that that lurking, you know, one job for 30 years.
Donna Serdula:It just doesn't happen. Mhmm. You know? You're you're constantly moving and shifting. You know?
Donna Serdula:A typical tenure could be 3 to 5 years. You know, so so people are going to recognize that, you know, it's the personal brand. That's going to differentiate them. That's what's going to keep it's going to create trust. It's what's going to have people remember them.
Donna Serdula:Yeah. And it's going to become even more and more important, especially, and you talked about it earlier, with this infusion of AI. Mhmm. There's gonna be a lot of content, a lot of dull content, a lot of content that that like, so if you can actually get in there and open up and be real and be human and care and show some liveliness and show that enthusiasm and show your smiling face. It's going to become really easy to differentiate yourself because there's gonna be a lot of people that are using AI to prop themselves up.
Adam Larson:I like that. And I'm sure eventually since it LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft, they'll incorporate Copilot in there and say, write me a post, and it'll, like, write a post out there. But like you said, be human, be intentional because that's what different I I really like that because it's it's important. Yeah.
Donna Serdula:I mean, who like, at 1 if we keep going down this path where it's all AI, we're going to have AI reading the feed and commenting, and human beings are gonna be somewhere else. We don't want that. No. We don't want that.
Adam Larson:We don't want Wall E where robots are doing everything. We're sitting in big old chips, traveling to the world, just getting fatter and fatter watching our screens. We wanna have connections still.
Donna Serdula:Yeah. And and so it's it is important. I think you want to definitely use it. I'm not I'm not in it. I'm very pro AI.
Donna Serdula:I think it's it's great. Mhmm. But we have to do it in a manner that, you know, it keeps our humanity still authentic Mhmm. And we are connecting with real people.
Adam Larson:I really like that. Well, Donna, thank you so much for coming on the podcast. It's really been great chatting with you about LinkedIn.
Donna Serdula:Thank you so much for having me.
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