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FutureProof You is a team comprised of: Career Pivot Expert Dan Yu, Recruiting Master John Lovig, and AI Consultant Aaron Makelky. Listeners will hear discussions of job trends, career advice, and actionable tips for making sure their careers are future proof!
FPU Podcast Episode #24 Content Creation Systems #FU
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[00:00:00] Intro: Content Systems
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[00:00:00] Aaron: Welcome to this episode of Future Proof You's Podcast. Go f yourself. I am your co-host, Aaron Makelky. Joined as [00:00:10] always by my fellow co-hosts and recruiters, John Lovig
[00:00:14] John Lovig: Hello.
[00:00:15] Aaron: and Dan Yu.
[00:00:16] Dan Yu @danoyu: How's
[00:00:19] Aaron: Our [00:00:20] topic for this episode of the podcast is content systems. One of the questions we get asked a lot all the time, how do [00:00:30] you find the time? Like how do you get in the habit of posting? We are mostly talking LinkedIn, but this advice and these systems work [00:00:40] anywhere you want. It could be Facebook, it could be Twitter, it could be TikTok, but making it a habit.
[00:00:46] Aaron: Having a system and a plan and a strategy. The other [00:00:50] thing we all get asked is, why are you so dedicated? Like, how come I see Dan's posts every Monday when I log into my LinkedIn? It's like clockwork. [00:01:00] I know it's there. And then people inevitably will DM you, Dan, and say, how do you do it? Like what's the, what's the engine run on in the system?
[00:01:08] Why Start Posting?
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[00:01:08] Aaron: So let's start with this question, [00:01:10] Dan. Why did you start posting regularly?
[00:01:17] Dan Yu @danoyu: I think it goes back to when I [00:01:20] was still on Wall Street. I was still on Wall Street and I was, uh, in a very, um, tiny [00:01:30] little part of Wall Street in, in equity trading. Um, and the part of equity trading was electronic trading. And so I was sharing things around [00:01:40] trends in the industry.
[00:01:41] Dan Yu @danoyu: E and at first I was just sharing it with my group with 30 people and they started sharing it with [00:01:50] other people. And this is via, you know, the days of email LinkedIn was very nascent. So, um, I. All of a sudden would [00:02:00] get responses saying, Hey, you know, can you share this to this email group? And I don't know how many people that are in the group, but all of a sudden I had a readership. And this was when I was at [00:02:10] Citi. And uh, within three months I had, you know, a few thousand people reading my stuff. thought you know what? I'm sharing it, you know, here, I might as well share it there too, [00:02:20] because I'm connected to a lot of people, people in the industry. So for me, originally it was just about giving back to the ether. Right. There was no rhyme or reason, [00:02:30] but what I, what I found was that people valued what they were receiving. Not necessarily what I was giving, but what they were receiving, [00:02:40] which was a little information and I'm, I'm just trying to give back to the, you know, give back to the industry. And so that kind of inspired me to continue on.[00:02:50]
[00:02:50] Aaron: Yeah. N is of the three of us, the OG LinkedIn poster, and probably done it the most, not only the longest, but John, [00:03:00] you've been doing it longer than I have and we've both probably waxed and waned in our cadence of posting. Same question to you. What, what brought you to post? 'cause I think a lot of people [00:03:10] think, oh, you want to be an influencer or get monetized or get a brand deal.
[00:03:14] John's Motivation
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[00:03:14] Aaron: That's why you would post. What's, what was your motivation when you started?
[00:03:18] John Lovig: when I first started [00:03:20] it was right out of graduate school or during graduate school, and it was, you know, so this is 16, 17 years ago. [00:03:30] Um, wow, that's scary to even think. and the idea behind LinkedIn at the time was it's a social network, right? And at that [00:03:40] time, older millennial, we were the only ones who got it understood.
[00:03:44] John Lovig: Social networks. So of course, kind trying to be compelling in a corporate world and [00:03:50] trying to differentiate myself compared to other people out there. And being an early adopter myself. I dove in and, uh, started posting content about things. [00:04:00] This was even before I was a recruiter. Then when I fell into recruiting, it became a natural place to post, especially around, um, particularly around jobs that I'm recruiting [00:04:10] for, career advice, advice, et cetera.
[00:04:13] John Lovig: Because that just grew, grew my, um, network even more through content.
[00:04:19] John Lovig: that's what really [00:04:20] did for me.
[00:04:21] Dan Yu @danoyu: about you Aaron
[00:04:22] Aaron's Origin Story
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[00:04:22] Aaron: Uh, 15, 16, 15, 16 years ago, I didn't even know what LinkedIn was. In fact, I did not have a LinkedIn account until I met [00:04:30] Dan, which depending on when you're listening to this episode, I think that was three years ago almost exactly. He was a guest speaker in a [00:04:40] leadership class that a colleague of mine said, Hey, I know a guy who'd be great to talk to your students.
[00:04:45] Aaron: And he's in there telling these high school students who haven't even graduated high school yet, that they should be [00:04:50] on LinkedIn, have a profile, start thinking about internships and making connections. And I just have always been that person, especially when I have a guest speaker. If you're good enough to talk [00:05:00] to my students, I'm taking notes and probably following the advice for myself, maybe even selfishly.
[00:05:05] Aaron: That's why I had you come talk. 'cause I just wanted to hear what you had to say. [00:05:10] Uh, which wasn't my motive at first, but maybe it turned into that later. I will never forget. I came home that night, it was in January in this exact [00:05:20] office, and I looked at my wife and I said, we need LinkedIn pages. And she looked at me like, why are you quitting your job?
[00:05:27] Aaron: Like, well, that's, it was a very abrupt thing. [00:05:30] And I said, no, I, I met this guy who's friends with my coworker. He is, uh, we kind of have a connection through his university, and he had all this great advice about. [00:05:40] Growing industries to get into, but the thing, as a teacher, I wasn't thinking about a, a career pivot.
[00:05:45] Aaron: It was just about having a LinkedIn profile, putting yourself out there, sharing, making connections, and. [00:05:50] I told her, I was like, I, I don't really know what I'm doing or what's gonna come of it, but I sat down in this office that night and I made a LinkedIn profile. I had no banner, I [00:06:00] had no posts, I had zero connections, and it took me a little while to get into it.
[00:06:05] Aaron: But a, a good friend of mine who was in my same industry, did a Zoom [00:06:10] with me that summer and he basically, we said, Hey, let's both get serious and kind of have this accountability buddy about you need to post regularly. And [00:06:20] of course the first person I connected with was Dan and I would see his content.
[00:06:23] Aaron: I still do, to this day, one of the first ones in my feed every day is a Dan Post, [00:06:30] and it was kinda like a little dose of, uh, a kick in the butt or, or a nudge that I should be doing things on LinkedIn. So just trying to make it a habit from there. But I, [00:06:40] I didn't even know what it was. I thought I'm an educator, like teachers and principals don't use LinkedIn, but I was wrong.
[00:06:46] John Lovig: And now look at you.
[00:06:49] Dan Yu @danoyu: you've where [00:06:50] you've
[00:06:51] Aaron: Yeah. Well, and actually maybe it was an advantage. There weren't a lot of teachers and principals on LinkedIn, but there was demand for content and [00:07:00] throwing a green screen selfie video up and getting a couple hundred thousand views in a day, I think that would be harder in sales accounting, uh, recruiting.
[00:07:09] Aaron: 'cause it. [00:07:10] Saturated. There's a lot of content from people around those topics, and when I started with AI and education, there just weren't that many people posting about it, which [00:07:20] is one of the things we talk about a lot is very few people on LinkedIn are posting regularly, many are logging in, scrolling, searching for jobs, but you go to their profile.
[00:07:29] Aaron: Last [00:07:30] post never, or 11 months ago.
[00:07:34] John Lovig: Yep.
[00:07:34] Building a Routine
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[00:07:34] Aaron: So that that brings us to this one habit [00:07:40] that you would recommend to our audience who says, okay, John, I wanna start posting regularly. What's the first thing that they need [00:07:50] to build a routine or a habit around? Especially 'cause you're the psychology expert on the show.
[00:07:56] John Lovig: Well, look, it's easy. You don't [00:08:00] have to, it's easy. I shouldn't say that, but you don't have to reinvent the wheel. You don't have to sit there and be, I'm gonna be a huge content expert and X, Y, Z and [00:08:10] I'm only gonna post around that. Um, if you're doing something that you like to do and you have ideas around it. Post about it. You know, [00:08:20] think of it as you're the newscaster of your life and something interesting happens that you think could resonate with other people on LinkedIn. So like one of the things that I will do is if [00:08:30] something interesting comes up in a candidate conversation of mine, I will write a short post about it and say, you know, I've been hearing X, Y, Z. Right. You don't have to go crazy and [00:08:40] any posting is better than no posting, as we all know. So even if it's not as regular as you'd like, start posting, you'll start to see more traction in your network.[00:08:50]
[00:08:53] Aaron: Yeah. So what about you, Dan? Somebody says, I'm on. LinkedIn, I have a profile. My goal is to be a [00:09:00] regular poster. Whatever that cadence means, what habit or routine should they start building in that will lead them to posting regularly?[00:09:10]
[00:09:13] Dan Yu @danoyu: there's gonna be some inertia. so taking that first step really and, um, and just, uh, [00:09:20] experimenting. Um, and having a little bit of empathy for yourself because if your, if your post is not good, [00:09:30] that's okay, because no one's gonna see it anyway. And so just have a little empathy for yourself.
[00:09:35] Dan Yu @danoyu: It's okay to have a, a post that has no reach, but once you get [00:09:40] better at it and start adding real value to, you know, to the universe, then you can start getting a little bit more in depth. Or [00:09:50] maybe a little more adventurous with, you know, with what you're posting about. and, uh, it could be just something that you use, right, that you do, [00:10:00] um, and you have a habit of doing.
[00:10:03] Dan Yu @danoyu: So talk about that habit that you think is a good habit. Um, I, I wrote an article a while ago about, uh, [00:10:10] the greatest email tool that, that, you know, we don't use enough and it's schedule sent. Right. And so people, I I, I think a lot of people [00:10:20] tend to write an email and then just say, I'm gonna just go send it right now. Well, what if you think of sending that email at four 30 on a Friday? that's probably [00:10:30] gonna get lost in a bunch of, you know, you know, junk that comes over the weekend. So why don't you just schedule send it for the next day, next business day, [00:10:40] 8:04 AM. Right. And I wrote an article about that. Um, what, what do you see as trends? Just talk about trends [00:10:50] more appropriately. We like to coach. People here between the three of us at Future-Proof You, we like to coach people to talk about the industries they'd like to go [00:11:00] to. So talk about the industries you'd like to go to. Maybe you wanna get into, uh, AI or cybersecurity or you know, [00:11:10] something, something completely different like elder care. about that. Say, wow, these are some interesting trends. What do you guys think? And then come back. will come [00:11:20] back is the responses. Right and engage with your audience. When you engage with your audience, you'll get a little bit of feedback and that'll continue your [00:11:30] momentum.
[00:11:31] John Lovig: Yeah, one of, one of my coachees was interested in a new field, and so they were taking [00:11:40] courses, so they talked about learnings from the course tagged the class or the name of the organization that the class was through, would get [00:11:50] some more views on their page because of it, and because it's a, a area that they're trying to move in. They also ended up getting more network connections of [00:12:00] people in that space. you start to build a cohort around you based on the content you're creating. Aaron, what about yourself?
[00:12:08] Idea Capture System
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[00:12:08] Aaron: Yeah, if I could only pick one, I [00:12:10] was just opening it. You need a home base for ideas. The. Medium for that. Me, it doesn't matter at all. It could be sticky notes on your [00:12:20] desk. It can be audio notes. You talk into your phone. It can be a whiteboard, it can be a Google Doc notion, file, whatever. Um, the one that I used was an Apple note, and it's not gonna focus on my [00:12:30] phone.
[00:12:30] Aaron: I can't tell you how many thousands of lines of ideas I had, many of which didn't actually turn into a post. The reason [00:12:40] why you need a home base for ideas is when you sit down and go, oh, I need to post. You're probably not gonna have readily available ideas, and [00:12:50] then you're gonna get frustrated, and then you're gonna hate it, and then you're gonna quit.
[00:12:54] Aaron: But most people will say, oh, when I got out of the shower, when I took the dog for the walk, [00:13:00] even just the lunch break, when I wasn't thinking about other things, an idea struck if you can just capture that in the lowest friction [00:13:10] way, talking into your phone or your computer, there's a million ways to do it.
[00:13:14] Aaron: Whatever's the easiest to just get some bullet points, some keywords down. Then when you [00:13:20] have time and you make it a ritual and a habit, go to that home base and go, oh, I have 12 things I jotted down this week. I'm gonna turn two of them into LinkedIn posts and [00:13:30] schedule them. When I tried to do, I did a TikTok a day for a year.
[00:13:35] Aaron: I thought, okay, you just sit down inspiration sparks, and you come up with a [00:13:40] great idea. You film a video and you get millions of views it, it never happens that way. And the ones that I think I tried to force always did the worst. And the [00:13:50] ones that were just an idea that I thought, all right, film it, post it, write it.
[00:13:54] Aaron: Always tend to do better anyways, but more importantly, it's more fun. And when you enjoy [00:14:00] the process, you will do it. 'cause you're gonna, you're gonna suck at posting. So if you don't enjoy building the post and writing it, editing it, you're definitely not [00:14:10] gonna stick to it.
[00:14:11] John Lovig: Yeah, I think that's a great idea too, because even when you're having a list of ideas, the first idea you have on the list might not [00:14:20] be the one you're gonna post about. You might scroll to something that just sparks a moment in your brain, right? Because you're not always on, you know, my most recent post was an article [00:14:30] that I came off of a meeting and just felt super inspired, sat down at lunchtime. Wrote a post, it took me no time at all. The only thing [00:14:40] I did was I did use, did use AI to come up with topics I might want to discuss within that post, but then I wrote everything myself. It's not like I [00:14:50] cribbed and actually it was about ai. So in the post I said, for full transparency, I used AI to come up with X, Y, Z.[00:15:00]
[00:15:01] Content Pillars
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[00:15:01] Aaron: Yeah, absolutely. Um, how about this? How about knowing what to post about, what to write topics. Some people call 'em [00:15:10] content pillars or themes. How did you guys find what those were for you? And then what lessons can we distill from that for our audience who's trying to make that [00:15:20] a a ha a habitual practice?
[00:15:22] Aaron: Dan?
[00:15:27] Dan Yu @danoyu: um, being in the recruiting and the [00:15:30] coaching industry, um, it really is, you know, all around an idea of service, right? And, and, and really trying to help people out. I had this, you know, own your [00:15:40] Open to Work series, and that was, you know, five posts and, but I, I actually made them articles. the purpose that they can be reused, right? So if they're ever, it's ever, if it's [00:15:50] evergreen content, then you know, I wanna save it as an article, right? Rather than a post. Because a post will just live in the feed and it'll go away. And so when you have it [00:16:00] as an article, you can, that's a different, uh, place to store.
[00:16:03] Dan Yu @danoyu: This is on LinkedIn, different place to store, and they're much more easy, easily accessible. [00:16:10] Um, another, uh, another pillar I would say is, you know, still career themed, but it's the pop culture [00:16:20] Friday. So I think on Fridays people are less, Less, uh, receptive to a very serious post. So I [00:16:30] make, you know, these kind of irreverent ish type posts on Friday.
[00:16:34] Pop Culture Friday
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[00:16:34] Dan Yu @danoyu: So pop culture Friday. And where do you see job and career pivots, [00:16:40] you know, in pop culture. And I wrote one about Tulsa King, you know, which is about a gangster who has to move to Tulsa. I've written one about, um, Kiwi Kwan who. You know, [00:16:50] had to figure out, oh, well, if the jobs aren't coming for him as an actor, he had to go reinvent himself and become an assistant director before he then went back into acting. And [00:17:00] so, know finding the themes. You know, in what I, in, in what I do, which is careers and, uh, and recruiting, [00:17:10] you know, that's, you know, that that's gonna help you know, my audience. That, that I feel, and I get a lot of good feedback and it's, it, it's, it's a lot of fun. You know, when, when you get to [00:17:20] talk about Ted Lasso and all the career pivots in Ted Las.
[00:17:26] Aaron: And so for me, the lesson there is Dan, as much as I [00:17:30] respect and and appreciate his friendship and camaraderie, he's not the expert career coach. He's not the expert on pop culture, but when he goes down a level [00:17:40] on both of those and combines them. On a lot of people's LinkedIn feed myself for sure. He's the career coach, pop culture combo guy.[00:17:50]
[00:17:50] Aaron: And it's easier to be that guy than the top level of any one thing, especially on a platform that's been around for a long time. And the other lesson is those are [00:18:00] two things you know and enjoy. And it's kind of like cooking. You're just combining ingredients in novel ways. Most people don't see pop culture at all on LinkedIn, but then you tie all the pop culture [00:18:10] references back to career pivots and the, the normal content you, uh, post about and it's a new twist on.
[00:18:18] Aaron: Your normal dish, it's like different [00:18:20] seasoning on the same grilled chicken, but it tastes totally different.
[00:18:26] Dan Yu @danoyu: all the career pivots that are in the Hallmark Christmas movies, which every [00:18:30] one of them is And so, know the, um, that was my, one of my all time best TikTok videos. So, you know, I, I, I [00:18:40] think having a different take and bringing some lightheartedness or some humor to it, I think it makes it easier to connect with an audience.
[00:18:49] Aaron: Yeah. John, how [00:18:50] about you? How'd you discover your content pillars or. What you talk about.
[00:18:54] John Lovig: mean, for me it's, it's a matter of, similar to what we've already said, what do I like [00:19:00] to talk about with other people? What do I feel I have expertise in? And then. Beyond that, then it's just [00:19:10] are there instances? What, what am I super engaged or intrigued by? And are there instances for me to get creative about it? You know, sometimes I'll wrap something, [00:19:20] uh, conceptually around, uh, an article or a post to make it more humorous or engaging. Easier to read, [00:19:30] lot of times I might even just be straightforward. I, the one thing I've noticed throughout is I've always adopted a tone of voice that's more conversational, I think people appreciate that [00:19:40] because don't, I can't tell you how many people reach out to me because of my. They'll say, oh, it's so refreshing to see. I'm also a sage old millennial. This is my [00:19:50] about me section. Uh, I do, you know, super into new stuff too, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Do remember the streetlights? Sometimes it's a salesperson, but sometimes it's [00:20:00] actually someone who, you know, wants to interact and, and network. So that's, I discovered it that way and I tried not to think about [00:20:10] what's gonna perform well. As much as it's nice to see things perform you never know. You know, there are certain articles I know will perform if I just [00:20:20] repost them and there's that. Ghost Job's one I wrote, I repost every year because it will always get at least some level of views. [00:20:30] So, yeah. What about
[00:20:31] Aaron: And yeah. One of the lessons there, and I learned this too, but John, you alluded to it, is you kinda have to give yourself permission to not be good. [00:20:40] Dan said, if your post doesn't do well, I'm gonna correct him. In my experience in every other person and brand I've worked with, it's when your post doesn't [00:20:50] do well.
[00:20:51] Aaron: Because even, even when you have an audience and you feel like you know what you're doing, if you post regularly, you will have posts that don't perform. So [00:21:00] instead of that, well, maybe someday, especially when you're new. The first LinkedIn article I wrote, I spent hours on and no one read it, and I wish someone would've shaken me and said, Aaron.
[00:21:09] Aaron: Just hit [00:21:10] publish, man. It doesn't matter. You, you need reps more than you need perfection. 'cause no one will read it no matter what you write, especially on the first few. [00:21:20] And I kind of had to learn you, you have to experiment. Um, and for me, I knew mine would be a combination of things that I did, [00:21:30] educational technology, ai, um, but there were ones I came.
[00:21:36] Aaron: Came upon mostly from nots, from [00:21:40] other people that would say, Hey, you should make a video about this. That turned into one of my main content pillars. I had multiple one to 3 million [00:21:50] view videos around a topic I didn't even know existed when I started making videos, and it was just because someone came to me with a suggestion.
[00:21:57] Aaron: They said, I love your stuff. I've seen [00:22:00] it. Hey, you should do a video about this, and that's one of the cool things that happens with social media when you post is you get feedback. Yeah. Some people will maybe [00:22:10] dunk on you in the comments or complain, which by the way, you tell yourself thanks for the engagement that pushed it to more people.
[00:22:15] Aaron: I appreciate you.
[00:22:19] Dan Yu @danoyu: [00:22:20] If you are not sure about what to post and you, and you're posting for a little bit and maybe things aren't working out so great, ask. You know, ask, [00:22:30] actually that's, that, that's something that maybe the three of us could do maybe over the next few days. Ask, put a poll up. Put a poll up or say, Hey, you know, I'm, I'm really interested [00:22:40] in these industries or these themes. What would you guys like to hear about? Right? And then just put a poll up on LinkedIn or whatever
[00:22:48] Dan Yu @danoyu: platform you're
[00:22:49] John Lovig: you, poll[00:22:50]
[00:22:50] John Lovig: polls get good engagement too. So
[00:22:53] Dan Yu @danoyu: So
[00:22:56] Dan Yu @danoyu: About asking for content to make content.[00:23:00]
[00:23:02] Aaron: There's Dan with the meta content. That's a, that's a bingo board if you're listening. That's somewhere on there.
[00:23:08] Friday Drink Recipes
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[00:23:08] John Lovig: You know, the other thing too is [00:23:10] like, don't be afraid to post things that might not necessarily even have a purpose, right? I mean, have some purpose. But for instance, back during COVID, [00:23:20] I used to post every Friday instead of like pop culture or anything, I would just post, uh, image
[00:23:26] John Lovig: with a drink recipe.
[00:23:28] John Lovig: Because everybody was home [00:23:30] alone or, or home with their families and people didn't know what to do. So I'd be like, here, here's your Friday night cap. Or uh, I called it like your Friday happy hour pick of the week or whatever. [00:23:40] And I have people to this day go, I miss your drink posts.
[00:23:45] John Lovig: But
[00:23:46] Dan Yu @danoyu: I
[00:23:46] Dan Yu @danoyu: remember those. I remember those.[00:23:50]
[00:23:50] John Lovig: I was, you know, it was when I was playing with Canva initially and I was like, oh, I can do these little drinky,
[00:23:56] John Lovig: And
[00:23:57] John Lovig: yeah.
[00:23:57] Dan Yu @danoyu: isn't it were [00:24:00] skills, right? Of like practicing on Canva and then like, you know, and then getting that cadence right, and then getting engagement out of it, right.
[00:24:08] Dan Yu @danoyu: So
[00:24:09] John Lovig: and by the way, [00:24:10] those posts had just as much, if not more engagement than a job post during the week.
[00:24:15] John Lovig: high engagement for a Friday.
[00:24:17] Dan Yu @danoyu: right[00:24:20]
[00:24:20] John Lovig: 'cause Friday's usually kind of quiet.
[00:24:22] Dan Yu @danoyu: Friday's usually kind yeah, and I mean, for, for the, for the New [00:24:30] Year's, I did a, you know, I did one on, uh, happy New Year, time for Change, right? New, you know, new me, new new year, new me, new career, whatever it is. [00:24:40] Right. And, uh, that got a ton of engagement, uh, for Thanksgiving. You know, I did one on planes, trains, and automobiles. Right? And
[00:24:49] John Lovig: No.
[00:24:49] Dan Yu @danoyu: are the, [00:24:50]
[00:24:50] Dan Yu @danoyu: you know these kinds of things. You know, they're
[00:24:52] Dan Yu @danoyu: hard if you, if you just don't think about it too much, right? As Aaron, right. You know, don't, you know, don't spend a lot of time writing it. Just write [00:25:00] it and publish. Just write it and publish. You wanna be BB plus and fast and just get it out the door.
[00:25:07] John Lovig: Yeah, think too, like for [00:25:10] instance, you know, one thing that we talked about a little bit earlier was you're gonna get posts that don't have engagement. But both of you I've heard, have experienced instances [00:25:20] where a piece of content you wrote a while back that never got any kind of traction
[00:25:25] John Lovig: nowhere, skyrockets.
[00:25:27] Dan Yu @danoyu: Right
[00:25:28] John Lovig: I've heard that from each of you having [00:25:30] something outta nowhere blow up. And it's so interesting to hear that. And I, I don't have maybe the same kind of, I don't post as nearly as much as either of you. If I [00:25:40] posted as much, maybe I would see that phenomenon, but I will see things like I still have people looking at my Thanksgiving post, [00:25:50] like, and it was happy Thanksgiving, right? So. Um, maybe that's actually a sign I need to post more. 'cause if that's one of my [00:26:00] top performers, I should have something else in the middle. But, uh,
[00:26:05] John Lovig: still
[00:26:07] Dan Yu @danoyu: I I would be encouraging to all, you
[00:26:09] Dan Yu @danoyu: audience [00:26:10] right? And we have classes around this type of stuff. I mean, we've, you know, we've, uh, actually just published all on our, uh, store page, right? The, if you go to [00:26:20] futureproof y.com. And go to our courses page, you'll see all of our courses that are there. We've scheduled for the next three months, a LinkedIn quick [00:26:30] start guide, right? So it's a little bit of a nudge. And these are live classes as well as our, uh, favorite, uh, John's favorite, the Ace the interview class. [00:26:40] Um, and then we also have our downloadables. And one of our downloadables is, uh, besides the AC interview or LinkedIn quickstart guide, which are available [00:26:50] for download at a lower price point.
[00:26:51] Dan Yu @danoyu: We also have networking at scale with content. So we're, the playbook is there for you to download, um, and [00:27:00] watch and, uh, you know, we appreciate all the business we've had over the past year and a half and, um. But we're, we're here to help you and we're passionate about helping you [00:27:10] on your career journey. So visit us at future proof y u.com.
[00:27:17] Platform Strategy
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[00:27:17] Aaron: Yeah, and then let's talk a little bit about [00:27:20] platform strategy. No matter which one you're on, no matter what year it is, these things are fundamental. One of the things I hear all the time is, okay, I [00:27:30] posted and it just didn't get reach. What I have learned through going through this process many times, not just with my own personal.
[00:27:37] Aaron: Channels on various platforms, but even with [00:27:40] companies that just start a LinkedIn page or a an X account, you first have to signal to the platform, Hey, there's a human on the other side of this account who's going [00:27:50] to do human things on the platform. So if all you do is log into LinkedIn and hit schedule posts once a week, you're not opening the app [00:28:00] or on your browser, you're not commenting, engaging, reposting, DMing.
[00:28:04] Aaron: You're not gonna get reach. Even if your content is good, it is not gonna get an [00:28:10] opportunity to be seen. So what I tell people, and I am doing this literally myself this last weekend, it was one of my experiments, was what if I spend a lot more [00:28:20] time commenting and replying than I do, staring at the screen, writing my own content, and LinkedIn is a great example of this.
[00:28:29] Aaron: The best [00:28:30] strategy I found when I got started. Yes, write your posts. Yes, make it consistent, but spend time in the comments and a sneaky strategy. I [00:28:40] know Dan has used this and teaches this as well. Find people who already have your audience and go into their comments and [00:28:50] just add value other than, that's cool.
[00:28:52] Aaron: Congrats on the job. Love this heart emoji. Whatever, something. Uh, you know, [00:29:00] one that I did, there was an influencer in my niche and it was nothing personal. I didn't really love some of his takes. I just started going in his comment section, knowing you get thousands of impressions[00:29:10]
[00:29:10] Aaron: would push back on stuff and say, what about this?
[00:29:12] Aaron: Or Have you tried that way, or, I disagree and here's why. Not in a, in a disrespectful way, in an authentic way. [00:29:20] And some of my first connections I made on the platform were from my responses to other people's posts, not my own.
[00:29:29] Dan Yu @danoyu: other [00:29:30] people's networks. Right. And so if you see somebody that, that you are connected to or you wanna connect to them, you can follow them, you can turn on the bell, on the [00:29:40] upper right hand part of their profile. And if you turn on the bell, you'll see their posts, you can prioritize their posts, and then when you engage with other people's posts, you [00:29:50] leverage their networks.
[00:29:51] Dan Yu @danoyu: So if you're. somebody, or you're, you're connected to somebody with 50,000 followers or a hundred thousand followers or a million of followers, you, and [00:30:00] you engage with real content, you will get engagement back guaranteed. It's actually what we call the most efficient way to scale, you know, [00:30:10] how you, you know, how you engage with content, so.
[00:30:15] John Lovig: Yeah. I, I, I think too, you know, another quick and [00:30:20] easy one that, uh, you know, shouldn't be a challenge for most people is to take content that you already, like, like an [00:30:30] article, it, add your comment, add your bullets of your takeaways. Um, you know, really quick, easy way that we tend to recommend. [00:30:40] You know, getting some quick traction, you're still putting your thought leadership out there, but it's in relationship to people, something people already wanna read. if you're one of the most engaged, it will [00:30:50] show up on the LinkedIn, uh, articles feed too. So, you know, just another thing, another tool in your tool belt.[00:31:00]
[00:31:01] Dan Yu @danoyu: Like what, like do you have any, um, publications that you'd like to.
[00:31:06] John Lovig: I tend to stick to, to what's on LinkedIn, what [00:31:10] LinkedIn's promoting, just because they don't love links outside
[00:31:14] John Lovig: of the app.
[00:31:17] Dan Yu @danoyu: Okay Aaron,
[00:31:19] External Links Strategy
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[00:31:19] Dan Yu @danoyu: do
[00:31:19] Aaron: [00:31:20] Yeah, and a good, my strategy with that, Dan, until LinkedIn changes this, which I hope they do any link offs off of LinkedIn in the [00:31:30] body of your post for at least the first four hours is gonna suppress your reach. So you can do what everyone does right now, which is. Hey, link in the comments. Uh, some people will go back and [00:31:40] edit a post and then put the link in the body after it's been out.
[00:31:43] Aaron: No one can say if that's really a thing, but I know some hardcore LinkedIn creators that believe in [00:31:50] that. What I like to do is screenshot it and put a screenshot. So say it's from, uh, an online publication. You can open that in your browser, [00:32:00] take a screenshot and even tag the Wall Street Journal or whoever the organization is in the body.
[00:32:05] Aaron: And paste in a picture of, you know, the cover article [00:32:10] or the graphic or the headline, and then you can still link it in the comments. But let's also be real. What percent of people see your post and then what percent of that percent will click through [00:32:20] to a an outside link? It's probably gonna be very small, so I think a screenshot is better than even messing with the link in a comment.
[00:32:29] Aaron: If I was only [00:32:30] gonna do one thing.
[00:32:31] John Lovig: Yeah, I think that's a great strategy.
[00:32:34] Aaron: The other one that Gary V taught me, this my best LinkedIn post of all time. Green. Screen [00:32:40] yourself over the top of it and John can testify to this psychologically. It gives this air of expertise. So there's the magazine or publication [00:32:50] article behind you and then your face is green screened on there and it's, let me tell you what this report means for marketers in 2026.
[00:32:57] Aaron: Let me break it down for you. And you [00:33:00] have the San Francisco Chronicle behind you or the Washington Post or whatever.
[00:33:04] John Lovig: it, it, it, it's because,
[00:33:06] John Lovig: it's because the person ties you with the source
[00:33:09] Dan Yu @danoyu: [00:33:10] yeah
[00:33:10] John Lovig: visually and then subconsciously.
[00:33:17] Dan Yu @danoyu: for, for our audience that may not know how to do that, how would you [00:33:20] green screen yourself in front of an article?
[00:33:24] Green Screen Technique
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[00:33:24] Aaron: So if you're gonna do this on your phone, I would open the piece of content you wanna offer commentary, [00:33:30] and I would screenshot it. And then I would open whatever app you record in. At this time I was doing everything in TikTok, and then I would take the video from my camera roll and put it to [00:33:40] LinkedIn and YouTube shorts.
[00:33:41] Aaron: Uh, TikTok is free and regardless of how you feel about privacy and data and the Chinese Communist Party and all of that, you [00:33:50] can just open an image from your camera roll and then. Film yourself and it green screens your background so you wouldn't see my bookshelf and my stalking. You would just see me [00:34:00] and any image from your camera will now be inserted as your background.
[00:34:04] Aaron: And all I did was screenshot three or four different things on my [00:34:10] phone and then I would green screen myself talking over them in one video. And I have no idea to this day why it didn't get great engagement, but it got. [00:34:20] Three quarters of a million views and it was just a green screen video of me offering commentary over the top of the content.
[00:34:27] Aaron: And that's, you can do it if you [00:34:30] want to download it to your computer and do it with Adobe Premier D Script, uh, you know, should probably plug them because they have a built in green screen tool and I do use it [00:34:40] for that. But there's lots of 'em. Cap cut on your phone can do it. Just ask people like, here's a really good way to get engagement in the comment section.
[00:34:47] Aaron: You'll see a video like that. Now that you're thinking of it, [00:34:50] comment, Hey, what did you use to film this? I'd love to see or DM them and say, I'd love to make videos like yours. That one was really cool. How'd you make it? And link that in a [00:35:00] dm. Most creators, if they manage their own inbox, we'll answer you and be happy to share.
[00:35:08] Aaron: And I, at least [00:35:10] I am. 'cause people love that. They're like, oh,
[00:35:13] Aaron: something. You don't. Let me help you, let me teach you something. And if it feels nice to get asked. So, [00:35:20] uh, parting Yeah, parting thought for the, I'm gonna make this.
[00:35:26] Parting Advice
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[00:35:26] Aaron: A habit. I'm gonna post content, I'm gonna have a system. I'm gonna overcome this inertia, as Dan calls it, of having the boulder has been collecting moss.
[00:35:35] Aaron: That is my LinkedIn profile, and now I'm trying to move it. Uh, and [00:35:40] as John has said, you know, just being authentic and talking about what you know, in novel ways, whether it's drink recipes, pop culture, [00:35:50] serious, funny, et cetera. What's, what's your parting advice for that person that's gonna make this a habit?
[00:35:55] Aaron: Dan?
[00:35:59] Dan Yu @danoyu: So at, [00:36:00] so you, you said have a repository, a place to put your ideas, and then, um, batch them together, right? So spend an hour [00:36:10] on a Sunday, right? You don't have to post every day. You schedule send, just like schedule, schedule, sending your emails, schedule post, you know, on LinkedIn, the, the [00:36:20] functionality's right there.
[00:36:20] Dan Yu @danoyu: And you can, I mean, I will create 10 posts. a Sunday in an hour, I'll just schedule 'em out [00:36:30] for the week, for the next 10 days. And, um, some of them are really, really simple. It's like a, a screenshot of a [00:36:40] cartoon that turns out to, to be a, uh, a post that gets 50,000 impressions. It's crazy. Like, and that's, and some of, [00:36:50] some of the really simple ones that I post that are, it's just a meme Uh, a quip, a, a, a quippy comment or, or, or quippy comment at the top from me. [00:37:00] That takes me a minute and a half, and then I'll post it on a Saturday and it'll get 50,000 impressions. Like, that's crazy, you, so you just don't [00:37:10] know. You know what, what'll work. So you just gotta keep, keep going, keep trying. So start
[00:37:17] Aaron: Yeah. John, what's your, what's your parting advice, [00:37:20] John?
[00:37:20] John Lovig: Yeah, if you're gonna do it regularly, some time to do it every week. Uh, and then also just don't overthink it.
[00:37:29] John Lovig: Keep it simple, [00:37:30] stupid.
[00:37:31] Aaron: Yep.
[00:37:32] Aaron: I'll give the advice I wish someone would've given me. View every piece of content as an experiment, and the platform is the laboratory. And [00:37:40] you're not gonna invent the light bulb on the first try. You're just gonna learn from it. So as long as you look at the analytics, the follow through, the comments, the experience of creating it, none [00:37:50] of them are final or fatal.
[00:37:52] Aaron: They're just little experiments and you gotta put 'em out into the lab to know if they're gonna work or not.
[00:37:58] Dan Yu @danoyu: Lovig.
[00:37:58] Aaron: uh, we appreciate [00:38:00] you listeners hanging with us, talking about content creation systems from three try hards on various platforms. We, we are future [00:38:10] proof you. This is the Go F Yourself podcast.
[00:38:14] Outro
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[00:38:14] Aaron: We want you to be able to take control of your career and, and not be afraid of AI and robots and [00:38:20] automation or being stuck in a career you hate. If you don't follow our company page on LinkedIn, it's future proof you, John Lovig is on there writing a lot about hiring [00:38:30] and what's changing in the recruiting space.
[00:38:33] Aaron: Dan is the career pivot expert and just a great encourager. I think he's coined that term self [00:38:40] empathy. Uh, and, and I just document what I do and I think if there was a, a camera crew following my day, what would I want to put out to the world? Like just the [00:38:50] other day, it was me fixing my printer. It's not sexy or flashy or anything, just trying to share experiences about technology and learning and in the world we live in, so.
[00:38:58] Aaron: Check out our website, [00:39:00] futureproof-you.com. There's live classes scheduled if you miss 'em or there's a lull, there's always a downloadable that's got the notes, the slides, and a [00:39:10] recording of a previous live class. And then tag us with your content when you start creating our personal handles or our company, and we will engage with [00:39:20] it.