Much like many people don’t know how to act around a cat, a lot of people dislike social media because they don’t understand how to engage with it.
They come at it aggressively, constantly shouting about their accomplishments or accosting new connections in their DMs, basically shouting “I DO THINGS! HIRE ME!!!”
Don’t have much experience with cats? Let me explain.
Want to boop the floof? You gotta have some CHILL, dude.
Many non-cat-savvy people see a cat, and attempt various things:
Petting
Touching the belleh
Chasing after the cat to catch it
Just generally being too forward with the cat who doesn’t know them yet
He’s paying attention, but he’s unconvinced
Cats are territorial and wary beasties. They must be coaxed. Lured.
The best way to get a cat’s interest is to pretend it doesn’t exist. Stop trying so hard. Play hard to get.
Do something that is interesting to the cat, but pretend they aren’t there.
Have a phone conversation with someone.
Record some time-sensitive voiceover auditions.
Cook dinner. Or lunch. Or just stand in the kitchen.
Sit down. Open your computer. Try to write a blog post.
Oh, look. It works. (That’s my cat Teddy helping me write this very blog post)
Many LinkedIn marketing courses are about making the connection and then being straightforward with your ask, and if that’s your method and it works for you, that’s fine.
(Personally I like to save my straightforward for my email marketing, because that’s more comfortable for me)
But HOW you go about the straightforward ask matters a LOT.
I’ve heard too many people lament on LinkedIn about how turned off they are by people who send a connection request just to immediately hit them with “I see you are a business owner—please hire me!”
That’s not even dog energy.
That’s 7-month-old Saint Bernard puppy meeting a hotdog vendor in a squirrel park energy.
The calm before the storm
You don’t want to be putting off that kind of desperate, drooling, over-enthusiasm, no matter how cute and fluffy you are.
Those of us who are cat people appreciate that we have to EARN a cat’s attention. And it’s the same as earning engagement on social media.
How to get a̶ ̶c̶a̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ social media engagement:
Persistence:
Don’t give up after one half-hearted attempt! It takes effort and time to make friends with a cat or get engagement on social media. Keep going.
Consistency:
Cats don’t trust you if you’re unpredictable. If one day you’re talking baby talk, and the next day you’re throwing a shoe at them, (BIG SURPRISE) they aren’t going to be so keen on getting close. Be predictable by being consistent.
On social media, this means posting regularly (daily is best) and also posting content that makes sense for your industry.
Care about what THEY care about:
The cat doesn’t give a shit about your latest accomplishments. Show them that you care about their needs.
Scratch them under the chin. (Like posts, comment)
Give them treats. (Endorse people, share job postings, send messages or helpful or entertaining content you think a connection might like)
If they don’t want to be held, then put them down!
Be interesting:
Cats are curious. Do something interesting, and they’re going to pay attention. On social media this CAN mean sharing accomplishments, but more often it means sharing ideas in your own words.
And be interested:
People who TRULY ignore cats can’t sustain a cat’s attention. The cat will get bored and move on.
If you feel awkward and don’t know how to interact with new connections, the best thing to do is to be curious—ask the person questions about themself, their experiences, and their business. The questions don’t have to be deep either, just genuine and sincere.
Today, I reached out to a fellow voice actor whose name I kept seeing all over the place because I wanted to know how to pronounce it—It was bugging me that I didn’t know! It can be that simple. (Thanks for clearing that up, Mark Harrietha!)
Personalize:
My cat loves belly rubs. If I even got six inches from my boyfriend’s cat’s stomach, I’d probably lose my face. Cats have different personalities and likes.
Just like each cat is different, each new connection is different and every social media channel is different, so make sure you’re reading the room.
Also, be aware that the algorithm of Instagram is going to favor different things than the algorithm on LinkedIn, so don’t try to treat them the same. If you want to attempt to use a few different platforms for engagement, it’s worth learning the basics of how to make the effort worthwhile.
Don’t let unpredictability drive you crazy:
Cats and social media engagement are both sometimes inexplicable. They act predictably…until they don’t. Don’t let it get to you.
My cat frequently will stop liking a food or toy he previously loved. That doesn’t mean I stop giving him food or toys! A post I made the other day only got 8 views and zero comments. I’m going to delete it and repost it at a different time of day. Experiment with new things, make adjustments, and see what works.
Was this whole blog post just an excuse to share cat photos? Maybe…
Before we go, I’d like to share a few resources with you, including one I just learned about:
The LinkedIn Social Selling Index
Thanks to Jay at Gravy for the Brain for this amazing knowledge! I have taken two other LinkedIn courses that never mentioned the SSI.
Recently, I took the three free LinkedIn courses through the Actors Fund, and I HIGHLY recommend them…did I mention they’re FREE to anyone in the entertainment industry?? Seriously. Free.
And they have all sorts of other free classes and resources available as well. It’s CRIMINAL that so many actors haven’t ever heard of them!
So, after Jay mentioned the SSI, I went and checked it out…and I’m at a 76 out of 100, which puts me in the top 1% of people in my industry and in my network.
That’s pretty cool, but I wish I knew what my score was before I did the Actors Fund LinkedIn Challenge, because I will bet you that it was nowhere near that. And I will also bet that that challenge is what led to one of my posts getting almost 6000 views this week.
But how do you increase your SSI? This site has some tips that I found really helpful. But I think the LinkedIn Challenge was really a great way to boost my engagement and develop the habits of attending to LinkedIn regularly.
So, if you want to improve your LinkedIn engagement:
Check your LinkedIn SSI score.
Sign up for the free classes at the Actors Fund.
Check out this other site that gives more details on increasing your SSI
Check out Gravy for the Brain if you haven’t already—they’re great people with awesome resources.
And pet a cat.
Just stay away from the belleh for your own safety…