0:08

Rachael Botfield: Hi, and welcome to podcasting one on one with Rachel.

0:12

This podcast is for busy female entrepreneurs who run their own

0:15

businesses and want to start a podcast or who may already have a podcast.

0:20

I want to share practical information and tips on how you can get your podcast

0:25

started and managing it along the way.

0:27

I'll also be interviewing other female podcast hosts to give you

0:30

real insight into what it's like. Have Hey

0:44

everyone, and welcome to the second episode of season three and I have the

0:51

wonderful Elaine Walsh McGrath with me.

0:54

Elaine is a LinkedIn expert.

0:57

She helps her clients land more clients by showing them how to improve

1:00

their B2B marketing on LinkedIn. So they can generate more high quality leads for their business.

1:06

And she is just a wonderful human being. I always have such great conversations with you, Elaine.

1:10

Come away laughing. So I'm very, very pleased to have you and sharing your expertise on the show.

1:16

So welcome. Oh, Elaine Walsh-McGrath: thank you so much for having me, Rachel.

1:20

It's so funny. Like. Do you know when people tell you you're really fun that you're, you

1:25

kind of go, Oh God, like, is that okay?

1:28

You know, but yeah, it is. It comes up a lot, you know, Oh, Elaine, you make LinkedIn fun.

1:33

And it's like, gosh, You absolutely do.

1:36

I'll take Rachael Botfield: that.

1:39

Yeah. Well, when you, you did your time recording the masterclass you

1:43

always, I've been, that's the second one that I've been to.

1:46

And you do make it fun. And I like your sharing and then you're not sharing.

1:50

You shared it. I really like that. And I think you do keep people engaged.

1:54

There's a lot of chat people putting things in the chat as well,

1:57

because I know sometimes it can be difficult to get that engagement.

2:00

When you're doing those kinds of sessions, so yeah, it's a great testament

2:05

to your, your style of just generally being fun and making things fun.

2:10

Elaine Walsh-McGrath: My mum will be so delighted that the, the money

2:13

that she spent on speech and drama when I was six was well spent.

2:21

Rachael Botfield: Absolutely. You can, you can see that shining through from your six year old self.

2:27

Elaine Walsh-McGrath: It stood, it stood, it stood to me, you know, like.

2:32

Rachael Botfield: Absolutely. So why don't you tell us a little bit more about what you do and obviously

2:36

focusing on LinkedIn, which for all of our listeners here, I think is a really

2:40

important tool to use for their business.

2:43

LinkedIn isn't the place that, you know, I once thought it was when I first

2:47

started, it's just a place to have your CV and be very, I dunno, very corporate.

2:52

That's my impression of LinkedIn. When I first kind of really Join the online world.

2:58

And it's just not like that at all. And I found it.

3:01

In fact, I focus all my marketing efforts on LinkedIn now, rather

3:04

than kind of getting caught up with Facebook and Instagram as well, which

3:07

I know are very, very valuable tools. But for me, LinkedIn seems to be the best place.

3:11

So that is why I wanted to get your. Here to share your tips.

3:15

So how did you, I know you've got lots of marketing experience.

3:17

How did you get around to kind of niche you down to LinkedIn?

3:21

Elaine Walsh-McGrath: Well, here's the thing. I used LinkedIn for years.

3:25

So rewind the clock, not quite as far back as when I was six because

3:30

the internet didn't exist then. Anyhow, Yeah, like I worked in advertising for donkey's years.

3:36

And we started using LinkedIn, like probably back in like 2008, 2009 to like,

3:44

just see like, like what our clients were doing, like, Starting to kind of

3:48

do some outreach to them at that stage.

3:51

Fast forward to me working as a Client Services Director for a digital agency.

3:57

I was using LinkedIn to help them to build awareness of the awards that

4:02

we were winning and to gain clients.

4:06

So I've been using it that long. But, you know, I think that in actual fact it is so much It's richer now,

4:14

you know, I think, thankfully, like the rest of the world, we have a broader a

4:21

more inclusive idea of professionalism and what it means to be a professional.

4:27

And I am glad when I see that be represented on LinkedIn, you know,

4:34

so, so kind of long story short, obviously, 10 years ago, working as

4:39

a client service director, I used it. Then in 2017, I had my little lady, Shifra, and she had a

4:46

diagnosis of Down syndrome. So I was, you know, after my, like, pretend maternity

4:53

leave, sure I was a consultant. So like, maternity leave, what's that, you know?

4:57

But when I decided, oh, I better go back to work, I was like,

5:01

okay, what am I going to do? You know? And I went on a journey of figuring out, okay, how can I use the 25

5:09

years of marketing skills that I have in a way that helps others?

5:15

Because I had a huge reawakening when I had Chiefra of

5:19

wanting to help more people. And like, I loved working in advertising.

5:25

I loved the creativity of it. I loved the fun of us, but just the container in which I delivered

5:31

it just didn't work for me. So so I, I, I started helping people with their marketing.

5:37

I started helping coaching service based businesses and coaches in their marketing.

5:43

But, but I just came back to LinkedIn because I found.

5:47

That some of the other platforms, they change so much, like

5:50

honestly, sometimes week to week. And for, for service based businesses, for coaches, I just find sometimes they

5:59

were tired of like dancing around and pointing at screens, you know, or, you

6:03

know, they just didn't seem right to them.

6:05

And what I found and I loved about LinkedIn was that people

6:08

are open to doing business, you know, like they're more commercial.

6:13

I'm sure there's commerciality on all the other platforms, don't get me wrong, but

6:18

Like that business to business environment is clearly there on LinkedIn, and I think

6:24

that well, I've seen it with my clients. Like, they thrive on LinkedIn.

6:27

They feel that they can be genuinely both themselves, which

6:31

is, is the departure, I think.

6:34

But also that they can be open about the fact that they're there for business,

6:38

you know, and that's what I love.

6:41

It's not just a CV thing anymore.

6:43

And certainly that's one of the things that I'd love to talk to you about when

6:48

it comes to sharing some essential tips around how you can differentiate between

6:56

maybe the LinkedIn that you used to find a job, if that was where you were at.

7:01

And let's say you've left the corporate world and.

7:05

You're now going, okay, I either want to like use the, my corporate skills in, in

7:11

a consultancy way, or perhaps you're going for a complete change into like coaching

7:17

or something completely different. It is, it is possible to use LinkedIn to find clients, but you've just

7:23

got to do it in a certain way. Rachael Botfield: Yeah.

7:26

I had the same impression when I started. Like I just said before, of using LinkedIn in that way.

7:32

And I think to a sense, some, like you say, people coming from that corporate

7:35

world into the online space, it's a bit of a shock that it's perhaps not that way.

7:42

And there is a bit of a learning curve, I think with.

7:45

I mean, any social media when you're looking at it from a different

7:47

perspective as a business owner. And I know that pretty much most of the listeners here have their,

7:53

or want to do, either want to do a podcast for their business or

7:57

have a podcast for their business. And LinkedIn.

8:01

You may already use LinkedIn, and I think, like you say, it's open for

8:04

professionals, everyone is there. Yes, we wanna make connections.

8:07

Yes, we wanna build those relationships, but we are there

8:09

ultimately for our businesses and to help other people out there.

8:14

And I feel like maybe Instagram hasn't got the same kind of vibe,

8:19

but that, that might just be me. But I know, I know that people use Instagram as well, but I, I feel for me

8:26

and my business, it's, it's a much better.

8:29

Much better platform. And so, yes, I wanted you to, to share some tips for the listeners,

8:34

for everybody out there and to help really know what you can do.

8:40

So we all want to promote our podcast and market our business.

8:43

Obviously your podcast is part of your marketing for your whole business and

8:47

the things that you can do to help.

8:50

Increase your visibility and to get eyes on to your business

8:53

and your, and your podcast. I know we've been through these tips and you've got some great

8:58

ideas here for people, so I'll let you, let you take it away.

9:01

Elaine Walsh-McGrath: No problem at all. Well, listen, the first thing I suppose that we've just touched

9:06

on is the fact that perhaps when you came to LinkedIn originally.

9:13

Or when you've talked to other people about LinkedIn, you've

9:17

considered it to be used like a job interview kind of platform.

9:22

But when you're filling out your profile and your headline as a

9:27

business, you need to approach it in a completely different way.

9:31

So when you want to make sure that you are promoting your podcast, and I know

9:38

this might seem really obvious and basic.

9:42

But you need to make sure that you put podcasts in your headline, right?

9:45

Because The first tip that I have for you is to create like what I call a show

9:51

stopping headline because that follows you the whole way around LinkedIn's

9:57

every time you comment, it just pops up like not just your name, but the

10:01

first few words of your headline.

10:04

So whatever your podcast is about, whatever your business is about, you

10:08

need to make sure that the result for your client is the first thing.

10:14

Those first few letters, that big results that you deliver has to be

10:18

those first few words and make sure that you've got podcaster in there.

10:23

And make sure that you've got it in your about section as well because

10:27

people are searching on LinkedIn and some of my clients, one of my clients

10:31

is a presentation skills trainer. She gets loads of requests for proposals and she gets loads of business from

10:40

LinkedIn because people search. So you've got to make sure that instead of what you used to do,

10:47

if that was you, if you were in corporate, you need to make sure that

10:51

you don't just have something like. account director or like just watch out for something that's too generic.

10:59

At the same time, don't go, don't go too far into super duper creativity.

11:07

Because. It's got to be what people search for.

11:10

So it's got to kind of straddle both, you know, so really focus the first thing that

11:16

everybody should do when they're thinking about being on LinkedIn or even if they've

11:20

been on LinkedIn for a while and maybe not working for them is get on your profile.

11:28

And think about it from your client's perspective and your

11:33

listener's perspective and make sure that it speaks to them.

11:37

Rachael Botfield: What you write in your about section is picked up, isn't

11:40

it, when, when you search for things. So having those kind of key words in there, and I know the term kind of

11:48

keywords is bandied around quite a lot.

11:50

And it's always like, well, what keywords? And it's sometimes it can be hard to think of them.

11:55

But like you say, putting your. self in your, in the mind of your ideal listener, your ideal client, and think,

12:03

so when they land on your page or when they're searching, you'll, you will

12:06

be pulled up as something that they would be interested in and looking at.

12:10

Cause that's kind of like quite disappointing if you're looking

12:14

for somebody and you find them and you go there and you can't

12:16

quite find the information. You think, Oh, okay, maybe I was wrong.

12:19

Maybe they didn't do that. Or maybe they don't have a podcast. So I have a couple of actual people that I've landed on, but I know if

12:25

I had a podcast or someone has said that I couldn't find the link to it,

12:29

I couldn't see anything anywhere. It's like, how do I get to that?

12:34

Cause some that might stop somebody. I was like, well, I ended up going to their website and doing it that

12:38

way, but to make it as easy as possible is least clink clicks.

12:41

Cause I know there's the what's that section, the featured section, like

12:45

using, using that section as well.

12:48

So make it as easy as possible for somebody to, you know,

12:51

know everything about you. Elaine Walsh-McGrath: Totally.

12:53

Totally, Rachel. Like, here's the thing, right, again, so I know I'm speaking a lot to people who

12:59

might have tried it years ago and come back, so excuse me for anybody who's just

13:03

starting, so please forgive me, but like, but like sometimes people when they start

13:10

out, they just they sign up to stuff and they're in their first job and maybe

13:14

that's when they started using LinkedIn. They put in like their hotmail address and like, it like.

13:19

Maybe they don't even check that anymore.

13:22

Like it's those things that are stopping you from getting business.

13:25

Like it's the basics. It's getting your headline right.

13:29

Check that your contact info is right.

13:31

Then of course, like if you've got a podcast that you're using to

13:35

promote your business, then fine.

13:38

What I always say is this is my way of doing about sections.

13:43

Okay. Start with a situation at the top of your about section that

13:48

people can go as a client.

13:50

Oh, yes. Gosh, that person, that is the problem that I'm struggling with.

13:55

Like open up maybe with a question or like a moment.

13:58

Oh, this person gets me. Then work your keywords in and work your experience in.

14:05

And then. Mention your podcast or mention, like, so for example, I often say, or I do

14:11

say in my about section, like, these are the ways that you can work with me.

14:15

And if you are in a place where you just want to hang out on my list, that's fine.

14:21

Here's a webinar you could watch. Here's, here's a, my checklist, you know and you can put, here's my podcast.

14:29

Now, here's the thing. Those links aren't clickable in your about section.

14:34

So it has to be a really simple link that somebody could write out.

14:39

So it would have to be something like elainewelsonabroad.

14:42

com backslash podcast. It would have to be something they could easily type out.

14:46

But as you say, if you have a creator account, so it can't

14:52

be your, your ordinary account. It has to be a creator account.

14:56

Then you have the option of having featured content on your about section.

15:01

So if you've got a podcast, you are a creator, you should have

15:05

You should have that selected. So make sure that you do that.

15:09

And also know that I believe that LinkedIn are going to flip soon for everyone

15:14

having creator profiles and then for the standard profile for you to actually

15:19

have to change it back to the other one. Rachael Botfield: I had heard something about that as well.

15:23

I mean, I've had a creator profile for a while. Elaine Walsh-McGrath: Yeah, me too.

15:26

Me too. And, but when I thought about it again from the other side, cause I was

15:31

doing I was doing like pros and cons.

15:34

Some of the, the, the pros of having the other one is that the initial

15:39

button rather than be follow is connect.

15:42

So if you're a person who doesn't really do any content, you're better

15:46

off without a creator profile.

15:48

You're better off having like an amazing headline.

15:51

an amazing about section and like if you're not creating then yeah just just

15:57

keep keep the other one but largely like honestly I don't know why you wouldn't

16:03

be creating content to be honest. Rachael Botfield: Absolutely because you wouldn't if you're If you have a

16:08

podcast for your business and you're not creating content, there's kind

16:11

of a bit of a missing link there. It's part of, you know, a big part.

16:15

Obviously you have to do the content and you have to create the content yourself,

16:19

get everything edited to go out there. But like a crucial last step is promoting your podcast and making

16:26

sure that everybody knows about it.

16:28

The next door neighbor, your mom. People used to work with, everybody knows about your podcast and that is

16:35

an important, a very important part because you are creating all this stuff

16:40

and you should be putting it out there.

16:42

Look, don't be shy about, you know, putting it out there.

16:45

Oh listen, I Elaine Walsh-McGrath: completely agree. And, and if you think about it, like the democratization of media, it like

16:54

has allowed people like you and I.

16:57

To have a voice to have a platform and so I started off my working life

17:03

in media where I was a TV buyer and like it costs thousands, sometimes

17:08

millions to have a TV campaign, it costs thousands to have a radio

17:13

campaign, whereas like the, you know.

17:17

Like, if you have a business, you've got to create content, you, you

17:21

have to, you have to prioritize it. It's especially if you want to scale you have to be able to have someone

17:29

sending marketing messages to your audience when like you're doing

17:33

other things, you know, because otherwise you're missing a trick, you

17:36

know. Rachael Botfield: Absolutely. I think it's a great place.

17:40

With, I mean, I know social media can be hard sometimes and it's hard to

17:45

show up, but for small business owners like us and, and like my listeners

17:51

or like you guys who were listening. It's such a great opportunity to have this space where it is essentially free apart

17:58

from your time to, to promote yourself and market yourself out there and what, and

18:03

the content and the people that you can reach is, you know, not like you could.

18:09

Even 10 years ago. Elaine Walsh-McGrath: Exactly.

18:12

And so that brings me neatly to another tip, actually, which is

18:16

the content can be super easy.

18:18

Like it really can. And like in podcasts on LinkedIn, you've got like a beautiful

18:23

marriage, a beautiful marriage.

18:27

Okay. Because essentially you need to have one algorithmic platform.

18:32

What do I mean by that? I mean that. , it's not necessarily searchable, okay, in terms of the content.

18:38

It comes out depending on the algorithm.

18:41

You see it depending on LinkedIn's algorithm.

18:44

Same thing, Instagram, Facebook, they're all algorithmic platforms, TikTok to an

18:50

extent, but it's moving towards search.

18:53

Podcasts are searchable.

18:56

They're evergreen. And so that should be your second, equal second, might I add, choice.

19:03

So you've got to have, if you want to have like a well balanced content

19:07

strategy, it's got to have like an algorithm platform, such as LinkedIn and

19:12

an evergreen platform, such as a podcast.

19:15

Okay. Obviously you can have a blog or YouTube as well, but like

19:18

podcasts are so flipping easy. Now within that, you've got to have just three pillars in your content.

19:25

So this is what I talk to is my tip number two for LinkedIn.

19:29

Stop being so transactional in your content.

19:34

Okay. Yes, LinkedIn is commercial.

19:37

Yes. Everyone wants to hear what you have to sell, but they only want to

19:41

know if it works for them, if it's going to make their lives better.

19:48

So just be aware of putting too much content out there that is self serving.

19:54

So as much as. LinkedIn is a more commercial environment.

19:58

People are, are using a part of their brain when they're scrolling

20:02

that is quite switched off. So you need to make it really easy for people to recognize as

20:08

they scroll that this is for them. So I always say three pillars, just for three pillars break it down to that.

20:15

Make sure pillar one is all about like, Really, their desires, their wants,

20:21

what they want to achieve in life.

20:23

It's really all about them. 100%.

20:27

Number two is your conversion pillar, which is actually about what you

20:33

sell, but only if it helps them and they're in the market for it.

20:38

And the number three is actually about you and your value sets and you know, why

20:43

you do what you do either as a business, as an organization or as a person.

20:48

They should be your three pillars. And you know, so even when you're planning your podcast with somebody like Rachel.

20:55

You've got to be thinking, okay, well, how can I, you know, balance that out?

21:01

And so maybe your, maybe all your podcast is going to be in either pillar two or

21:07

three in terms of conversion or values.

21:11

Well, then you've got to think from a LinkedIn algorithm perspective.

21:15

What's your your reach one going to be until just make sure

21:19

that it's well balanced out. Yeah.

21:22

Rachael Botfield: I think that some podcasts and marketing I've seen mostly

21:26

from men, really, this is me on a podcast.

21:30

Listen to me on a podcast, like same as if you would say for

21:34

your business, this is me coming. You know, we all have a similar type of place, but that was like

21:39

trying to make when you're talking about your podcast showing.

21:44

your ideal listener, you know, what benefit, what value you

21:48

are adding to their lives with listening to your podcast.

21:51

So I, for example, try to pick out some key takeaways that

21:56

I know that my audience will. But really this is, you know, key information for them or sharing a

22:03

funny anecdote about something that happened in during the interview or

22:07

something that I've learned and I do learn in every guest I have, you're

22:10

so knowledgeable about LinkedIn. I'm already thinking about revamping my headline of my about sector thinking,

22:16

Oh, I haven't checked it out for a while.

22:19

So I think that those things you can keep coming back to and keep refining,

22:24

but Trying to think a little bit outside of the box and making sure you aren't

22:28

just kind of talking about yourself. You're talking about, even though your podcast is by you, you're the benefits

22:35

that you're bringing and the value that you're adding to, to, to them.

22:39

Elaine Walsh-McGrath: Well, and here's what you're going to love. Tip number three, because, and I know everyone who's listening is going to

22:50

be like, woohoo, because, fine, you're going to share your podcast grand.

22:56

Okay. Then this counts as content on LinkedIn.

23:01

The thing that I'm just about to tell you counts as content.

23:04

It will actually raise your visibility is commenting.

23:09

Insightfully with kindness and love on other people's posts,

23:13

like that actually counts, right? Because remember what I said in tip number one, that was all about your headline.

23:20

So now imagine you're going to someone who is category adjacent.

23:25

So like Rachel might come over and see something that I post

23:29

and like we're category adjacent.

23:31

We work in marketing. But I'm not working in the same space in terms of the podcast

23:37

space as Rachel and vice versa.

23:40

So we can both comment on each other's posts and reach new

23:45

audience just by commenting. I mean, honestly.

23:48

So that way. Frickin love.

23:51

And also the other thing I love is let's say I shared Rachel's post

23:55

where let's say I share for me, for example, people who I love to hang

24:01

out with on LinkedIn are copywriters.

24:03

I always learn so much or graphic designers or, you know, people like that.

24:09

They just make me think about things in a different way or like photographers.

24:14

And so quite often I will share their posts.

24:17

So not only am I getting. You know, they appreciate it because I would appreciate

24:22

anybody who shared my post. So you get their love, but also you get access to so many more

24:29

eyeballs and you're just sharing.

24:32

Like that could be like one of your three posts a week, just

24:35

sharing somebody else's post. Now you can't just go share.

24:39

You've got to have a perspective. So you have to go, you know, Gosh, what Chase Dimmond said here is so

24:48

insightful because he says that like, you know, it should be human to human

24:53

marketing, not B2B marketing, you know, so change out your letters.

24:57

You've got to, you've got to explain it.

25:00

But Transcribed Still, come on now, you're not doing anything.

25:03

You're not like, I mean, yeah, you have to think and write a

25:06

little bit, but that's easy. So that is my other big tip is, in terms of making it easy, is share and show

25:16

love to people who are category adjacent and just think about it in real life.

25:20

Like if somebody says to you, gosh, Like if someone refers you or

25:26

recommends you, don't you love it? Like you love it.

25:29

Rachael Botfield: Oh, absolutely. I absolutely love it.

25:31

I love it when people comment on my posts.

25:34

It's like, yeah, I, yeah, it's a lovely feeling.

25:38

It's nice. I think that is definitely, I mean, some people's LinkedIn strategies, often if

25:44

they don't create anything is to, they just comment, go to other people's,

25:49

you know, they seek out the comments and that could give you just as good

25:52

engagement as if you were creating your own because you know, you are contributing

25:58

to the platform you are seeking out.

26:00

Other people that are your peers or people that are, are your ideal clients.

26:04

And like you say, your headline follows you around everywhere.

26:07

And, you know, it could be a great opportunity. It's a great opportunity then for people then to be coming back

26:12

and seeing, so I know one tip.

26:14

Who is it? Haley Hudson. Mark, one of my best is is a VA and she's the most awesome VA and talking about

26:21

looking at, so finding some people that are, you know, maybe your ideal client

26:25

and looking in the comments and seeing what other people are saying and thinking,

26:29

actually, could I join that conversation? Could I, would this person, Oh, this person looks like, you know,

26:34

we could look at their content and it's just like another way to kind

26:37

of spread out your network as well. And that could again, help you reach people that you may not have reached.

26:43

And, and commenting in that way.

26:45

So that's a great tip. Yeah, Elaine Walsh-McGrath: exactly.

26:47

Right. My other tip number four is about daily life.

26:52

So just work your content, like show people what you do.

26:58

Like, what, what life means to you, like and that comes back to what we

27:04

were talking about at the top of the of this episode is just about like being

27:10

yourself on LinkedIn, you know, and that it has changed, you know, it's not like,

27:17

here is this five page report anymore.

27:21

Like, sure. That's useful. That's useful.

27:23

But like, It's to an extent, it's not going to bring, it's not going

27:28

to convert many sales, I don't think.

27:30

You know, it might, it might identify you as being credible and having

27:34

authority, but people actually want to see your process, not like in a graph

27:40

or an infographic for the love of God.

27:43

They just want to see you actually like living your.

27:48

Framework, you know, they want to see you like filling in your spreadsheet,

27:53

or they want to see you like the books that you read or that you would

27:57

recommend, like, or they want to see you like one, one of my most popular

28:02

posts has been me greeting your clients.

28:05

Well, I just literally put up a a camera stand.

28:08

And I just filmed myself genuinely greeting one of my new clients and

28:12

obviously cut out all the audio and cut it down and put it with a good tune.

28:19

But like, you know, like it's, it's that B roll footage that people want to see.

28:25

They want to see an insight into.

28:28

Like what it is like to work with you.

28:31

So you know, or what your podcast is about, or, you know, they just

28:36

want to see another aspect of you.

28:39

So just do what you're already doing, like film your process, you know?

28:45

Yeah. Rachael Botfield: I think on authenticity, you want that to come

28:49

across in your podcast as well. And we've talked about this with different guests as well, you know, being yourself.

28:55

And if perhaps you're finding it difficult on social media, like if you're not.

28:59

Kind of being yourself on LinkedIn, say, but then you are on your

29:03

podcast, the kind of two don't match.

29:06

So it's making sure that you're trying, you know, you're being yourself.

29:10

through everything that you're doing with your business, your marketing, you know,

29:13

your podcast is part of that marketing. And I, I mean, this is what I think makes podcasting really powerful as

29:19

well, is that you are giving people that precursor as well to what you're

29:24

like, especially if you're a coach, you're showing your personality, you're

29:28

showing, you're sharing your knowledge. And I know I've spoken to a couple of the coaches that have podcasts for

29:33

their business, and it is, it can help be a decider for someone wanting to.

29:37

to work with you because they can hear your voice.

29:39

They know what you're like, and they know whether they would get on

29:41

with you or not, if the case may be.

29:44

And then if you're, whatever you're doing on LinkedIn is just

29:47

kind of like backing that up. They're both kind of like two pieces you can use together for your

29:52

marketing, for everyone to get to know.

29:55

And also, like you say, B Roll, doing a podcast, I mean, I don't really

29:59

do enough of this, like recording. Recording myself doing a podcast or doing editing.

30:04

I did do some videos of editing, but that could be a great addition to

30:08

your content and showing you creating your podcast, coming up with ideas

30:12

that does make great information.

30:14

And like with this podcast, you know, I have female podcast hosts that come on.

30:19

and talk about their insights and everything like that.

30:21

So those are really valuable information for other people

30:24

out there that are like you. So having that out there would also help connect you in a community

30:29

with other female business owners that have that podcast as well.

30:33

So that, you know, just increases, you know, your network and your

30:37

connections and everything. Elaine Walsh-McGrath: Honestly, a hundred percent.

30:40

And then here's the thing, like with podcasts, you could always do like the

30:43

bits that didn't make it into the episode.

30:46

You know what I mean? Oh, Rachael Botfield: for my client, I do for Hannah.

30:50

And she had when she used to have a co host when they first started and

30:53

they always used to go, hello, Rachel. We had a whole video of like, love moments to my podcast.

30:59

And I was like, Oh my God, I absolutely love this.

31:02

I edited it together. I was like, this feels a bit self serving, but I loved it.

31:07

I love, and I loved listening to the episodes when I was editing

31:09

it and they'd always say a little hello to me and, and they had some

31:11

bloopers and things like that. So we, that was a really fun thing.

31:15

And they, and, and their messaging for their podcast as well, because it's

31:19

all about showing up solo, which is the name of the podcast and being yourself.

31:23

And, you know, They can do this.

31:26

And if you make mistakes, you know, we don't cut a lot out.

31:29

It's very raw. And Hannah's just such a pro in it, though.

31:33

It's, you know, if they can do it, you can do it as well.

31:36

And showing that human side of them and that that part of this is

31:40

what it is being a business owner. You know, it isn't about being perfect.

31:43

It's about being you and embracing that and bringing that in in a

31:46

way that you may not have been able to do in your corporate.

31:50

Yeah. Employed Elaine Walsh-McGrath: role. Yeah.

31:52

And this is it. You've got to throw off the corporate robot.

31:56

You know, the corporate language, you know, clear is better than clever.

32:01

Like so. But in terms of this tip, in terms of like daily life, just show like.

32:08

Another really popular post that I honestly went off like a frog in a

32:13

sock was this pic, this, this video I did of me going to school with Chifra,

32:20

who's my daughter, and at the time she doesn't need it as much now, but

32:24

at the time she needed a wheelchair.

32:26

And so I was just showing that like, there I was with the wheelchair and the

32:31

school bike and she was walking ahead.

32:33

I'm like, that just, that blows people's minds because they're like.

32:38

And kids are so funny because kids will just go, Why isn't she in the wheelchair?

32:42

You know, and their mothers or their fathers are just like, Oh,

32:45

or their relevant adult is like, Oh my God, like, Shut your mouth!

32:50

And I'm like, well, sometimes she needs it, and sometimes she doesn't, you know?

32:55

And That like on Instagram got like 45,000 views and Wow.

32:59

And on LinkedIn it was huge as well.

33:02

And so, so, so, so I know were they my perfect clients?

33:09

No, but what it did was that lift in reach meant Mm-Hmm, that my perfect

33:15

clients, 'cause my account got so heated.

33:18

They also then were attracted to the posts that were relevant to them.

33:23

And so it did bring in ultimately clients towards me, even though like.

33:29

Probably most people who liked it, but we're possibly also carers, you

33:34

know, and do you know what, I am happy for other carers to see me leading

33:40

a different life than is normal. You know what I mean?

33:43

So, yeah. So do it. If you're the same, just show up as yourself, apart from anything

33:48

else, you won't be so exhausted. Number five, then.

33:52

My final tip is consistency, and I don't mean, so let me just be

33:58

really clear about consistency. Don't be consistently bad.

34:02

You know, like, like, you know, you got to use a bit of common

34:08

sense here with these tips, right?

34:10

Like when people say, you know, You should post every, like, like

34:17

three posts a week, bippity boop. You know, I often get questions like saying, like, oh Elaine,

34:23

like what time should I post? How many posts should I have?

34:26

And I say, and honestly, this used to be my I know it drove people

34:33

mad then, it drives people mad now. It depends, okay?

34:38

Like if you aren't posting at all, then one, try one a

34:43

week, it's better than none. If you are working with Rachel, like, then you've got her posts and then just

34:52

add another one in sharey one, right?

34:56

You know, so like, make it easy for yourself, but be consistently good.

35:01

Don't be consistently bad. Like, make sure that you spend the effort figuring out your messaging, your ideal

35:07

client, that you've got their words in.

35:11

Like what you're doing and then make sure that it's good enough and post that, you

35:17

know, make sure that you've spent time getting your colors right and so that

35:21

you're consistent as well in your look and feel so that like When something does

35:27

like take off that you get the credit for it, you know, like you and your business.

35:33

And then the next post that you post gets that effect, that halo effect,

35:39

because you've spent time doing it.

35:43

And my final thing on this is. Scheduler versus non schedule posts.

35:50

Like, that's another question I get asked. Oh, but Elaine, the algorithm favours, favours live posting.

35:57

Great, but like, does the algorithm favour nothing?

36:01

Because, like, I always say zero times zero equals zero, everybody.

36:08

Like, you know, if you're not going to post because you're like, oh, suddenly

36:14

on a call or, you know, and you're like me and you, you know, you might

36:19

have like a really like crazy different schedule, then Just use a scheduler,

36:26

like, you know, LinkedIn has one finally.

36:29

I Rachael Botfield: know, I love that. Yeah, right? Just schedule!

36:31

I use it all the time, that is what I use now, the scheduler in LinkedIn.

36:35

Because also, what I found frustrating about using Buffer was

36:39

that I couldn't mention people. And especially when I was sharing my guest episodes, I couldn't mention.

36:44

I had to go back in and I was like, right, I'm just going to forget.

36:47

So actually That is an absolute godsend for me so I can

36:50

schedule all my posts ahead. I can mention the people I want to mention and I think that is fantastic.

36:56

So that's what I use. And I think if I was to post native, I mean, I do do the odd native post.

37:01

Sometimes if I haven't been organized, I have to organize one of my posts or

37:05

something comes up like I want to share an event or I found a post that I'm

37:09

really interested in that I want to share. Then I will just do that kind of like ad hoc, but then I've got the

37:14

kind of core posts I like to share. But yeah, getting ahead.

37:18

And that is same with your podcast. You can, if you've done your episodes and you've got your

37:22

marketing for the episodes, you can schedule those right up ahead.

37:26

Those are all going to go out and then you can just get the other

37:28

bits and pieces in around them. And I love what you said about what's consistent for you and what works

37:33

for you because yes, quote unquote, buddy rabbit ears here, like saying

37:38

you must post or you should post this. And it isn't practical for everybody.

37:43

Everyone's schedule changes. Everyone works in their business differently.

37:46

And if you can, if you're great at. You know, native posting, or you only want to do one a week.

37:52

That's, you know, that's what works for you and your business.

37:55

I think, and I also say this for people with their podcasts, like one of the first

37:59

things I will say is about, you know, can you fit a podcast into your business?

38:04

Because it is a big commitment, whether you're outsourcing parts of

38:08

it or all of it or not, you know, you still have to do the content.

38:10

You still have to record it. So if you don't have time for that, Or with your mar the rest of your marketing,

38:17

you need to, you know, have a bit of a, you know, look at the business and make

38:20

sure you, you are able to do that so you're not burning yourself out because

38:24

there's no point bringing something on if you're going to ultimately be a

38:29

detriment to yourself and your business. 'cause you know, we are all busy and we've got other commitments and we all know it's

38:35

not, you know, as wonderful as is being a business owner and a podcast host, it is.

38:39

Bloody hard sometimes. So don't kind of make it harder for yourself.

38:44

Try and find, and you can add more in, you can evolve.

38:47

I love the fact that especially with podcasting, I like to.

38:50

It evolves over time. It has its peaks and its troughs.

38:54

But I think the most important thing is that you are making it

38:57

right for you and your business. And then you just communicate that and talk and that people really, I

39:02

also love hearing what's actually going on in someone's business.

39:07

The downs as well as the ups, you know, not saying you have to bear your

39:10

soul, but you know, everybody gets it. Well, they should get it that rule, especially as women and generally

39:17

having to deal with the kids and things as well, their pressure

39:21

and people want you to succeed.

39:23

People are not ultimately rooting for you to not succeed when it

39:26

comes to your business and things. So I think that comes as part of being yourself and being authentic and getting

39:33

that out there and people are just. I just really admire that when I see those kind of posts and things.

39:38

I didn't get a podcast episode out for Christmas cause that I wanted

39:42

to, and I was like, Oh God, but then you think actually, no one's probably

39:46

that bothered about it apart from me. But again, you know, it's that's life happened and I just couldn't do it.

39:52

So then it comes out. In January and it's, it's not the end of the

39:56

Elaine Walsh-McGrath: world. Yeah, exactly. You've got to, you've got to make your marketing work for you, but

40:01

you've got to market your business and anyone who says anything otherwise

40:08

is just not aware that their actions are marketing, if I'm honest, because

40:13

your business has to be marketed, you know, otherwise it's not going to be

40:17

as successful as an, as it could be.

40:20

So Rachael Botfield: yeah. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.

40:22

Being visible is really important. Thank you so much for all those tips.

40:26

I've learned some, so much good things as well.

40:29

I'm going to imprint. I'm sure everyone listening is going to love your tips.

40:33

And also I'd love you to tell us a little bit more about how you help

40:36

your clients, because I know that some of the people listening might

40:39

be interested in working with you.

40:42

on LinkedIn. So do you want to share a little bit? Cause I know you've got a few things a cooking.

40:46

Well, you Elaine Walsh-McGrath: know, I've got a few things in the pot.

40:49

So yeah, people work one to one with me in that aspect of things.

40:54

It's really bespoke, you know, I have a group program called LinkedIn to leads.

41:00

That brings people through sorting out their profile.

41:04

getting their content right, understanding how to reach into the DMs without

41:08

feeling like yucky and how to sell because that I, I, I always say, you

41:14

know, quite often people's programs stop right at the lead part, you know,

41:19

what are they going to do with the lead? You know, so let's get onto the discovery calls and also

41:24

let's show the LinkedIn events.

41:27

And then I also have a lovely content membership, which

41:35

is called Let's Get Visible. It's really positive.

41:38

It's a lovely group of people who want to build their visibility on LinkedIn

41:43

and at different times of the year, I run what I call an accelerator.

41:50

What that means is the. The content that's there in, in the membership that you can

41:55

have as the minute you buy it. Every so, like every so often, but no, at fixed times in the year,

42:03

as schedules allow we run it live.

42:07

So for four weeks. Which normally stretches to five because I have monthly calls.

42:12

We go through the material like live together.

42:16

So I know the next one is coming in April and it kind of happens maybe every

42:21

two to three months when we do that. And I also do do workshops within that structure.

42:27

And finally, I have a lovely little course called how to create a

42:33

show stopping LinkedIn headline.

42:36

And so it really just focuses down on that one particular area.

42:42

But at the same time, as much as it does focus down on that one area, what you'll

42:46

find is by doing the thinking for that, because it's all about sorting out your

42:51

niche and figuring out your big results.

42:53

It'll probably help you to sort out quite a few bits and pieces on top of that.

42:58

So that's me, you know? Rachael Botfield: Yeah.

43:01

Also, yeah, you're right. When you start thinking about your business in that way, it's a really

43:05

good exercise to do, isn't it? To help refine it down.

43:08

I think that getting in the mind of your idle client or your idle listener,

43:12

all those kind of things, that's such a good exercise to do and to regularly

43:16

kind of keep doing them to make sure.

43:18

Well, sometimes I felt my last seat before I did my season two of the podcast.

43:23

I felt like I was drifting a little bit, like maybe I wasn't

43:25

getting so, you know, specific to the people that I wanted to reach.

43:30

So when I was planning this season, I wanted to make sure that I'm

43:33

giving, you know, adding value to the things that I know that these

43:38

ladies want to hear to help them. launch their podcasts and things that will help people move

43:42

forward with their podcast. So I was trying to get really specific.

43:45

So it was a really good exercise to kind of refresh yourself with.

43:48

And yeah, you're, you're the how to sell without the ick.

43:52

That's, I went to Elaine's awesome masterclass, like I mentioned earlier.

43:55

And it's just, that is, I think when people mention sales, there's always

43:59

that, Oh, but I don't want to be I don't want to have that ick factor.

44:03

So it's definitely a great thing to be learning about.

44:06

And you are such a great teacher. You've given us so much great advice here.

44:10

I was going to ask you where you hung out most, but I'm guessing

44:13

it's, as I always ask everybody.

44:16

So I will pop. All of Elaine's links in the show notes, so you can easily find her there.

44:20

I know she has what's your, you have a tip sheet, don't you?

44:24

I do. Elaine Walsh-McGrath: I have a LinkedIn to Leeds check sheet, which

44:27

is essentially 10 actions that you can take to uplevel your LinkedIn activity.

44:34

Some you'll be delighted to hear, you need to just do once.

44:38

And then other tips require a bit more of a regular revisit.

44:43

But it's really handy, it's a one sheet it's a PDF, you can stick it on your wall.

44:49

And also it comes with a tutorial, so I talk through it so that you're

44:53

not just left with this thing.

44:55

Like, oh great, that's great Elaine, this checklist, but what

44:58

am I going to do with it now?

45:00

Like, talk through every single step of the way so that so that

45:03

you will actually, you'll actually be able to use it properly,

45:05

Rachael Botfield: you know. Oh, brilliant. Well, we'll put all the links in the show notes, like I said, and thank

45:10

you so much Elaine for coming on. It's been absolutely wonderful to chat with you today.

45:15

Elaine Walsh-McGrath: Thank you so much, Rachel. It's been an absolute pleasure and thank you so much for having

45:20

Rachael Botfield: me. Thanks everyone for listening.

45:22

We'll catch you next time. Thanks for listening to the show.

45:27

If you'd like to connect with me or get in touch, then head on over to my website.

45:31

If you liked the episode, then I'd love it if you could leave me a

45:34

review in your chosen podcast app. Your feedback is much appreciated.

45:38

See you next time.