LinkedIn CMO on how to grow your profile, what skills are most in demand and B2B marketing strategies - Jessica Jensen

23:05and if you want to find out more details please go to the show notes and check it out and i really look forward to seeing you there it's on the 21st of april do not miss it now back to the show now one thing i must ask you a big big story last year post algorithm change was around gender so there was a huge discussion right huge discussion where lots of women were posting they were seeing engagement down and there were some stories around i think women were changing their gender on LinkedIn and seeing a massive increase. What's the truth behind that? Because there's a lot of people that want to know the answer.

23:40Jessica Jensen:Yes, unfortunately, there are people who think that there is gender discrimination on LinkedIn. And I want to be very clear, gender, race, a number of different demographic factors are not factored into the algorithm. I will tell you that as an ardent feminist and someone who has fought for equal opportunity and voices for women in politics, business, and the media, it is personally painful to me that people think that this exists on LinkedIn. It is not part of the algorithm. Some people have proposed that there are studies that compare, you know, various factors and changes. Back to what we were talking about in the algorithm, the algorithm is extremely complex, and there are many different factors.

24:27Jessica Jensen:so you can post one thing about one topic at one time and get a very different response at another time because people are commenting and sharing and the dynamics of the feed are changing at all times but changing your name from a woman's name to a man's name is not one of those factors so I just really hope that people will believe that that is not part of the deal and I certainly couldn't work for a company that sponsored any kind of discrimination. I totally agree and understand. Something you said to me before as well that helped me understand is you can take the same post at two different times a day and the algorithm will respond differently to the algorithm.

25:15So there's an element of randomness about how posts perform.

25:19Jessica Jensen:There's supply and demand happening at all times, which changes by time and day and followership and comments. And that's not a LinkedIn thing. That's true of any feed-based social media. Now, you're obviously a very senior and public figurehead for LinkedIn. And you've personally taken a lot of criticism as well, haven't you, around this topic? How does it make you feel? It's heartbreaking to me. I mean, as I said, if you go and read my stuff on LinkedIn, you will know where I stand on on sexism racism all forms of discrimination so yeah I mean I have been personally attacked and that is painful I I support anyone who is fighting for equality so I want to be clear that I respect people seeking the truth and and and equality and I think there's some misbelief out there and it's painful to me I think because I think this is this this is an important conversation of, not just for the topic, but actually something I found building a personal profile is, you know, I put fairly, I mean, there's nothing that controversial about anything I do.

26:28And yet you will attract some criticism. There will be people that whether you want it or not, are going to seek you out and going to make, going to criticize you. They don't want good things for you. Right. And it's kind of a, it's a reality of building a personal brand. You have to have a thick skin. So what advice would you give someone? I think a lot of people don't engage with LinkedIn as much as they could do because of the fear of that kind of reaction.

26:55Jessica Jensen:Well, I think one of the huge benefits of LinkedIn is that people are their real self. And your professional reputation is tied to your name. That generally helps people behave better than some other places. So I think it is a cleaner, safer environment, but also can be intimidating. in that way. And so I think that, you know, a lot of the dialogue on LinkedIn is very respectful, very, you know, helpful and human. And so jump into that. Get in the swim. Comment. Share. But, you know, it's part of life. It's part of, I get so much value out of what people share with me and say to me, I got an in-mail today of feedback on some things, illuminating and helpful.

27:47Jessica Jensen:And I read and respond to every message I receive. Yeah, I do that too, actually. That's really good advice. And I think I found I used to get anxiety from the negative comments. And then I've learned to sort of almost treat them as funny. Now, talking about the changes on the platform as well. So what's new? What's new in terms of features on LinkedIn? in. What are the kind of things that people looking for jobs should be engaging with? Sure. Not surprisingly, we're bringing AI to bear to good result in a number of different ways. Let's be honest, the job market in many places is really challenging.

28:22Jessica Jensen:And 50 % of people are looking for a new job right now. No way. 50. 50 %? 50. Wow. How does that compare historically? That's a huge number. Much higher. Yes. Wow. So and that is many different dynamics, right? Macroeconomic decline, company downsizing, desire to change jobs, get new skills. So that's many different things. So we have copious amounts of learning resources for workers on LinkedIn, teaching, you know, come learn AI skills with us, learn new crafts as marketers. Come, I mean, the raft of learning resources that we have available to companies and people is enormous. us. Also, we have launched something called AI job search.

29:08Jessica Jensen:So before you used to be like finance manager, Los Angeles, right? And now you can write in, I want to work in the environment. I have a graphic design background and I used to work in banking. I've just totally made up that fruit salad of terms. So you can express what you're looking for and combine a number of different elements with AI that then allow us to widen the aperture of opportunities for you. People are discovering new fields and jobs that they would never have found through traditional search. So that's super exciting. And then as I said before, people are becoming creators. People are becoming founders.

29:49Jessica Jensen:People are doing three or four different jobs at the same time and flexing up and down. And I think that that's really exciting. So like, what do you want to build? Because AI will let you build things that you could never have done before and bring it to LinkedIn and promote it and get it out there and get people excited about it. So I think people are having to kind of shake the snow globe of their own conception of what is a job or what is work. And we're trying to help people on that path. It's so exciting. I mean, there's never been a better time in the whole of human history than now to create something new.

30:30Jessica Jensen:I think that that is very likely true. Yeah, the speed to market. And scary to a lot of people. Yes. Very scary. So getting people comfortable with shaking off inertia and trying new things. I mean, what small businesses are able to build and deliver now is cosmic. Now, if we flip that from job seeker creator to the other side. Sure. right, from a marketing point of view or an advertiser point of view. What are the new features on LinkedIn that will enable brands to sell themselves? You know, creators are blossoming and, you know, many are building their own successful businesses. I think you would probably fit into that category.

31:11Jessica Jensen:So we have partnered with many creators. We have a program called Brand Link, which allows you to buy advertising with some of the leading creator voices in the world. So that's super exciting. We have a thing called thought leadership ads. So people who create excellent content of video on top three trends in AI and marketing or, you know, insert topic here, you can promote your firm, your thought leadership, your insights. And I will tell you those ads, I use them myself, they perform extremely well. We have a very, very rich events platform. There are 20 ,000 events hosted on LinkedIn every week.

31:55Jessica Jensen:And so companies are promoting in-person events or hosting events on LinkedIn, which allows you to do incredible audience building, lead gen, you know, all kinds of things. So those are just a few of the things, but, you know, we believe bring your best creativity to LinkedIn and we have a very wide variety of ways for you to reach and build an audience. Now talking about bringing your best creativity to LinkedIn. Yeah, yeah. I know we're going to violently agree on this, right? This next statement, but B2B does not have to be boring. Oh my gosh. This has been the platform, of course, for you as LinkedIn.

32:35Absolutely. Doing it. I think my biggest reaching LinkedIn post ever was me reviewing one of your ads. Oh, really? It was the one with the forklift truck going into the meeting room, right? Oh yeah, right. And I think I might have even said, finally, there's a funny B2B ad. Do you know what I mean?

32:52Jessica Jensen:We're making progress. Finally, we're bringing a sense of humor to the world of business, you know. But it's true, isn't it? Like B2B doesn't have to be boring. And yeah, I mean, I did some work at System One about five or six years ago, actually, in partnership with you guys, where we looked at 80 % of B2B ads were on our system of one to five star, one star. So they weren't generating an emotional response. This takes us right back to the beginning where you talked about people. people buying from people. Now, why is it that somehow when we're in a work environment, we think we have to be all very serious and dull?

33:23Jessica Jensen:Yeah, well, we could spend all day on that topic. I think that traditionally, a lot of B2B marketing has been really product marketing. And it's like, you know, user need, value prop, some product specs, and some performance data. That's not creative. It doesn't appeal to human emotion. The people who buy technology, bank services, you know, cybersecurity, et cetera, they are actually human beings. And you have to get their attention and grab their heart and their mind. Now, I will say it is a particular exciting challenge for a marketer to do the hard work of the, you know, why would you spend a million dollars on this software thing, et cetera.

34:10Jessica Jensen:So there has to be some real, it's not Doritos, right? Like you have to have the meat, but you have to deliver it in a way that opens people's hearts and minds and maybe occasionally makes people laugh. And so I have seen the earnestness level of B2B marketing decline a bit of late, which I am cheering. I see more humor and I also see more, more pathos and more, you know, empathy in some forms of B2B marketing. Now there's still a lot that's like buy this security feature and I and I wish them the best love that one of the things I think you do really well actually LinkedIn is is your uh b2b institute because you're well you're providing some of the ammunition that people need to win the argument about how advertising should be done and I think that's providing a really powerful service to people um so yeah big big fan of that so here we are in San Francisco yeah and the sun has finally come out after about five days of rain.

35:09Jessica Jensen:I'm sorry, we should have had better weather for you. I've clearly brought the London weather over. I've seen your AI billboards all the way from the airport to here, which is amazing. So you've taken over the town, which is great. But I love the sense of humor that you're putting on display. What's the thinking behind that? So if you've been here, so you know, if anybody has been to the Bay Area, it is the main freeway Artery is the 101 freeway, and it is littered with billboards about AI. And most of them are impossible to understand. AI for security. AI grow your business. They're bland. They're unspecific.

35:51Jessica Jensen:You don't know what they're selling, and you're certainly not excited. So we decided to create a set of billboards that basically make fun of billboards. And so So things like, we don't understand these other AI billboards, but we can hire you a new copywriter. Come to LinkedIn. So we're having a bit of fun trying to provide something specific and clear about what we can provide. And also maybe, you know, just tip our hat to some other folks. Love that. Yeah, really. And very noticeable as well. Well-branded as well. Thank you. Very simple and well-branded. So hard to miss on the journey here, which is great.

36:32I wanted to touch as well on how you build a good B2B kind of marketing strategy. So how are you building your strategy for LinkedIn? And what advice would you give other people? Sure.

36:42Jessica Jensen:Well, I mean, a lot of it is back to good old basic, you know, what is the audience you're trying to reach? What insights do you have about what they're struggling with? What do they need? And I really, I am a passionate believer in specificity of message and having core message. We have a thing here that we use called song sheet. What is the core message for each of our audience segments that makes our value crisp and clear and exciting, not boring? And then you layer your reasons to believe and your proof points onto that. That sounds as easy as pie. the number of companies that do that well is very small.

37:23Jessica Jensen:So starts with clarity of message. Then you're thinking about what is the wrapping? What is the creative that moves the heart and the mind and is distinctive? I mean, I think in B2B, there's a lot of stuff that smells and looks the same. And so you better be driving a forklift into a meeting room. Or we recently did a small business ad where it was littered with vampires. You know, like don't hire the office vampire into your small business. And people were like fashioning wooden stakes and dragging silver chains around. I mean, like be, be different, be exciting. And then, you know, B2B sales cycles are longer.

38:02Jessica Jensen:And so you are building trust and a relationship over time. And so the inner linkage between your marketing and your creative and your sales team and your customer service, and making sure that all of those things are connected and flowing to build that long-term trust is critical. And now we're in the world of LLM and GEO search. And so people are having to completely retool, I think in smart and obvious ways, their content development and distribution strategy to be successful in LLM search. LinkedIn happens to be the second most cited source for high quality content and llms in some models were number one so you have to be thinking about am i getting my content out to all of the channels to drive that discovery engagement nurture trust because you need these customers for years that's such a good i love that and um you said something there which was very profound for me on my journey in terms of like linkedin strategy, which is the buyer journey can be quite long.

39:12Yes. And this is something I think people just don't realize the importance of building a brand as well. Oh, my gosh. Because I think it's the Ehrenberg Bass data point of 95.5. Like most people are not in market. That's right. That's right.

39:23Jessica Jensen:That's right. And the average buying cycle is seven months. Yeah. Right. Once you understand the average buying cycle and once you understand that most people are not thinking about buying you now, that product message you're ramming down people's throats is wasted on 19 out of 20 people. So, you know, it's so important to think. The number of companies who understand B2B branding and the interplay between branding and product marketing and performance marketing is very limited. It is an art and a science. So many companies rely on that just, you know, spots of product info. And that's not how you nurture buyers.

40:03100%. And to compound that, the other point you just said there as well about distinctiveness is so important because when the buying cycle comes around, you need to make sure it's your brand that's on the consideration set. That's the other thing. So you need to build the fame in advance and make sure they remember you when they're sat around a table like this going, who should we get on our vendor list for this thing we're going to buy next week? That's right. So, so important. Love that a lot. Now, I did a little LinkedIn post in preparation for this.

40:30Jessica Jensen:Oh, yes, I saw. Which I know you saw. It had to be developed into a tsunami of engagement. Thank you for doing that. Let's just say you're popular. Well, they had a lot of questions about LinkedIn. Let's put it that way. Now, hopefully we've covered a good number of those questions. I thought I'd just touch on a few that came up. And I must apologize. Everyone listening, thinking that they're going to get an answer to every single question. I'm sorry. I'll go back and put some more comments in your post. Thank you. That's a lovely thing to... Of course. Thank you for doing that, by the way, because that would be nice.

41:01rather than me getting the heat on. John, you didn't ask my question number 54.

41:05Jessica Jensen:I'm here to shovel with you, absolutely. We'll do this together. Okay, a few little questions that came up, which I thought were interesting and adds to the conversation we just had. Nishma here was talking about as younger people enter the workforce the first time, you know, we talked about the changes in kind of the world of work. How is LinkedIn supporting younger people in particular to get their first start? So first of all, you should focus on building a network. So you should be researching and following experts in your field, people that you want to learn from, reaching out to them, connecting.

41:42Jessica Jensen:building your network on LinkedIn is the first thing, well, build a profile and make it clear and exciting, but then build your network because a lot of jobs come through a network and you will learn so much from the people that you're connected with and following. Use our AI job search to explore more widely than you may have thought previously. Don't pigeonhole yourself into certain jobs. Share with us your interests, your experience, maybe even your dreams, and we will return more things to you. We have copious amounts of learning material, expert learning material available. Also know that, you know, I always tell younger workers, unless you win the lottery, you're going to work for a long time.

42:34Jessica Jensen:So try a lot of different things. Throw your hat in the ring. I also say, you know, use AI tools to demonstrate your skills. Make an interesting video about a company or a brand or an insight that you've had. Share it on LinkedIn. That demonstrates that you're an insightful thinker and a strategist and that you know how to use AI. I totally agree. My oldest daughter's at university studying finance. And the thing I keep on saying to her is just document your journey on LinkedIn. Totally. Just anything you've learned in lectures, just share it. Anything that was surprising you've discovered, just put it out there.

43:13Jessica Jensen:You're building a portfolio. Yeah. You're building a portfolio on LinkedIn. Your future self is going to thank you because there'll be a job in 10 years time you don't even know you're going to get yet. That's right. But you'll get because you built that profile. And the network. Yeah. And the network. Exactly. Exactly. That's excellent advice. Now coming to another, this I thought was a lovely question that came up as well. And I've seen this play out. I feel this myself. The slight stigma of putting the open to work badge up. Oh, yeah, yeah. This was a cool comment. What a great comment. So this is from Talia here.

43:45And she was suggesting maybe that could be flipped to make it a little bit less of a stigma and more of a challenge to, you know, future employers to almost pitch themselves.

43:55Jessica Jensen:Yeah, I thought the idea was like change that banner to open to triple your sales, open to drive EBITDA for your company, open to, you know, I mean, like you could really put some creativity into that. I thought that was such a great idea. I'm going to take that up internally. I think it's a really cool one. Amazing. Right. So Talia, you've heard it here first. Amazing. Talia, I'm working on it. There you go. Come on. You might get a job at this, right? Creator, a lot of questions came about, and again, I've got too many to kind of summarize in one go, But a lot of questions around creators that depend on the platform and they're building their businesses and they're seeing their reach, organic reach decline.

44:33Any advice specifically for creators?

44:35Jessica Jensen:Well, I gave it earlier. So the advice is have a point of view. Know what you stand for and think. Share your insights, learnings, advice, primarily in short form video. Use captions. Use visual hooks in your video content. I tend to use ridiculous tropical bird sunglasses. You pick your own. Respond to comments on your posts. Comment on other people's posts. And the more you build your network, the better your creator strategy will thrive. And I think as well, you referenced as well, there are partnership programs as well for creators that link creators to brands as well. so that there are the support available behind the scenes as well.

45:23So reach out and make sure.

45:24Jessica Jensen:We're building more there. Yeah, go and find out because that's, yeah, that's very exciting. I would love to continue this conversation. Oh my gosh, literally we could do like seven hours. And in fact, we could do an entire episode just on the questions we've had here. So Bo, thank you everyone for leaving us those questions. Jessica, thank you so much. This was absolutely fascinating. Thank you to everyone who sent in questions. and we are constantly working to make LinkedIn work better for all of you. And so keep the feedback and ideas coming. Brilliant. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you for doing it.

45:57Jessica Jensen:Thank you. So I hope you enjoyed that episode of Uncensored CMO as much as I enjoyed making it. Now, by the way, I've got a new newsletter. So if you'd like to get my thoughts on the one thing that I take out from each episode every week, then do subscribe to the One Thing newsletter. I'd really appreciate it. also I have another podcast just launched Uncensored Renegades with the fabulous Cori Marchesotto she is one of the world's best CMOs she's an absolute rock star every week we pick one topic spend 20 minutes trying to fix it so check out that it's in your feed Uncensored Renegades and finally I want to give a huge thank you to my sponsor System One they generously provide so much support for this podcast it would not happen without them so big thanks and lots of I love the System 1.

46:43I'll see you next time.