To all the budding creators out there, if you really want to make content, just do it. Don’t let judgments or apprehensions about what people will think get in your way. It always looks difficult until it’s done. If you create value-adding eye-catching content, people will appreciate it, give you feedback and That’s how you build a wonderful community.
1. Tell us about
your background and journey.
After pursuing Commerce in school, I made it to the prestigious Shri Ram College of Commerce and pursued my B.com Honours from there. I was a part of multiple college societies and have had my own set of learnings and experiences that have broadened my perspective and helped me grow. I organised fests, took part in college competitions, and made the most of the opportunities that came my way.
While in college, I also started creating content on LinkedIn, and after consistently creating value- adding content, I became a LinkedIn Top Voice and was also selected as a part of the LinkedIn Creator Accelerator Program.
2. How and when
did you decide that you wanted to be a LinkedIn creator?
When I had entered college, like any other fresher, I too had made an account on LinkedIn and after exploring around for a while, realised how much the platform had to offer. I came across perfectly structured posts which had so many learnings to imbibe and were a delight to read.
In the midst of scrolling, I saw that though there were a lot of people writing on the platform, but there were very few students actively creating content and that was my ‘aha’ moment. I thought that this is something new and different, so why not try my hand at it? The desire within me to take up something new, which had so much untapped potential marked the start of my content creation journey on LinkedIn.
3. How did you
create your personal brand?
A major part of building a personal brand on LinkedIn is creating content. This is my 4-ingredient recipe that goes into making content and can be useful, especially for beginners:
1) Complete your profile from head to toe: Once you would start creating content, people will start visiting your profile. But if it is incomplete, it leaves a bad taste and you won’t be able to give a good impression. Add your education, internships, awards, and basically whatever you wish to portray about yourself in the About section.
2) Figure out what you want to talk about: It could be domain specific like marketing, finance, start-ups or general topics like sharing your experiences, insights, and power-packed one-liners on topics you feel confident talking about. At the end of the day, what matters is that it should be relatable and authentic.
3) Build a relevant network: Start by creating a network of people from your domain or area of expertise since they would be the ones who can relate to your content best.
4) Start commenting on other people's posts: One of the biggest and underutilised ways to grow your network. Add insightful comments on other people's posts that provide some value. Let’s say you see a post on 5 ways to build your confidence, but you know of another one that has helped you, then put it down in the comments. That way you add something meaningful which could help other people too.
4. Any advice/lesson that you would like to share with the one who wants to become a creator on LinkedIn?
To all the budding creators out there, if you really want to make content, just do it. Don’t let judgments or apprehensions about what people will think get in your way. It always looks difficult until it’s done. If you create value-adding eye-catching content, people will appreciate it, give you feedback and That’s how you build a wonderful community. Don’t think I can’t do it or how can I do it, rather think that I can and put your heart into it.
5. Why did you
choose LinkedIn and not any other platform?
I would like to answer this by saying that social media is a vast ocean and LinkedIn is a treasure. It has so much untapped potential and that should be reason enough to carve an identity for yourself on the platform. The organic reach on LinkedIn is really good and if you create quality content regularly, then you can build a great audience for your content along with your personal brand.
6. How did you
grow such a huge network on Linkedin?
These are 3 ways one can use to build a network on LinkedIn:
i) Connect with batch mates and alumni of your college. That would give you a good head start in building your network.
ii) If you are scrolling through LinkedIn and you come across a piece of content that catches your eye, then connect with the person who has written it. This way you build a good network of people whose content you resonate with.
iii) Add insightful comments on other people’s posts that provide value to the readers. Anyone who reads that post, may come across your comment and if they find it good, they may wish to connect with you and that’s how you build your network.
7. Tell us more
about your LinkedIn top voice journey.
Ever since I had started writing on the platform, getting this honour was a dream for me and a while ago it got fulfilled. The thing that helped me the most to reach here is being consistent. Now, by this, I don’t only mean posting content every other day. Consistency is a lot more than that.
For the past 2 years that I have been creating content on LinkedIn, I used to post 3-4 times in a week and also engage with my community via comments. Especially, on the days I couldn’t post, I used to comment and engage with other people’s content so that every other day, I am providing something of value. Showing up every other day is just the first part of being consistent. The other part is providing valuable content.
Whenever I post something, I keep these 3 things in mind:
i) Is this going to be insightful for my audience?
ii) Is it conversational and can people contribute their own ideas to it?
iii) Is it relevant
to my audience and will it inspire them?
If my content ticks these 3 boxes, I hit the post button. The thing is that anyone can write on the platform as long as you have the ability to drive conversations and provide something of value. Your age or number of years of experience is not a parameter for creating content, it’s simply your unique voice that can spark conversations.
8. Would you like to share some of your learnings and experiences with the readers and how can a student avail maximum opportunities during college time?
My advice would be to explore and try out different things in college. Back in the day, being a part of 3-4 college societies in the initial year, I organised fests, anchored in that, and worked in multiple teams, pulling off events. Also, took part in ample college competitions, won some, lost some, and went to events of other colleges. Apart from this I also started working on my personal brand by starting to create content on LinkedIn.
That wasn’t all, I explored cafés around campus, met friends from other colleges, and every other day brought in a new set of photos on my phone’s gallery. The thing is that life is what you make of it and of the opportunities that come your way. So, make the most of it!
Bio -
After pursuing commerce in school, I did B.com Honours from Shri Ram College of Commerce. I also create content on LinkedIn around a variety of topics. I would like to describe myself as 'A movie buff brimming with optimism and an extrovert who finds it difficult to put a cap on creativity!'
Interviewed By - Shashank Sehgal
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