by Joe Escobido
I cover digital marketing and PR in Asia
Imagine this: you just put the finishing touches on your LinkedIn article and hit the publish button. The next day you wake up to see thousands of people from around the world have viewed your article.
Ben Whitter, also known as Mr. Employee Experience,™ knows such an experience as two of his LinkedIn articles achieved a total of 350,000 views.
In this piece, Whitter shares how he achieved six-digit views and tips for other inspiring writers on LinkedIn.
“Bye, Bye HR?” takes the HR world by stormWhitter wrote a piece called Bye, Bye HR? about the future of HR and the need to focus on developing compelling employee experiences.
The article was inspired by his work in China and with companies around the world, as well as the debate within HR. He used the news that Airbnb opted to appoint a Chief Employee Experience Officer as an example to reinforce his view that employee experience must be prioritized within an organization.
The article got off to a steady start within his LinkedIn network and eventually reached a mind-blowing 325,000 views and nearly 9,000 likes on LinkedIn.
In Asia and globally, it was covered extensively through digital publications including Thomson Reuters, Deloitte University Press and HRD Magazine, to name a few.It became a hit in China after being translated and distributed across HR media with over 100,000 views (syndicated through GHR, China’s leading digital HR magazine.)
Not a one-hit wonderWhile these numbers are indeed impressive, I admit the thought "one-hit wonder" crossed my mind.
But Whitter proved me wrong.
His most recent LinkedIn piece “Why Companies are Rejecting HR” hit 10,000 views and over 1,000 likes in only two days. It also amassed over 1,000 shares via LinkedIn and an external blog. Whitter then leveraged the popularity of his articles into several business opportunities. He parlayed the success of his article into:
An employee experience world tour, which included speaking, masterclass and consulting engagements.
The first EX conferences, which he co-designed in Europe, Australia and Asia
The first EX webinar broadcast 'live' on WeChat which was tuned-in by 2,300 HR Directors
Whitter also shares five reasons he hit 350,000 views on LinkedIn. And how you can too.
1. Ask questions of your audience rather than giving them all the answers.An example of this was that the article led with a question, which was designed to inspire conversation, dialogue and potentially co-create a new direction for HR. Co-creation is vital when engaging with audiences digitally.
2. Acknowledge differing views and include tangible evidence to make your case for change. “The article was built around a clear example at Airbnb and brought into play some of the debates and discussions that had already taken place within HR. I felt it was important to provide a balanced view and reference the valid contributions of my peers.”
3. Inspire yourself first to inspire others.“If you feel good, inspired or challenged after reading your own material then there is a fair chance that others will to. It is then time to go for it and share with the world, starting with LinkedIn.”
4. Write for your audience, not for you."It never does any good to start from the position of wanting to be popular or heard. It’s more about the value you can bring to others through your writing and supporting whatever cause that matters to you."
5. Write about your own experiences.“I write from my own experience and tend to fuse it with the experience of others. For this piece, everyone around the world has a view about HR so we can relate to the message quickly and engage with the content in a stronger way. Our experiences combine to create a bigger stir in the world.”
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