How To Win As The Product
LinkedIn is a business-related social media platform. Theoretically it is where people go to connect, learn, share, and potentially find information and/or solutions to help them achieve their goals. (The reason I say theoretically is that you can now play games on LinkedIn like it’s Facebook…which I will explain why they have that below).
First let’s address what a social media platform is really about, as a business. The part you must always remember:
“if you aren’t paying for something, you are the product.”
On LinkedIn, since it is free to use, you are the product they are selling. Their customers are the businesses that pay to run ads, the salespeople and teams who pay for Sales Navigator, the recruiters who pay extra, and so on. LinkedIn makes money off them, where you and I are the product. LinkedIn started in 2003, and grew to a point where it sold to Microsoft for $26.2 Billion (yes…big B billion). All driven by all of us posting, reading, engaging so they can make money. Now of course, we all do those activities for our own potential gain, so we can’t play total victim.
Now, when we are the product and their goal is to generate revenue on ads and other monetization strategies, then you have to understand for them to achieve their revenue goals they need people to not just use the platform but to stay on the platform for as long as possible each day, and to return often.
This is the logic behind algorithms that power any social media platform. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and even Google – where they want you to use Google, so they can sell ads, so they ensure that the search results have the highest chance of showing you value, so you keep coming back over and over again, like a drug dealer.
When you make a post and it gets people to stop their scrolling , makes them pause, read, click the button to read more, watch a video, go to your profile, check out your newsletter or your business page – all of those signal to LinkedIn your post was valuable. They then start showing that to more people. They want people to consume quality, valuable content so they don’t leave the platform. Your valuable posts make them more money. So, they want to show it to more people (ultimate level = viral content).
This is also why a business platform like LinkedIn would intrude puzzles and word games. Not because it facilitates the user’s business goals. But it facilitates their business goals and getting people addicted to the platform and coming back as much as possible (Gamification is a good way to do that).
So now that you know how the game works, and why it’s rigged so that the house always wins, we can talk about where LinkedIn fits into your Authority strategy.
It is a great platform for you to share your expertise, experiences, scars from battle, and the stories of the heroes you have helped achieve their goals. For a business broker, you should not use it as a main marketing strategy to get business owners in your funnel through engagement.
“Wait, Jason – you said it was a business based social media platform. Are you now saying I shouldn’t expect to get business from it?”
Yes – exactly what I am saying.
Now let me explain. Your target demographic is business owners. Know what they are doing each day? Hopefully growing their business and doing smart things to get it ready for sale. Most likely, they are putting out fires, running from thing to thing to thing, potentially running things at one level about employee. They might be the sole contributor for sales. Or the big bottleneck for decision making. They might be the lead technical person helping produce products/results for clients.
I would wager to say that what they are not doing is scrolling through LinkedIn to learn new things. They are definitely not going to engage with any posts because they don’t want to raise their hand to show they are on there – because then the flood of sales pitch DMs start coming into the terribly designed LinkedIn Inbox. If they happen to be there, they are lurking. Scrolling, looking, reading and getting back to their role as CFF (Chief FireFighter).
LinkedIn is an important part of your authority content strategy. But not with an expectation of getting net new business owners in your pipeline. So then why do I think it’s valuable?
Two reasons.
First, there is a good chance your referral, strategic, and transactional partners are on there. They are also salespeople (and yes…I know…everyone is a salesperson; everyone is in sales…but I know from experience with years of executive level sales and marketing growth and/or firefighting experience that I was never on LinkedIn).
They are on the hunt for business or new ideas to help them sell more. In reality, they are salespeople who don’t like sales (yeah…talking to you, CPA).
When you create your authority-based content and post it on LinkedIn, one great outcome would be building deeper trusted relationships with your business partners and attracting the attention of new ones
Second reason is that you must assume that your ideal target – the business owner – will do some research on you before fully engaging with you. Maybe through an initial online search for brokers near me. It could be after they get your name from a partner as a referral, or their friend at the country club. It could be as a result of a podcast they heard about for their industry, and found an episode where you were a guest.
No matter what path of digital breadcrumbs they follow, assume they will research you. And you need to make sure all your digital signage buckets are full, including LinkedIn. It might not be how they discover you, but it could be what trigger them to view you as enough of a Trusted Authority and expert to reach out to directly.
You may never have the full attribution of what led to them talking to you or hiring you as their business broker. But just be careful not to only focus on the vanity metrics on a platform like LinkedIn. Think of it this way – if you had a physical billboard on the side of the highway, how would you know it is working? Would you assume that everyone calls the phone number on the sign while driving past at 65 miles per hour? Think that is how humans work? No, they will remember it, go online, search for you, find your site, and then check out your content. Think people scan QR codes on television commercials? Does that mean that billboards and commercials don’t work?
No – it means you must do everything. And all the time. Not just when you have a dry pipeline freak out content creation spasm.
When you approach your LinkedIn content and strategy from this perspective, then you will play the long game. It’s not about attention, connection volume, or post likes, as much as it is posting authority signals that will lead people to engage with you.
Featured Podcast Episode
What if the biggest obstacle to growing your business brokerage is not your client list, but your willingness to rethink how, and when: you prepare sellers for exit? Are you building a practice with intention and adaptability, or is the “accidental” approach silently capping your long-term potential?
This episode with Jim Nairn, MBA, MCBI, BCA, challenges brokers to take a step back from transactions and examine the foundational strategies that actually drive pipeline growth. True success comes from shifting your mindset: stop waiting for opportunities to fall into your lap and start intentionally creating them years in advance. Proactive planning, ongoing education, and honest conversations with sellers transform your impact and theirs.
Check out the full episode: https://businessbrokergrowth.com/podcast/canadian-business-brokerage-secrets-with-jim-nairn/
Until next week!
Jason
PS. Take the Digital Impact Assessment (free)
