Posting and Praying

My dear Posting, the Doctor feels your social pains. What you’re describing is like singing your heart out to a crowded room on karaoke night. You’ve got the mic, you’re giving it all you’ve got and more, and everyone in the bar is watching TikTok videos on their phones. And you’re even singing Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’, which is, like, made for karaoke. Despite it all, you’re trying to not stop believin’, but it’s tough, right?

Look, P&P, you’re hardly alone. Your firm probably has a decent content calendar. A couple of times a week, you send out project photos, event photos, firm announcements—the usual. But here’s the thing about it: posting the latest and greatest is not the same as having something to actually say. BIG diff.

I’ll give you my first ‘script: you gotta start building your influence by posting what you know and the stuff that matters to your clients. Otherwise, your socials are about as fluffy as a marshmallow (and the Doctor is known to like a good Rice Crispy treat, but save it for your lunchbox, not social media)!

Now for the other part of social media that nobody talks about, which the Doctor has been yacking about for a decade or so (and boy, my jaw is sore!). Your firm has at least two voices, but most people only use one. The first one is your official comms. You know—your website, newsletter, your social media accounts with the logo. The second is the one that most people forget. You gotta get your team to share your firm’s content. Encourage the human beings who work for you to talk to other humans on social media. ‘Cause people hire people, my dear. 

Most firms are so caught up with the voices in their social media heads that they forget that second voice. But getting your peeps to share your content is key. Without it, it’s like a racing car (the Doctor’s pick would be a bright red Ferrari) without any gas in it. Which is a very, very sad Ferrari. Consider this, my dear P&P: 489 of the top 500 newsletters on LinkedIn belong to individuals rather than companies. Got your attention, didn’t I!

“But Doctor,” you say, “we asked our team and nobody posted! They aren’t good at it! They’re too busy! They don’t know how to use LinkedIn!” Well, see here, I feel for you. But the Doctor grew up with a typewriter, a phone with a cord, and a prescription pad (don’t even try to guess her age!). So, if she can do it, so you can your team. But make it easy peasy! Share the firm’s posts with your team so they can repost them. Keep a folder of approved photos with credits and captions and distribute them so anyone can simply copy, paste and post!

Now, the elephant in the exam room…AI. Everybody uses robots to write these days, and dear Posting, everybody can tell. Ask the robot about your new science building and it returns something in corporate twaddle with the same cadence, the same delight in sharing, and the eternal em dashes that everyone else is using (and the Doctor used to love em dashes. Not anymore. Thanks, AI). Did you know that one-third of consumers are less likely to buy from a brand that uses AI. But don’t throw out the AI baby with the bathwater. You can let the robots research, outline, and fix your typos while you write the thought leadership piece. 

Next, platforms do different jobs and you need to be flex. Instagram is great for attracting new talent or capturing the attention of design editors looking for projects. That’s great value, P&P, so keep your feed gorgeous. But LinkedIn is where the grownups are doing business. You can publish a short article or a newsletter right on the platform. Posts with over two thousand characters get almost twice the engagement as shorter ones. 

And spend more than like five seconds writing a caption. “Excited to share our newly completed XYZ” is bor-ing. A project photo is about you. A strategic solution to their problem is about them.

What the Doctor means is that your digital presence is the amplifier for your positioning, your audiences, and a comms plan tied to the work you want to win. (It takes a room, a whiteboard, and some uncomfortable honesty to hash that out. The Doctor knows a good facilitator if you need one.)

The diagnosis? You don’t have a posting problem, Posting. You have a strategy problem. But don’t ever stop believin’. 

Now go forth and build your influence! The Doctor is singing along with you.

Haus Call: In keeping with our theme of Doctor in the Haus, we’re featuring one of our favorite houses with each post. Pictured in the blog is the Eames House (aka Case Study House No. 8) by Charles and Ray Eames, completed in 1949. Part of the Case Study House program, the Eames House was one of two dozen prototypes designed to solve the post-war housing crisis using industrial materials and techniques. Ultimately, the program’s ambition was greater than its output.