Almost exactly a year ago, I accepted a marketing challenge from a friend.

The rules were simple: Post every day on LinkedIn. (I chose to only post on weekdays.)

I’d been on the platform for over a decade, but never used it much.

Yet it figured it was a good experiment.

I posted all kinds of things.

I tried photos, videos, quotes, articles, polls, writing, etc.

Many days, I hardly got any response and barely anyone saw what I posted.

Yet that didn’t matter. My only metric for success was showing up. If I did that, I was winning.

And learning.

I also started commenting on other posts, following interesting people, and making it a habit to connect on the platform with anyone new I met.

Within 5 months, I landed one of my biggest clients of 2021 because of my LinkedIn activity.

These days, it’s one of the main places people connect with me, even though I’m not posting quite as often.

Meanwhile, the content I created for a client on the platform started to get more and more traction as I deepened into the culture and conventions of the space. Their audience has tripled since the start of 2021.

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I tell this story as support for the simple formula for social media/networking success that are today’s Magic Words.

(This formula is adapted from my friend, mentor, coach, and fellow StoryBrand guide, Erika Bryant.)

The formula is:

Show up
Give
Ask

Let’s take it piece by piece.

1. Show up.

This is what my daily LinkedIn experiment helped me do.

In some ways, it’s the biggest, hardest step for some people.

Just start showing up.

Pick one social media network, one Slack community, or even one in-person networking group and just SHOW UP, regularly.

It can help to set a quantity goal like I did.

2. Give.

What to do as you show up?

Start with generosity.

Give advice. Give wisdom. Be human. Plan to help first.

Your main goal in the space should be to contribute in a way that’s relevant to your eventual goals.

Add value to the same people you want as customers. Share lessons learned. Give them helpful tips that make you the expert and build trust.

Make sure this is genuine giving — people can feel it when it’s not.

3. Ask.

As you show up and give, you earn the right to ask for things from people.

Like what? Your ask could be signing up for your email list, downloading a lead generator, buying a program, scheduling a discovery call, introducing you to someone, spreading the word about an event… whatever is relevant.

Asking should be no more than 20% of your content in space. For me, it’s often much less.

But don’t make the mistake of never asking, either.

The ask is an important part of actually serving people, and in creating the business success you want.

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There you have it.

The world’s simplest — and most powerful — social media strategy.

It’s worked for me, for my clients, for Erika’s clients, and many many others. I promise it can work for you too.

Give it a shot and let me know how it goes for you.

Warmly,

Rachel

PS – If we’re not connected on LinkedIn yet, let’s fix that. Find me here.

PPS – Here’s that daily LinkedIn challenge my friend started — she’s doing it again for 2022!

This post was originally sent as an email to the Magic Words of the Week newsletter list. Every week, I share reflections on a word, quote, or phrase I think will help you thrive in your life’s work.