Vivek Khandelwal’s Post

Hello #linkedinfamily 👋 Happy new work week to you. If there is something I've learnt and come to appreciate over the last 20 days that I've been a part of the #20daychallengewithhaoma is that trends are generally easy to jump on, but remaining afloat long enough to see visible results over time is majorly dependent on a careful blend between consistency and delivery of high value content for your chosen community. But how exactly does one remain consistent in delivering high value content for their growing community? This is the secret that I've learned from this challenge that I am now also graciously passing on to you. Consistency in delivering high-value content on platforms like LinkedIn requires a strategic approach: 1. 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫: Plan your content in advance using a content calendar. This ensures you have a consistent schedule for posting and helps you organize your ideas effectively. With Hoamas challenge, for example, we had a generic template that acted as a guide for the posts we were expected to put out on each day. By using this guide as a frame,we were then given the liberty to customise it at will based on our specific industry or individual content pillars. 2. 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: Know your audience's interests, pain points, and preferences.Tailor your content to address their needs and provide value. This is extremely important. 3. 𝐕𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭: Dare to experiment with different types of content such as articles, videos, infographics, polls, etc. Keep your audience engaged by offering a variety of formats. 4. 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲: Focus on creating quality content rather than posting frequently. Consistently delivering high-value content is more important than posting frequently but with lower quality. 5. 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲: Respond to comments, messages, and interactions from your audience. Engaging with your community builds relationships and encourages ongoing participation. 6. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬: Keep an eye on industry trends and relevant topics. Incorporate these into your content strategy to stay relevant and provide timely insights to your audience. 7. 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭:Track the performance of your content using analytics. Identify what resonates with your audience and adjust your content strategy accordingly. While this list may not be exhaustive, it should help you create meaningful connections with your community, and also help build credibility for your brand. By following these strategies, you can maintain consistency in delivering high-value content for your growing LinkedIn community. Found this useful? Kindly give it a thumbs up & repost to your own community. #ThoughtLeadership #Consistency #leadershipdevelopment #personaldevelopment #20daychallengewithhaoma

I spent the New Year's Eve and New Year's Day at home. Which made me realise that's also where I spend most of time throughout the year. I work from home, it's been more a than a year now that I've been working from home. I also do not have a lot of friends in one of my hometowns so I don't step out for fun either. 2020 made us all realise the power of being at home, 2022 and 2023 gave me the opportunity to make it a choice. I gladly chose my time at home which helps me spend these years with my family because let's accept it, we did miss out on that the last decade trying to run after our careers. I love being at home and also there's something about staring at my old walls which just lights a bulb in my head. I am a copywriter by heart not just by profession. I think of copy pretty much all the time, even when I'm not thinking. I think of poems, taglines, slogans, phrases, quotes, titles and the list continues. You know where I love doing it the most? At home. Why am I sharing this with y'all today? Because again, I'm pretty sure I'll spend most of 2024 at home. But am I gonna waste another year just working and laying on the couch? Nope. My plans for the coming year is to: 1. Build a personal brand for me on LinkedIn by posting daily. (I read somewhere there's always an audience for you, even if you post shite) 2. I am gonna upgrade my skill set. (Maybe UI/UX, maybe digital marketing, maybe something else y'all can suggest?) 3. I'm gonna start posting short stories on my blog again, every week. Maybe twice a week too? (https://lnkd.in/gXmthwsN) 4. I'll work on my next book. Yes it's gonna be a poetry book again. (My first book Breathing Underwater is available on Amazon) 5. I'm gonna let go of my shy, introvert and submissive alter ego and embrace every invitation, meeting invite, event invite, travel invite- any and every type of social invite that will allow me to step out and meet people from the industry. (If you are in the same city as me and wanna host a Content Writers/Copywriters social gathering, group, chit-chat at a cafe kinda thing, hit me up in 2024. I'm all in!) Above all, I'm gonna give my career, my life and my year my all. I'm gonna be loud, clear and excited about what the year has to offer. A job, a country, an opportunity or just a handshake. I'm gonna do it all. I'll take up space and do it unapologetically. Here's a to a beautiful year ahead. I hope you have a wonderful 2024. What's your story? #newyear #Newyear2024 #Insandouts #copywriting #contentwriting #marketing #newyeargoals #careerupgrade #lifeupdate #askingforafriend

✨I must admit: I had no idea what a hook was before LinkedIn.✨ ✍🏽In content writing, we simply call it the intro sentence. And I can write a mean introductory sentence. But many people have asked me lately how to START their posts. 📈So, a case study… OF MY OWN WORK Should be interesting ha! And from this post, you can steal my engagement-driving methods. ✨Let’s look at/dissect the hooks from my top-performing LinkedIn posts✨ 5️⃣ “My childhood house-cleaning days are not unlike the way I run my content marketing agency.” 🔷 Type: analogy 🔷 Strategy: personal storytelling 🔷 POV: first person 🔷 Impressions: 6.3k (Note that this is a longer hook.) →Why it works: ✅ Relatable due to common ground with audience (childhood cleaning) ✅ Teases a lesson (the way I run my content agency) in the first line ✅ People love a comparison post! 4️⃣ “One of the most common requests I get here on LinkedIn is to look over people’s posts.” 🔷 Type: informative 🔷 Strategy: personal storytelling 🔷 POV: first person 🔷 Impressions: 8.5k →Why it works: ✅ Relatable for anyone who wants to improve their posts ✅ Simple yet effective ✅ LinkedIn content and hooks always get more attention Note: I also made a visual series and spent time crafting a great post. 3️⃣ “When I first quit my full-time job a year ago, I was thrilled to work full-time at home. 😄” 🔷 Type: relatable 🔷 Strategy: personal storytelling 🔷 POV: first person 🔷 Impressions: 8.8k →Why it works: ✅ Relatable ✅ Speaks to a wide audience who came to LI after leaving a full-time job ✅ Drives questions: Why did I quit my job? Am I no longer thrilled? Note: If I had written from the third person, this hook may not have worked: “Many people work full-time from home and go to working full-time at home” Doesn’t pack the same punch. Anyone could have written it. 2️⃣ “This may come as a surprise, but I’m not looking for love, or dating, on LinkedIn. 😄” 🔷 Type: humor 🔷 Strategy: personal storytelling 🔷 POV: first person 🔷 Impressions: 10.4k →Why it works: ✅ Funny ✅ Relatable (largely to a female audience) ✅ Addresses a problem many have experienced on LinkedIn ✅ Teases in the first line  that I will delve deeper into the problem 1️⃣ “I’ve had a lot of people ask me *how* I was able to quit my full-time job and start freelancing.” 🔷 Type: informative 🔷 Strategy: personal storytelling 🔷 POV: first person 🔷 Impressions: 11.4k →Why it works: ✅ Teases a common issue the first line promises to address ✅ Relatable ✅ Intriguing (not everyone knows the solution) 🚨None of my hooks are perfect, it’s true.🚨 But they ARE effective. And I got better with time. These posts were spread over 5 months of writing for LinkedIn. 🖊️Content creators: steal my hook-writing methods, they’re free. ⚔️If you need help writing your hooks, you know where to find me. ⚔️ #contentslayer #contentcreator #contentwriter #hooks #hookwritingtips #linkedincontent #linkedintips #linkedingrowth

In 2018 when I was working on my YouTube channel (Foodtech Simplified), I didn’t know it would even hit 100 subscribers. Right now it has over 60K subscribers. Through this channel, I learnt the skills I have now, and got access to many doors that were previously closed. Most importantly, I was fortunate to be able to guide hundreds of college grads who felt stuck in their careers. Because of those videos, I still get emails and messages asking questions around food technology. Although I made a video last year mentioning that I won’t be making food technology videos, but I believe YouTube algo doesn’t work in a way that allows each video to reach all the subscribers. So just to put it out there again, I have transitioned into a communications specific role. I reflected a lot about what kind of content would I like to produce going forward. And I intend to make content not specific to food tech, but around career clarity and soft skills. This is because I have been seeing a pattern that a lot of Gen Z feels overwhelmed with the career choices that exist today. They feel confused and stuck. As a matter of fact, we Millennials don’t have the right answers to career advancement either. Plus, I see lots of career advice floating around that can do more damage than good to the ones who follow it, but makes the one richer who offer it. (IYKYK) Over the last 5 years, I have worked as a: → Consultant → Freelance LinkedIn Strategist → Guest Lecturer → Program Executive → Content Creator → Career Coach → and now, Communications Manager Some of these were full-time roles, while others were part-time. Some of these jobs were intentional, while for others, I stumbled into them without much planning. The good part, is that these jobs allowed me to gain understanding of who I am, how I like to work, and how I can thrive. And going forward, I would like to share the learnings through these experiences with you. I’ll be producing content in English here on LinkedIn. But if you understand Hinglish (Hindi+English), I have started a new YouTube channel just for you. You can check it out here: https://lnkd.in/gKAg5v7f P.S. I am currently in the middle of a monthly streak to produce 4 videos. You can expect the next video to be uploaded on Sunday this week. (The image here is a screenshot of my first video that I made in 2018)

Whenever someone asks me for tips on creating impactful social media content in 2024, one of the first things I tell them is to start thinking of everything as content... especially the real, the raw, the ‘didn’t have time to make my surroundings absolutely pristine’ moments that can do and mean so much more than an expertly produced, perfectly designed, heavily edited post does for today’s digital audience. 👀 I guess this is my chance to take my own advice. I was recently let go from my full-time job. And while I dust myself off and begin the process of searching for a new career opportunity, I thought I might as well create some content about it—not only as a creative outlet for myself, but also because the more people I tell about my current professional circumstance, the more I realize how common this experience is... and yet, it still feels so weird talking about it. I had a knot in my stomach yesterday morning thinking about having to tell people that I lost my job. I wonder if maybe it’s because I haven’t heard very many other stories about the ‘in limbo’ period—the time between “This will be your last day at the company” and “We’d like to offer you the position at our company”. I know I’m supposed to be sprucing up my resume and applying for new jobs, but…what else? Can I sit in my pajamas for most of the day? Should I be combing through my expenses to optimize my spending and saving habits during the next few weeks or even months? So, this is me documenting how I’m handling and moving through that time between one door closing and another opening, for anyone who needs to know they’re not alone if they’re still sitting in their PJs at 12 p.m. on a Monday. 💛

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish! #SteveJobs   Yeah, I'm Foolish and I'm very Hungry, Sir! And, as you said once, I’m as proud of many of the things we haven’t done as the things we have done. Innovation is saying no to a thousand things.   Today, I mark 15 years (overall 22.5 years) of being an independent professional (job-less, yet #Aatmanirbhar).   On April 24, 2010, I stepped out of my last job with big hope, a willingness to do better, and the desire to achieve something on my own! I was nervous, not sure of my future or my next step. The decision was not easy, yet I wanted to put myself on firing lines to begin, and the only thing I knew was a little bit of PR and writing press releases (majorly in Hindi and somewhat in English).   I had to start something somehow, and it began: an independent journey as a freelance PR. Still, I was not sure if I would be able to stand amid a tough competitive world, the challenges ahead, the hick-ups and up-downs, and a world where there are people waiting to push you down.   Since the beginning, I've tried different things, or, in SJ's words, I’ve always been attracted to the more revolutionary changes. I don’t know why. Because they’re harder. They’re much more stressful emotionally. And you usually go through a period where everybody tells you that you’ve completely failed.   'Failed' has been my favorite compliment! I love to fail, as it motivates and inspires me to restart with experience and learn from my last failure. Yeah, it shattered my morale and confidence momentarily, but then a friend once said, beta, sirf jeetna hi jaruri nahi, baazigar banna hai to harna seekh, celebrate kar, tab maja ayega (learn to fail, celebrate, and enjoy the failures to get the best out of you), and eventually it worked.   Beginning the 15th year, I feel the missing spark within me—something I couldn't do, some decisions that were selfish, some that made people take me for granted. All these years, I worked hard, but I missed doing smart work! I've earned a good network, associations, some amazing clients, colleagues, and media friends. But an unknown hunger and eagerness to do more, learn, and achieve more are still there!! Jaane kya dhundhta hai ye mera dil, tujhko kya chahiye zindagi..   Usually, I try not to flaunt my work or success and show off! Maybe that's one reason I'm not able to create a brand name for myself or the work I have done. The one question I keep asking myself after all these years: Where do I stand as an individual and a professional? What's the future ahead?   14 saal, buddhe ho gaye yaar! No, as both mind and heart say, it's just the beginning, boy, with a long road ahead. There is much more to learn, to conquer greater challenges, and to fight within to keep moving until you reach your destiny. Godji jeet jayenge hum, tu agar sang hai.   Thank you to all the lovely, genuine, helpful, and supportive people for always being there. #pr #publicrelations #gratitude #journalists #communications

𝗗𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘄 – 𝘼𝙣 𝙊𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝘼𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙡 🤙 𝘏𝘌𝘓𝘓𝘖 𝘉𝘌𝘈𝘜𝘛𝘐𝘍𝘜𝘓 𝘗𝘌𝘖𝘗𝘓𝘌 𝘖𝘍 𝘓𝘐𝘕𝘒𝘌𝘋𝘐𝘕! I am back baby. 😎 Yes, it’s that time again. You get to spend the next few minutes reading me rambling on about whatever it is that I want to ramble about, and the best thing is, that because it’s here on #LinkedIn, the professional’s social #network, you can do it whilst you are “technically” working. 😉 Let that sink in, your boss is paying you to read this. Well, not really, but it makes me feel more like an actual writer when I think about it that way, so let's go with it. 😅 After the surprising success of last month's edition (𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟯𝟬 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗺𝘂𝗺 & 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀!!) the pressure has been ramped up and I need to deliver, will I stick to the tried and tested formula of writing about something relevant to my #job❓ 𝙉𝙤𝙥𝙚! That my friends is called subverting your expectations. 🔄 “𝘉𝘶𝘵, 𝘞𝘏𝘠?” 💁♀️ I can hear our beloved social media manager asking. ”𝘗𝘓𝘌𝘈𝘚𝘌 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴” she continues (this is all imaginary by the way, I never write around other people, just on my own, tapping away at old-fashioned #typewriter with just a tube of pringles for company.) 😅 Sure, I could write more about #hospitality & #hotels, and I probably will do that again in the future, but as a #copywriter/content creator/clown, I feel obligated to keep you, my readers, on your toes.☝ So, for now we’re going down a different path.🤗 This month, my #column is an ode to the mysterious, unpredictable yet somehow charming month of #April. Let’s get started with some facts… 🅓🅘🅓 🅨🅞🅤 🅚🅝🅞🅦: 💡 April has the 100th day of the year? Not really useful information in any way, but there you go. 💡 After a 1,500-year break (just a quick one then), the first #Olympics of the modern era took place on April 6, 1896, in Athens. 💡 TODAY, April 25th is World Penguin Day – how can you not love these little legends?! 💡 Not a fact, but April is notable for its capricious (𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗬 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗧) weather. ☔🌞 Can someone 𝙋𝙇𝙀𝘼𝙎𝙀 explain how I have been sunburnt, seen snow, rain and sun in such a short timespan?🤨 💡 April is the birth month of some important #historical figures; #LeonardoDaVinci, #WilliamShakespeare and 𝘿𝙖𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 #𝙋𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖 🤭 (𝘓𝘐𝘍𝘌 𝘏𝘈𝘊𝘒: if you want people to wish you a happy birthday, don’t post on #Instagram, just trick people into thinking you are a semi-capable writer, get given a #platform on the company LinkedIn account and dedicate a post to your birth month! It’s so easy even I can do it!✌)   𝘼𝙖𝙖𝙣𝙙 that will do for now. Enjoy the last few days of this blessed month, and I will see you again in #May when we’re back to more relevant topics, OR MAYBE NOT!!🤡 #dansview #copywriter #pentahotels #pentalovesyou #teamspirit

Content creation is NOT HARD. It’s just that you haven’t familiarized yourself with the process. The hardest part isn't the technology or editing tricks. Those are learnable skillsets. The hardest part is your consistency. Consistency is the key to exponential growth on LinkedIn. Struggling with being consistent? Here’s the first thing you should do. Have a 'content creation day or time.' Dedicate a specific day or time window every week. Otherwise, you’ll never find the time. Don’t treat it like an optional task. Make it a MUST. Treat it like your full-time job. It requires the same effort and focus. Remember → Part-time efforts only bring part-time results!

The Reason Why You Have Low Engagements? (*Let's Correct This) While I was scrolling through the blue app, a friend of mine asked me this question. “Why are my engagements low?” “Low?” “Yes, they're getting low.” I paused for a moment, then went on to do my research. (*The schooly scientist part of me is also useful here) Here are common reasons for low engagements: •Contents with no life. •Tagging people or companies who don't engage. •Using external links in posts. •Too many hashtags. •Contents that are always salesy. After looking at all these, I went to my friend's profile, Let's get personal here, I began taking notes of what posts did well, and those that didn't. After consuming and analyzing enough data aka contents, (*PS: The contents were perfect) Boom.. I found the teeny-tiny mistakes that cost my friend the low game. Then I told my friend to do these instead; ✓ Include stories to your post. (*The only post that had stories, had high engagements) ✓ Use high-quality pictures of yourself. ✓ Make your post easy-to-read. (*They were too clogged, and not structured) ✓Be human. ✓Keep experimenting. The implementation was swift, and even I who was not my friend’s target audience became so interested in that topic. My friend is presently getting enough engagements, and has also won my eyes. So my friends, are you also ready to correct these mistakes? Which of the above will you be implementing? (*Not so much of a shocker, I also made some of these mistakes in the past.) PS.. Who sleeps around 9, 10, or 11pm? I need sleeping early tutorials from you 🥺 Remember, I'm rooting for you, And I purple 💜 you. If you enjoyed this post, it costs nothing to share and connect with Blessing💜🖤. I’d be feeding you more value, just let me know what you want to eat. (My posting time still remains 9AM WAT everyday, and Sundays by 12 NOON).🙏🏽 Oh.. and before I leave, I want to thank one of my friends for being a kind support to me. Most of you know him, Ibekwe Obinna 💜 Thank you Sir. #contentcreation #contentwriting #storytelling #creativecontent #goals #personalbranding #linkedin #engagements

#100CareerTruths — Truth No. 40 Cool jobs come only after one has spent enough time in the weeds. —— The struggle for attracting talent has caused companies to get highly creative with how they market roles. Perks, those 'day in the life of' videos, bombastic titles and other such tactics have become commonplace. Simultaneously, candidates, in an attempt to spruce themselves end up falling prey to such practices and move towards making themselves and their jobs appear 'cool' and 'hip'. This is more prevalent today than ever because contemporary media technologies enable a level of reach and posturing like never before. Hidden beneath all the glam and glitter is the truth that all operators worth their salt recognise : jobs become interesting only when one learns to see how intricate and complex things are. Put another way, one can only have an interesting job after one has spent enough time with it to be able to see how deep the rabbit-hole goes. Take the role of a content professional. Most initially start out as a 'content writer' whose primary job will be to read, write, and edit. More often than not, these come under the marketing function and are inherently not all that exciting or interesting, at least in the beginning. That being said, if one sticks with it long enough, and is lucky enough to have managers who help them see how their work benefits the business, the frame of thinking changes. It shifts from 'what do I write?' to 'how do I write this such that potential leads are intrigued by the product/service?'. This is usually around the time when a content writer starts thinking like a brand marketer (instead of a vanilla writer). Such shifts will keep happening and one day, said person will develop the chops to assemble and run a full-fledged brand marketing team. This takes time and cannot be rushed. The most one can do is spend more time iterating, but that involves long hours and may not be everyone's cup of tea. The longer one sticks with something, the better one gets, which in turn allows one to see and appreciate the many layers that make up a seemingly 'boring' job. Cool jobs are ultimately just ordinary jobs seen from a different lens.