#WednesdayWisdom with Olga Sommer
Olga Sommer, Director of Revenue at the newly opened Nobu Hotel London Portman Square
How to build a strong network on Linked In?
Be genuine, create engaging content and be consistent. Similar to how we build relationships in person, we connect better with those whose opinions resonate with us. Showing your personality, applying a no nonsense approach and occasionally using humour goes a long way.
First of all, make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date, professional, mentioning key words and that you fully utilise the options available on the platform. Connect with your colleagues and ex-colleagues, who already know you and your work ethic. Interact with your audience, like, comment, post, share experiences, engage, ask for advice and pose questions.
You can have a strategic or more an ad-hoc approach to utilizing Linkedin, however try to be consistent, for example checking updates every second day, posting at least once a month, publishing articles every quarter or annually.
How to grow your network and get engagement that leads to more requests?
Be an active participant on the subjects that interest you, be that operations, finance, revenue management, IT, recruitment, etc.
There are tons of free webinars, masterclasses and groups to join. Make the most of it by taking an active approach, expressing your opinion, commenting and engaging. This is where you are likely to come across like-minded people, who will become your trusted network and support group.
If you feel intimidated to post yourself then start by commenting on posts and build your confidence. Sharing your expertise by writing articles is a great way to engage with your audience and become a voice and contributor in your specific field, this in return will lead to more requests.
What posts get the most engagement and reach?
Good quality, interesting, genuine and even occasionally controversial content with attention grabbing headlines is always a winner. It can be your personal experience or an article by someone else but it needs to be useful to your audience. Remember - quality over quantity.
Post at the time you expect your audience to be most active, for example, Monday to Wednesday before 10am. I did a case study on this subject and posted on Sunday evening, unsurprisingly the engagement and reach was around 47% lower than usual.
Most importantly, use the first hour after submitting a post to engage with your audience by liking and responding to comments, LinkedIn algorithms will propel your post further.
Don’t be afraid to experiment as there are some occasional surprises. Not long ago I shared an interesting article, which usually results in a lower reach, however this post gained over 74,000 views.
How can LinkedIn help with career progression?
LinkedIn has over 740 million users, so it is safe to say that opportunities are out there. It is important to remain active, so when the right opportunity arises, you will be first on the mind of potential employers.
While many of us have some spare time during the pandemic, it is a great opportunity to offer help, time and skills to various organisations within the hospitality sector, to name a few: Inspiring Leaders Diploma, St Julian Scholars, Master Innholders, Institute of Hospitality, HOSPA, WHTT (Women in Hospitality Tech and Travel).
It will keep you occupied and provide new opportunities and may even lead to new employment. Remember, ultimately you are at the driving seat of your career, LinkedIn is only a platform where you create YOUR network
