Creation on LinkedIn is about building active communities: Pooja Chhabria, LinkedIn

The LinkedIn Creator Accelerator Program is now live in India. In a conversation with Social Samosa, Pooja Chhabria from LinkedIn and other program mentors, share insights on the essence of this initiative and the fundamentals of upskilling.

Pooja Chhabria, APAC Head of Creator Management, LinkedIn shares details on the onboarding process, regional and cultural relevance, and building engaging content on LinkedIn.

Along with program mentors - Radhika Gupta, MD & CEO at Edelweiss AMC, Pooja Dhingra, Founder & CEO, Le15 Patisserie, who throw light on being the guiding light of this program.

The LinkedIn Creator Accelerator Program

In May 2022, LinkedIn introduced the first India class of the Creator Accelerator Program. The 10-week Creator Accelerator Program by LinkedIn offers coaching, networking opportunities, and a financial grant to help 200 creator participants amplify their voices, grow their communities, and share content.

The first India class of the 10-week incubator program were recently introduced, which includes 200 creators from diverse professional and demographic backgrounds. The creators delve into a range of professional topics across the world of work such as ethical Artificial Intelligence, entrepreneurship, semiconductors, financial literacy, health & wellbeing, and more.

India is one of the fastest-growing markets on LinkedIn, with 88 Mn Indian members on the platform, and LinkedIn aims to achieve higher levels of member engagement as the Indian creator community continues to grow stronger on the platform.

The 10-week incubator program will enable shortlisted creators to have the opportunity to learn from LinkedIn creator managers and four program mentors on how they can create engaging content in their areas of interest and expertise.

The four program mentors are LinkedIn creators Ankur Wairkoo, co-founder at nearbuy.com; Radhika Gupta, MD & CEO at Edelweiss AMC, Pooja Dhingra, Founder & CEO, Le15 Patisserie and Nuseir Yassin, CEO at Nas Daily & Nas Academy; who will train the participants on content creation that intends to be relevant and engaging.

Pooja mentions although the program is 10 weeks long, LinkedIn would be invested in the creators for the long run, and creators will continue to receive best practices and support from the Community Management team, along with being supported to connect with opportunities and communities.

The Logistics

The shortlisting and onboarding logistics of the program were kicked off with a call for applications. Applications were open for creators of all sizes and genres, irrespective of their standing in the creator journeys. A diverse panel of judges then scored applicants on their ideas submitted that best matched the core criteria of creativity, passion, commitment, and impact on the LinkedIn community.

The final cohort of 200 participants are bound by the mutual passion for community building and content creation but are diverse in terms of gender, age, experiences, location and content topics, and have the potential to create unique experiences and content types through their insights.

Also Read: LinkedIn introduces new creator tools to host audio events amidst other features

Top Content Categories

Pooja Chhabria mentions that the diversity and variety of topics on LinkedIn have experienced an upsurge in the last two years. She adds that the diversity of topics that are a part of the program also reflects what the community on LinkedIn wants to consume and share.

These are some of the top content categories on LinkedIn, according to the metrics such as reach, engagement, and views:

• Career Growth
• skills development
• Entrepreneurship
• Finance
• Technology
• Comedy
• Entrepreneurship
• Business News
• Responsible AI

Some of the recent Trending Topics that we saw in India last week include:

• Sick days? What sick days? If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s to stay home when we’re feeling sick. Yet – many workers still don’t have that option.
• Money mistakes we make What are some of the money mistakes you made in your life and what did you learn from them?
• Veteran deal maker Sanjay Nayar sets up 135 Mn USD early-stage tech fund Amid a slowdown in startup funding, veteran deal maker and banker Sanjay Nayar has set up a new fund to invest in early-stage startups in India, reports Economic Times.
• CV mistakes to avoid A good, clear resume can be the key to getting the job you want. We know what information we should add to a resume, but what are some mistakes and information that we should avoid?

Hashtags trending on LinkedIn in the past month:

• #BicycleDay
• #PrideMonth
• #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth
• #InternationalNursesDay

Content Creation Tips

Pooja further shares that its a constant learning journey for creators — right from finding their voice and preferred fields of interest to understanding which content formats best work for their followers and communities on LinkedIn. She shares some tips for creators to keep in mind on LinkedIn:

• Be authentic: Having an authentic and unique storytelling style that comes from the heart is key to resonating with audiences.
• Be consistent: If you’re just getting started, try posting a few times per week, then gradually increase the cadence as you get more engagement.
• Add value: Think about how it can help your community learn something new or build skills to help them advance their careers or how your thoughts and personal experiences can give them a new perspective.
• Start a conversation instead of broadcasting information: LinkedIn is the platform for professional constructive discussions, and leverage your knowledge and your unique experiences to encourage different perspectives through conversations.
• Make yourself discoverable: When finding their own voice, creators must make sure their community finds them too. Using hashtags and @mentions in creator mode can help creators push through the clutter and increase their chances of discoverability.

As a professional network, content on LinkedIn is limited to the professional world and the Education category. This type of category is customarily perceived to be as insightful but not engaging.

Talking about this notion, and how mentors plan to guide creators on making their content engaging, Radhika Gupta, MD & CEO, Edelweiss AMC and LinkedIn Mentor, shares “I think professional content can be engaging if it is told in an engaging manner". She further elaborates that out of the various incidents that one can get inspired by, the question is how to best use these stories to package the same content as lessons that are more engaging, powerful, and authentic.

Pooja Dhingra, Founder & CEO, Le15 Patisserie and LinkedIn Mentor, believes that content on LinkedIn is in the professional and education category, but it doesn’t need to be driven only by insights. "The key to connecting with people is sharing real authentic experiences and learnings and building a community that feels safe to do the same with you". She shares that is a learning that applies to her own creator journey, and that's how she plans to guide the participants.