2024 was a shitty year. Posting on LinkedIn made it slightly less shitty for Insight.
How would I know that you ask?
Well, let’s discuss my friend. In my previous article, I filled you in on the gut-clenching psychological trench warfare it took to get me on the bloody platform.
But now it's time to look at the results: the fruits of my victory over Inner Kim, who spent 2024 demanding I take down every post and bury them forever. We’ll get into:
Come along with me as we discuss my little experiment. Maybe it’ll even help you out if you’re thinking about jumping onto the platform yourself.
So I’m an analyst, right? I track stuff. I like tracking stuff. It ticks a little box in my brain. So I’ve been tracking sales data since I started the business in 2012. We’ve got three major lead channels at Insight Online.
Here’s our total leads from 2020 to 2023.
I distinctly remember thinking in 2020 that it was a slow year, but it was the year of COVID and we had lockdowns. No way it could happen again right? Well, apart from a brief surge in early 2022, we saw leads sink lower in each following year.
These were years with brutal pressure. I’m sure you all remember. We didn’t really know what would happen. I think our saving grace was that we worked with many businesses that were Essential Services, keeping New Zealand running behind the scenes.
Here’s another way of looking at that data. I’ve done a 4-year rolling average of the leads we receive each month.
After 12 years of relying on word of mouth and business partnerships, this is the typical pattern we see. I only have anecdotal data but typically we see a surge after the tax year finishes in March. And then a smaller surge for those businesses that end their tax year mid year. And then it’s a long slow grind through winter and towards Christmas.
How many of you experience the same trend? I’d be so interested to chat with you.
As we drew towards the end of 2023, we had to do something different. There was no way we could survive another year with leads falling year after year.
Huh, maybe we try…marketing? You know: that thing we do for our clients?
It was humbling that we had to do more marketing. We are a marketing agency. But I suppose one great thing about needing to survive is that you suck it up, and you do what’s necessary.
It was rough to start but eventually we got going [Link to blog if on website, Link to LinkedIn if on LinkedIn]. And what do you know…
All of a sudden: BAM. Not a small difference. Not drips turning into a trickle. No: leads started to surge. It’s possible that other forces were at play in early January, but from February onwards we saw consistently high leads each month.
Framed another way, here’s a shot of total lead numbers by year. From 2023 to 2024, we saw a 56% increase in lead volume.
Corresponding with that increase in lead volume, we saw a 20% increase in revenue compared to 2023. It was obvious something was working.
But what was it?
I wasn’t posting Shakespeare. A little bit of personal stuff, a bit about business and a bit about our services. My strategy was that I had no strategy. I was throwing lots of things at the wall to see what stuck.
But now, 12 months later, I’ve got a few ideas.
Firstly, I don’t think there’s a single factor at play. It’s a combination of all these factors. And I think I’ve noticed in the most successful creators, these factors are in play as well.
1. No one posts. Literally, no one.
Check out these statistics. There wasn’t any NZ-specific data on how many content creators so I estimated based on the global average.
There just isn’t that much competition on the platform. Less than 1% of people will be posting organic content. So if you’re posting, you’re already ahead of 99% of people that are on there.
Side note: Look at bloody YouTube! We’re missing an opportunity there guys.
2. Showing up 3 times/week counts.
I’ve been working in marketing for a few years now. I know lots of people. But there’s no way that I can fit a thousand people into my calendar.
Oh wait. Look what LinkedIn gives me. The ability to show up, in front of them, 3 times a week. That counts for something.
And certainly, the first influx of leads was a bunch of people saying “Oh I’ve been meaning to reach out and I saw your video…”.
It’s that old advertising adage about repetition. Repetition. Repetition.
3. Being yourself.
You know how I got my first 10 videos up? I did no prep. I just showed up. No idea what I was going to talk about. Bronson (videographer) told me not to worry about it.
“Just sit back and we’re just going to have a casual conversation”
“Ok….”
“What annoys you about marketing in New Zealand?”
“What?! [Kim goes off on a crazy rant]
He asked me a dozen questions about things I care about. These weren’t all topics I felt comfortable giving “advice” on. But people seemed to resonate with an honest point of view or a shared experience. I think that authenticity worked well.
I’m not going to lie, the first two months of 2025 have been much harder. I’ve also taken the foot off the LinkedIn posting because we’re doing a lot of strategy for ourselves right now. There’s no hiding the fact that lead numbers are low. We’re heading into uncertain and changing times. We’re seeing:
So how should we respond? Here’s what we’ll be doing:
Heading into these uncertain times, I believe it’s better to be visible than not. Sticking your head up above the parapet is terrifying, but it works. I think we can make Insight Online more resilient and introduce more people to us in a positive way.
Marketing isn’t a luxury anymore. It’s the way through.
And in 2025, we’re going all in.
