Building Online Trust

Day 4 of teaching A to Z of LinkedIn .Today is 'D' for DMs :the underrated power move of LinkedIn growth. When people think of LinkedIn growth, they often think: 📌 Viral posts 📌 Aesthetic profiles 📌 Hashtags, hooks, and headlines But what they MISS is something that doesn’t make noise publicly... DMs. YESssssssss the Direct Messages. The real game of LinkedIn. So, Let’s break this down. 📌 Why are DMs so underrated? Because they don’t bring instant dopamine like a viral post. Because they’re private. Not flashy. Not performative. But if you’re serious about career growth, networking, and personal branding then DMs are your shortcut to depth. ➡️ According to LinkedIn, InMail messages are 300% more likely to get a response than cold emails. ➡️ I personally got 50+ speaking opportunities, different clients, and 100+ crazyyyy yet hardworking people from DMs in the last 6 months. 🍪 Brownie Points: The Types of DMs that WORK : 1. The Gratitude DM “Hi Riya, just read your post on personal branding: such a fresh take! Thank you for sharing. I would love to stay connected and learn more from your journey.” ✅ Low-pressure ✅ Builds trust ✅ Starts a warm connection 2. The Curiosity DM “Hi Riya! Loved your recent talk on Gen Z marketing. Quick Q: What do you think is one emerging trend most marketers are missing in 2025?” ✅ Invites conversation ✅ Makes the other person feel valued ✅ Opens a loop 3. The Collaboration DM “Hi Riya, I run a small series on marketing meets psychology. Your recent breakdown of consumer bias was ! Wondering if you'd be open to a small collab or feature?” ✅ Personalized ✅ Value-forward ✅ Converts followers into collaborators ⚠️ Common mistakes people make in DMs: “Hi” (and nothing else) 📌 Pitching without permission 📌 Copy-paste mass messages 📌 No context = No reply Every week, I do this: ✅ DM 3 people whose content I genuinely liked ✅ Follow up with 2 people who engaged on my post ✅ Introduce 2 people who can benefit from knowing each other ✅ Reply to every DM with authenticity (even if it’s late) Here’s your DM Framework (save this): D.M.A. Discover. Message. Align. Is this series helping you? Any guesses for tomorrow 's post of E of Linkedin? #linkedin #linkedinlearning #riyagadhwal #marketing #brands #ceos

A BIG follower count looks impressive. But followers don’t pay the bills 🤷🏻♀️ High numbers ≠ revenue. Why? Because followers don’t always translate to trust. That’s the difference between having an audience or a community. An AUDIENCE listens. But they’re passive. They consume your content and move on. A COMMUNITY? They engage. They connect. They show up for you. Audiences might watch from the sidelines. Communities take action. They invest. They stick around. And here’s the key difference: Communities are built on shared values, not just content. If you’re struggling to monetise, it might not be about growing your follower count. It’s about deepening your relationships. So, how do you build a community on LinkedIn? 1. Start conversations, not monologues. Ask questions. Invite opinions. Respond to comments with thought and care. 2. Be authentic. Share your wins and your challenges. Vulnerability creates connection. 3. Engage outside your posts. Comment on other people’s content. Join relevant discussions. Be present where your audience is. 4. Create shared value. Offer insights, solve problems, and share ideas that help your network grow. 5. Highlight others. Celebrate their wins. Share their content. Show that you care about their journey. 6. Be consistent. Communities thrive on trust, and trust is built by showing up regularly over time. 7. Take it offline. Meetups, coffee chats, or webinars. Bring your LinkedIn network into real-life connections. A handshake or face-to-face conversation builds bonds no algorithm can replicate. Communities aren’t built overnight. They grow when you focus on connection over attention. Because people don’t just buy products or services. They buy trust. They buy relationships. When you build a community, you don’t just have followers. You have advocates. Supporters. Friends. That’s the real game-changer. PS: Do you have an audience or a community?

We ran a 90-day test turning one client's blog content into Reddit posts, Quora answers, and Medium articles. The results: 285% increase in brand searches. 340% spike in direct traffic. 156% more organic traffic. Here's exactly how we did it: Most companies write a blog post and call it done. That's leaving 90% of the value on the table. We took existing content and systematically repurposed it across platforms where their audience actually hangs out. 1. Reddit Strategy Reddit drives massive referral traffic when done right. But most brands spam it and get banned. Our approach: • Found 8 subreddits where the target audience actively asks questions • Pulled real questions from those communities • Turned existing blog content into helpful Reddit answers • Added value first, mentioned the brand second No self-promotion. Just genuinely helpful responses that happened to reference our client's content. 2. Quora Strategy Quora gets 300+ million monthly visitors. Questions rank on Google for years. We identified high-traffic questions in the client's niche and crafted detailed answers using repurposed blog content. Each answer included direct response to the question, supporting data from the original content, and link back to the full resource. These answers became evergreen traffic sources. 3. Medium Strategy Medium articles get indexed fast and rank well. We took core sections from the client's best blog posts and reformatted them as standalone Medium articles. Key tactic: We targeted slightly different angles of the same topic to avoid cannibalization. Each piece linked back to the original resource for "more details." The Results (90 Days): 📈 Brand searches: +285% (from 50/month to 192/month) 📈 Direct traffic: +340% (from 120 visits to 528 visits) 📈 Organic traffic: +156% 📈 Referral traffic: +420% And this was all from content that already existed. Zero new content creation. Just smart distribution. Why This Works: When people see your brand mentioned across Reddit, Quora, and Medium answering real questions, you stop being "just another company" and become a recognized authority. Those brand searches? People Googling your company name after seeing you help someone on Reddit. That direct traffic? People typing your URL directly because they trust you. Action Steps: 1. Find 5 to 10 of your best performing blog posts (check Google Analytics) 2. Identify where your audience hangs out (Reddit? Quora? Medium?) 3. Pull real questions from those platforms 4. Repurpose your content to answer those questions 5. Post consistently (we did 2 to 3 posts per platform per week) Don't just copy paste your blog post. Reframe it to answer the specific question. Add context for that platform's audience. Mention your brand naturally. Let the value speak first. Track brand search volume, referral traffic from each platform, direct traffic trends, and time on site.

Playful Visuals: The secret sauce of viral brands. Your customers will lose interest on your product if you communicate through dry, instructional visuals and static product presentations. But what if discovering a product felt as engaging and delightful as playing on a playground? +60,000x faster – Visuals are processed far more quickly than text. +2x more likely to be shared – Playful content spreads faster. +48% higher engagement – Gamified experiences captivate audiences. >>Your Product is an Experience<< Play evokes joy and triggers dopamine release, enhancing memory, motivation, and emotional connection. When beauty products are presented in a fun and interactive way, they transform from simple cosmetics into immersive self-care rituals. Imagine a vibrant scene: a user’s hands gleefully applying a rich, textured cream, colors swirling in motion, a splash of shimmer catching the light. The product is no longer just a cosmetic; it’s an invitation to creativity, emotion, and self-expression. This visual storytelling captivates the imagination, making beauty routines feel effortless and exciting. + 23% better recall – Learning by doing beats passive learning. + 89% engagement boost – Game-like elements keep users invested. + 22 x stronger memory retention – Story-driven visuals leave lasting impressions. → Hands: The Ultimate Storytellers. Hands express personality, movement, and playfulness, making them powerful tools in beauty marketing. + Hands delicately blending makeup create a sense of artistry and skill. + A playful splash of cream on the skin conveys freedom and fun. + Interactive gestures, swiping, dabbing, or mixing, draw viewers into the experience. By showcasing hands in action, brands create an instant connection between the product and the consumer, making beauty feel tangible, inviting, and alive. + 5% retention – Of what we hear. + 10% retention – Of what we read. + 75% retention – Of what we practice. → Visual Playfulness Sparks Curiosity Don’t be afraid to infuse whimsy into your beauty visuals. + Stop-motion animations can make beauty products come to life. + Bold, colorful visuals grab attention and inspire experimentation. + Gamification, badges, challenges, interactive features, creates excitement. + Humor, memes, and quirky animations make brands feel approachable. + Community engagement through challenges, stickers, and shared content. Final thoughts. Playful visual communication isn’t just about fun, it’s a strategic tool for engagement, brand loyalty, and virality. Whether through dynamic animations, interactive design, or immersive storytelling, beauty brands that encourage customers to play, experiment, and explore are the ones that stand out. Find my curated search of examples and get inspired for your next Hit. Featured Brands: Belif BigLip From This Island Glossier Glowery Ksuu Laniege Purpur Quick beauty Rhode Sundae Vaay #beautybusiness #beautyprofessionals #beautycommunication #beautymarketing

You don't need to send 50 cold messages to strangers. You need to show up where your people already are. Here's how I approach it (and honestly, it's simpler than you think): 💜 Start with likes – I know, sounds basic. But when you consistently like someone's content, they notice. You're on their radar now. 💬 Then add thoughtful comments – Not "Great post!" but something real. Share your take, add value, ask a genuine question. This is where people start remembering your name. 🤝 Send connection requests to people you've engaged with – They've already seen you around. Now you're not a random face, you're someone who gets their content. ��️ DM with intention – Once you're connected, say something specific. Compliment their recent post, mention something you both care about. Make it feel like a real conversation, not a pitch. ☕ Suggest a coffee chat – If the conversation flows well, take it off the platform. Virtual coffee chats have led to some of my best collaborations. 🎯 Collaborate when it feels right – Co-create content, do a LinkedIn Live together, feature each other's work. This is where your network turns into your community. Your personal brand grows when you're genuinely interested in others, not just interesting to others. The connections that matter? They start with you showing up, being helpful, and staying consistent. P.S. Want to build a personal brand that attracts the right connections? DM me for a free consultation call. #PersonalBranding #LinkedInNetworking #ContentCreators #CommunityBuilding #NetworkingTips #LinkedInGrowth #AuthenticConnections

Just got off a call with a founder who's sent 1,000+ cold emails with ZERO responses... Let me ask you something... Have you ever crafted what you thought was the perfect outreach message, only to be met with complete silence? One of my clients (a SaaS founder) just shared their frustrating experience that might sound familiar... They spent weeks perfecting their message, researching prospects, and personalizing every email. The result? Radio silence. Zero responses. Zero meetings. Zero opportunities. And here's what really hurts... Their competitor, with an inferior product, was landing meetings left and right with the same prospects. After analyzing thousands of outreach campaigns, I’ve discovered that trust isn't built through volume - it's built through three specific elements that buyers actually care about. Here are the 3 trust drivers that actually get decision-makers to reply: 1) Social Proof That Matters Stop leading with generic logos. I've found buyers instantly engage when you share specific results from companies in their exact industry. They need to see themselves in your success stories. ✅ POWER MOVE:  Reference a similar company's specific metrics improvement (e.g., "We helped Company X increase their conversion rate by 47% in 60 days") 2) Thought Leadership Signals Your prospects are drowning in "experts." I've tested this extensively - buyers respond when you demonstrate deep industry knowledge through specific insights about their business challenges. ✅POWER MOVE: Share a unique observation about their market position or recent company changes that others missed. 3) Micro-Deliverables This is the game-changer most miss. I've seen response rates triple when founders offer immediate value before asking for anything in return. ✅POWER MOVE: Provide a quick competitive analysis or specific growth opportunity they can implement today, regardless of whether they reply. The data is clear: 89% of cold outreach fails because it focuses on what YOU want instead of what THEY need. These aren't just theories - I've watched these exact strategies transform response rates from 2% to 20%+ across hundreds of campaigns. Here's the real question: How many of these trust drivers are you actually incorporating in your outreach right now? #ColdOutreach #B2BSales #TrustBasedSelling #OutboundMarketing #SalesStrategy

Five years ago today, WHO held one of the most important press conferences when Dr Tedros declared #COVID19 a public health emergency of international concern — a moment that signaled to the world that we were facing a new global health crisis. It turned out to be unlike any other.   But while scientists, health workers and governments rushed to respond to the new virus, another battle was unfolding in real-time: the fight against health misinformation.   The phenomena of health misinformation wasn’t new, but this was the first pandemic of the digital age. Suddenly, false claims spread faster than the virus itself, reaching millions before experts could correct them. Fear and confusion filled the gaps where reliable information was missing. The stakes couldn’t have been higher.   Dr Maria Van Kerkhove and I reflected recently on what WHO has been doing to prevent false health information from spreading on #SocialMedia:   1. Engaging directly with the public — through #AskWHO live Q&A sessions, press conferences, we have answered real questions in real time.   2. Working with trusted messengers — from frontline health workers and scientists to religious leaders and digital influencers, so that people could hear accurate information from voices they already relied on.   3. Partnering with tech platforms — to ensure credible health information reached more people, while slowing the spread of harmful falsehoods.   4. Expanding access to information in multiple languages — so no one was left behind in accessing clear, verified health guidance.   5. Investing in research and digital innovation — to better understand the ways in which people consume digital content the best and adapt our strategies in real-time.   What we’ve learned about trust:   - Trust isn’t built in a crisis — it must be nurtured before, during, and after emergencies.   - People trust people — authentic, relatable messengers make the biggest impact.   - Transparency matters — being open about what we know, what we don’t, and how we’re learning builds credibility.   One thing is clear: the fight against misinformation is not over. Building and maintaining trust in public health is an ongoing effort — one that requires the commitment of governments, civil society, media, and the industry every single day.   Because trust isn’t a given, it’s earned.

Silicon Valley no longer holds the monopoly on innovation capital. The trillion-dollar creator economy does. Jason Wingard’s Forbes article on the rise of the creator economy echoes what I’ve been saying for years: the real currency of the future isn’t just venture capital, it’s trust, attention and community. This is why I started building the Legally Speaking Podcast ™️🎙️ back in 2019, long before most in law were paying attention. The goal wasn’t just to launch a show, it was to create a valuable asset for the community. Today, with Clio’s support, it has grown into a top 1% global platform for legal voices. Because in law, just like in consumer markets, the old model of build → fund → market is collapsing. The new playbook is: 🔴 Build the community first – serve with value and consistency, and you don’t need permission to scale. 🔴 Credibility is currency – audiences back people they trust, long before investors step in. 🔴 Distribution has flipped – where once you bought attention, now you earn it daily by showing up authentically. For the legal world, this matters deeply. The profession has often lagged behind cultural shifts, but the creator economy isn’t a fad, it is the infrastructure for the next decade of growth. That’s why, through the podcast and my wider community-building work, I’ve focused on: 🔴 Putting people before platforms: stories, insights and conversations that humanise law. 🔴 Testing emerging mediums: from BETA testing LinkedIn products to metaverse events, exploring where attention is moving. 🔴 Creating a flywheel of trust: where community → conversations → opportunities → more community. The lesson for lawyers, firms and legal tech entrepreneurs? The audience is no longer just a channel, it is the market. Build with them, not for them. As Jason asks: What happens when influence replaces venture funding as the fuel for growth? That’s the world we’re already in. The only question is, are you skating to where the puck is going, or waiting where it has been? The creator economy isn’t just disrupting law, it’s giving us the blueprint to transform it. 🔗 Link to the article in the comments. #CreatorEconomy #LegalCommunity #FutureOfLaw #LegalTech #LegallySpeakingPodcast

You can have 30,000 followers and still feel invisible. Here's how to build a very strong community on LinkedIn. It took me 5 months of consistent posting to realize this: Followers ≠ community. A strong LinkedIn community is when: 🖤 People check on you when you don’t post. 🖤 Your comment section feels like home. 🖤 People stick around even when your post is not 100/100. So how do you build a strong community? I use what I call The 3C Rule: 1. Conversation (not broadcast). Don’t post like a professor giving a lecture. Stay. Reply. Ask back. Your comments should feel like a living room, not an exam hall. 2. Contribution (not competition). Shine the light on others. Celebrate them with heart. When people see it’s not all about you, trust sticks. 3. Consistency (not intensity). A single weekly ritual (Q&A threads, shoutouts, check-ins) builds more belonging than 10 daily hot takes. Bonus Juice: → End your post with open-ended questions. It turns your comment section into a group chat. → Create sweet rituals. A Friday shoutout, a monthly gratitude post, Or a recurring 'rant day'. Rituals are GLUE. And the ultimate test: If you disappeared tomorrow, would people scroll on? Or would they notice your silence? (Ponder on it...) Because at the end of the day, people don’t only stay for your content. They stay for CONNECTION. PS: What other community building hack do you know? Let’s learn from each other ☺️

Big brands have a lot to learn about building community from this small East London shop. If you follow me you know I’m obsessed with pinpointing the places, moments and margins where culture appears, often outside the mainstream. Waste! is an independent store in Hackney specialising in handmade, self-published and DIY artist products that also serves as a meetup for makers and fans of the niche and novel. Big brands can spend millions chasing community. Yet genuine bonds form in the unlikeliest corners. By giving people a place to belong and a stake in the story, you can create evangelists rather than consumers. Here’s some of the playbook: → Look beyond the obvious Which subculture have you never visited? Find the one that aligns with your brand values and surprise them with an IRL activation made just for them. → Host micro-experiences Think smaller than a giant pop-up. Small scale means deeper conversations, stronger friendships and stories that spread far beyond the room. → Invite people behind the scenes Jack and Roydon modelled the shop on their childhood bedrooms. Everything feels handpicked and personal. → Celebrate genuine connections At Waste! customers aren’t just buying things. They swap ideas, share projects and spark new collaborations. Create spaces online or offline where people can connect, chill and feel like insiders. → Reinvest in your community Every penny from sales goes back into buying more stock from friends and local artists. That reinvestment shows you care about real people not just profit margins. → Turn every interaction into a collectible moment Limited-edition patches, secret passwords, custom playlists or tiny zines tie physical mementos to emotional experiences. Superfans will wear, share and trade these badges of honour. → Measure passion not just reach Track repeat attendees, social shout-outs from community insiders and user-generated content. A hundred truly engaged superfans create more long-term value than ten thousand casual followers. Sometimes the best way to build real community is the scrappy, DIY, heartfelt route ✌️💚