How do you partner with external stakeholders to boost your digital reach?

LinkedIn is an excellent platform for establishing and nurturing relationships with external stakeholders. Building your network requires consistent effort. Engage with your connections' posts, contribute valuable insights, and share informative content. DMs can help initiate conversations, but remember, authentic engagement fosters strong relationships. Understand their interests, align mutual benefits, and then propose collaborations for increased digital reach.

Identify the use cases first and then engage an external stakeholder accordingly. Few external stakeholders I've partnered with or used: 1. LinkedIn has really helped bolster the reach of my business in professional circles & generated leads. 2. I've used multiple social media platforms for engagement through informative videos. This has helped build loyalty and trust. 3. Software or App & a website are literally necessities today. I've partnered with few softwares for increasing the digital reach. 4. BRANDING: If you are well-branded or your name is known, it can work wonders for your business. So one can focus on SEO & digital marketing. 5. Review Mechanism: Video call softwares have been really useful for video reviews.

I struggle with this prompt. "Boosting your digital reach" ---Who is the target audience you're trying to reach with "great content"? Individuals - reputation and brand image? Startups/Scale-ups (private) - investors and prospects? Companies (public) - customers, partners, shareholders?

Whatever your objective can be leads, traffic, and brand awareness. My philosophy is: the score will take care of itself Even with the greatest amount of talent possible, you can't guarantee success for a team. But there are things you can do to increase the probability of success, understand where your audience hangs out online (podcasts they listen to, the websites they visit, keywords they use..), and put your message in front of millions of people at a reasonable cost. These should be two main objectives when partnering with an external stakeholder

LinkedIn is a perfect tool for me to have professional network globally. That's only what is my intention and of course to boost the brand of the company I am working with

Finding the right partners can supercharge your digital reach. Utilize LinkedIn's search and filtering capabilities to identify organizations or individuals that align with your audience, values, and goals. Look beyond their follower count, evaluate the quality of their content, engagement rates, and the relevance of their audience. Remember, the aim is to forge partnerships that add value to your mutual audiences, bolstering the reputation and reach of both parties.

This article doesn't account for stakeholder engagement in a government or social impact organization --where partners or 'advocates' are organic and arrive with a shared target audience to engage around your mission and cause. The objective becomes more issue-oriented, which often leads to reputation management, so it's important to 'seek first to understand, then to be understood' with each stakeholder. Knowing their position first will help to develop the best digital collaboration strategy and roadmap to reach, serve and engage your shared constituents.

Actually I disagree with the order here…before reaching out and pitching to external partners and stakeholders, you need to present the outcomes from your prep work to your internal stakeholders: (a) capabilities “gap” assessment, (b) objectives, (c) partner recommendations, and (d) project team approaches. Ask internal stakeholders two questions: (1) What does success look like (including metrics and hypotheses to test)? (2) What is the definition of “done” or stop (ex: business case metrics)?

One efficient approach is to leverage LinkedIn's potential as a platform for sharing engaging content that reflects your brand's values, insights, and expertise. Instead of a direct pitch, focus on contributing to industry-specific discussions, answering queries, or offering thought-leadership pieces. Such actions not only make your profile more visible but also demonstrate your ability to add value, potentially piquing the interest of potential partners. Remember, genuine engagement can help foster trust, laying the groundwork for fruitful collaborations.

Executing a successful partnership involves transparent negotiations and clear agreements. Engage in open discussions about expectations, roles, and deliverables to ensure both parties are on the same page. Use LinkedIn or email to keep communication lines open, promptly addressing any questions or concerns. Regularly share feedback, performance metrics, or any other pertinent updates. A written agreement could further cement the partnership terms. Remember, mutual understanding and trust will be key to a sustainable and effective partnership.

Two things are essential when you are negotiating. Firstly, decide what you need. Remember that the other pierson’s job is to persuade you that Your needs and their services are one and the same. Secondly, win-win negotiation.

When negotiating, always remember to begin with the end in mind--what is your ultimate measure of success and how does it align with this partner and their goals? The negotiation should start from a place of mutual understanding and you should go in knowing your non-negotiables, your concessions, and your criterion for walking away if doesn't feel like a win-win.