UpLift Live John Espirian

An assortment of updates for those coming to the very first UpLift Live conference in Birmingham on 21 March 2024. See you there!



TRANSCRIPT

Hi, and welcome back to the UpLift Live podcast.



As we are now less than 2 weeks away from UpLift Live, which is the UK's first LinkedIn-focused conference, here is an update from the recent work that we've done to prepare for the event.



First of all, the LaunchPad Zoom calls, you may have attended some of our pre-conference LaunchPad Zoom calls.



These were for attendees to get to know each other ahead of the big day.



We planned to run 4 of them, but they've been popular enough that we're fitting in an extra one, which will take place at 1pm UK time on Wednesday 13 March.



So, stay tuned for the Zoom link if you have an in-person ticket.



There's no agenda to these calls.



It's just a bit of fun to see the faces that you're going to meet on the day of the conference.



And in fact, you might meet them before then because there's a pre-party.



So, we've organised a pre-party event at The Cosy Club on Bennetts Hill in Birmingham on 20 March 2024, the night before UpLift Live.



And this will be for in-person ticket holders only.



And it starts at 7pm.



It's a really fab venue that's been used to host the popular SMM Meetup events that have gone on in the past couple of years.



I'm having dinner with the conference speakers just before the pre party.



So, I expect most if not all of them, are going to be around for some of the rest of the evening.



So, it's a perfect chance for you to say hi to them.



I've never really liked the "them and us" vibe that you get at some conferences, so we're all going to be together and mix as equals.



I put out a LinkedIn poll in mid February to ask how many people would be coming to the pre-party and that got 76 yeses, but I'm sure many of our attendees will have missed that poll.



So, I expect even more people to be there on the evening.



So, if you've got a ticket to the conference, then you're going to be able to come to that pre-party and get yourself a free drink as well.



The original vision when we started to plan this conference in the middle of 2023 was that we would focus on creating an in-person event.



We've currently issued almost 200 tickets to our conference and all of which, almost all of which, I should say, will be for that in-person experience, which is on Thursday 21 March 2024.



In Birmingham in the United Kingdom.



Everyone with a ticket will be able to watch high quality recordings of all of the talks, and they will be fully captioned and transcribed.



The replays will also be available to people with an on-demand ticket.



We've decided not to livestream the talks on the day just to be sure that we don't have any technical issues that might detract from the experience, but we'll do our best to get the polished replays available to all ticket holders as soon after the event as possible.



We've published our agenda for the day on the UpLift Live website at uplift-live.com but I'll repeat it here.



If you do need to check anything, please do look at the website in the first instance just in case we need to make any late changes.



So, the conference will start at 9.30am and finish at 5pm.



With networking going on until 7pm.



It's going to be a single-track conference where each speaker will take the stage individually throughout the day, followed by a group Q&A featuring all of the speakers together.



So, registration is going to be from 8.45 until 9.30, and then we'll have an intro to the conference between 9.30 and 9.45.



Louise Brogan is taking the stage from 9.45 to 10.15, talking about maximising the impact of your LinkedIn company page.



Nigel Cliffe is next from 10.20 until 10.50.



With advanced ways to search LinkedIn both on and off the platform, including some tips for Sales Navigator.



Then we're taking a break for half an hour.



And then it's Mark

An update on LaunchPad call 1 and news about the next call.



TRANSCRIPT

And I'm so glad you're putting this together because we need this for our community, we need this for bonding, we need this for learning. And I'm so proud of you, the three of you, for putting this event together because I know how hard it is.

Welcome back to the UpLift Live podcast. My name is John Espirian and I'm one of the Mission Control team for the UpLift Live conference which is the first of its type conference in the UK in Birmingham in March 2024.

In the buildup to the event, we decided to create a set of Zoom calls so that attendees of the conference could get to know each other. The first of these so-called "LaunchPad" calls happened at the end of October and it was a great success. We had almost 40 of the conference attendees showing up, including some of our speakers on the big day.

The whole point of the LaunchPad calls is to break the ice ahead of time so that when we arrive in Birmingham, many of us will already know each other and there won't be any need for that awkward, stuttering bit that you get at the start of most networking events.

Here's a quick snippet of the discussion from LaunchPad call 1, and you're now going to hear the voices of Niraj Kapur, Kim Johnson, Kevin D Turner – who's one of our conference speakers – and Mic Adam.

You know, I asked LinkedIn twice, this is 2 years ago and last year about doing a LinkedIn conference like Salesforce style how Salesforce do it with Dreamforce.

I said, look, I spent 15 years in events, it'll be fantastic to do this.

And I'm so glad you're putting this together, because we need this for our community.

We need this for bonding, we need this for learning.

And I'm so, so proud of you, the three of you, for putting this together, because I know how hard it is putting an event together. It's such hard work.

And I don't think people will realise how much of your life it takes up.

So, I wanted to say a massive thank you to you and Gus and Jeremy for doing this.

Really can't wait for the chance to meet Gillian from Vegas and Tiina from Europe. I mean, this is just amazing. It really is.

I just wanted to chime in and say, I've never been on a Zoom call with more than 10 people where every single person has their video enabled. So, kudos to all of you. I've never seen anything like this. And I'm looking forward to seeing all of you in person.

But it's everybody that's in the audience. I mean, it is really, John, turned out to be the who's who of LinkedIn. And so that to me is fantastic. I wish it were 3 days.

I want to thank you, John, for organising all the things that were on my bucket list, which is: I want to meet a bunch of these people that are already in this call and all the people that are speaking, but I've heard from other people that they're coming. So, you've organised for me the perfect bucket list. How could I not be excited to be there?

Isn't that lovely? So, if you come to conference, you'll meet those nice people and plenty of others.

Now, we want to have some more of that good spirit again so we are organising a second LaunchPad call.

That next call is scheduled for Friday 8 December at 1pm UK time, and we'll be in touch with ticket holders with the Zoom link. I'm trying to organise each call for a different time so that we can do something that suits our audience and give everyone a chance to take part. Don't worry if you missed the first call or if you can't make the second call, as we'll have a couple more of these in early 2024.

You are welcome to come along to the LaunchPad calls so long as you have a ticket to the UpLift Live conference.

We've now sold more than 100 tickets, which is not bad going as we still have several months before the conference.

If you'd like to get a ticket, you can join us via uplift-live.com. We know that some people would prefer to spread their payments rather than paying outright so we've created uplift-live.com/pl

Got a ticket to the UpLift Live conference? This high-value freebie is for you!



TRANSCRIPT

How do you feel about getting an UpLift Live freebie? Let's talk about it.

Welcome back to the podcast. I am John Espirian, part of the Mission Control team for the UpLift Live conference, which is the first LinkedIn-focused event of its type in the UK. 

We're going to be getting together on Thursday 21 March 2024 at Millennium Point in Birmingham in the UK, for a whole day of learning and networking with some of the apex operators of LinkedIn.

We struggled to contain our excitement at the full set of 8 speakers, which has now been announced through our blog and this podcast and our company page and other LinkedIn posts.

I should say as well that my interview with Mission Control member Gus Bhandal is now live on the podcast, so do check out that 8-minute slot with him.

Now, I'm not good at keeping secrets and it was particularly hard with the speakers because I'm so proud of the lineup. 

And now we have another offering for you. I'm sharing this here on the podcast as a bit of an experiment, to see who is really eager for what I'm about to say.

So, here's the thing: every time I've been to other conferences, there's been a little trepidation about who you're going to meet, what it's going to be like. And I think it's possible to address at least the first of those things by having some sort of get-together beforehand. 

And indeed, our plan for the night before UpLift Live is to get together and host an informal gathering of our attendees so that we can break the ice in Birmingham.

But I think we can do better than that and get to know each other before anyone arrives in Birmingham. So, my plan is to run something called the UpLift Live LaunchPad. This will be a set of Zoom calls over the course of the next 6 months, so that people who have bought a ticket can join a group call and get to know each other while also asking me any questions they have about the event. 

Now, if you're an Espresso+ member then you'll be used to our regular monthly Q&A calls. This LaunchPad idea will be separate and in addition to that, and available to anyone who has an in-person UpLift Live conference ticket, regardless of whether you're a member of the Espresso+ community.

So, to be clear, membership of Espresso+ is not a requirement here, and neither is it a free pass to the calls. If you have an in-person conference ticket, you're welcome to come to the calls; otherwise, this ain't for you.

As I record this, I haven't set a date for the first UpLift Live LaunchPad call. I'm interested in seeing what people think of the idea, so if you're hearing this shortly after this podcast goes live, then you'll be one of the very first to know about the idea. Drop me a DM on LinkedIn if you want to take part. And if you haven't got your ticket for the conference yet, now is the time: tickets are available at uplift-live.com

The Mission Control team recently visited the venue in Birmingham. It's called Millennium Point and it's a fantastic multi-purpose venue ideal for this conference. I thought it was really fitting that it's built on top of a science museum, given the outer space nature of our branding for this conference. 

And the auditorium itself looks fantastic: it's got comfy chairs and a giant screen, and I think we're going to have a great time there in March. It felt like being in an upmarket cinema, and I really can't wait to see our apex operators show what they're made of on that stage very soon.

OK, that's it. Please do get in touch if you've got a ticket and want to be part of the UpLift Live LaunchPad calls on Zoom. I'll get timings sorted soon and we will probably be aiming at late afternoon UK time, to cater for most of the time zones of our likely attendees.

It's going to be great to get to know each other a little bit better and to build up the excitement to the UK's first LinkedIn-focused conference.

Until next time, t

Here's another member of the Mission Control organising team for the UpLift Live conference. It's marketing expert The M Guru aka Gus Bhandal.

TRANSCRIPT

The important thing about being there in person is that you get access to the speakers, there's no separate areas or anything like that. Basically, we're going to be one big happy family on the day.

Welcome back to the UpLift Live podcast. This is John Espirian from the Mission Control team for UpLift Live, which is the UK's first LinkedIn-focused conference for LinkedIn specialists, power users and enthusiasts.

It's time to speak with another member of the Mission Control team, and our interviewee today is The M Guru, Gus Bhandal.

Let's hop aboard and get to the interview with Gus!

OK, Gus Bhandal, welcome to the UpLift Live podcast.

You are one of my co-organisers for this conference.

Gus, for people who don't know you, tell us, who is this M Guru person? Thank you, John.

It's a pleasure to be a part of not only the Mission Control team, but you know, part of this recording as well.

So, my name is Gus, I run a business called The M Guru.

And the M stands for marketing.

I'm a marketer of numerous years of experience, 20 plus.

And what I do is I help businesses with their marketing.

Over the last few years or so, 3 or 4 years, I've specialised in LinkedIn, particularly in terms of content creation, getting people to be better at LinkedIn, and how to improve their LinkedIn presence, quite frankly, to get clients, to have conversations, to make friends and ultimately to make money.

Yeah, nice one.

And so you've got an interest in LinkedIn.

But why a LinkedIn conference? I know why I want to go to a LinkedIn conference.

What do you think about this one? Having worked in social media for a number of years, I know that the phrase digital marketing and social media and all that is such a massive phrase, and it kind of encompasses so much, and quite frankly, it's encompassing even more.

So, we started with the likes of Facebook and Twitter and Instagram.

And now we've got kind of BeReal and Clubhouse and T2 and Spill and all that.

And it's just never ending.

And I think particularly having a LinkedIn-focused conference, because I believe that LinkedIn is the platform for everybody.

I think it's the all-singing, all-dancing platform that covers everything for everyone.

And I think every business owner, senior executive, team leader, etc., should be on LinkedIn.

So, I think a LinkedIn-focused conference would be really good for the UK to make sure that we to make the most of the platform because I think it's the one platform that a lot of people have trouble with, but also the one platform that we can also make the most out of.

Yeah, nice one.

And you as part of the Mission Control team, I mean, you know so many people, and you go to so many events, so you've got some events experience as well, which I don't really have.

So, I've got domain experience with LinkedIn, but things like organising an event, organising a venue, thinking about maybe a pre-party or anything like that, is just totally alien to me.

So, we are going to be doing the conference, actually, well not in your home city, but near enough: it's going to be in Birmingham.

Tell us something about how you recommended that place, or what people should expect when they come to Birmingham? Absolutely.

I go to an incredible amount of networking events, conferences, etc., all over the world.

I believe that networking is massive.

I believe it's very important for business owners and lots of people to kind of to meet other people and get to know other people etc.

And I've, you know, in previous roles, kind of employments, I've run a lot of conferences myself, gala dinners, etc.

So, I like to think I know what I'm doing.

But at the same time, I also have a good handle on what makes a good event and what people would need, particularly in Birmingham, it's practically the centre of the UK, it's

Our final speaker announcement is a Dutch superstar based in Valencia, Spain. It's the man who knows all about the LinkedIn algorithm, Richard van der Blom.



TRANSCRIPT

Back 2 years would practically do nothing for the reach.

Now, you get more people to repost your stuff, it accelerates your growth.

Welcome back to the UpLift Live podcast. This is John Espirian from the Mission Control team for UpLift Live, which is the UK's first LinkedIn-focused conference for LinkedIn specialists, power users and enthusiasts.

It's time for our final speaker announcement, and this time we're shooting over to Spain to speak to a Dutchman. It's social selling and LinkedIn algorithm expert, Richard van der Blom.

Let's hop aboard and get to the interview with Richard!

Richard van der Blom, welcome to the show.

You are going to be a speaker at the UpLift Live conference in Birmingham in March. Welcome aboard.

Tell us, what do you know about LinkedIn? Thank you, John, first of all, thank you for having me both here on the show and in March in Birmingham.

What do I know about LinkedIn? I guess I'll know quite a bit, just like I think all the other speakers.

Have been active on LinkedIn since 2005.

Started to give my first LinkedIn training back in 2009.

So, what I'll probably bring to the stage is about plus 14 years of experience on how to leverage this platform to grow your business.

Basically, that's it, to grow your business, whether you are a solo entrepreneur or a marketing professional, or whether you are in B2B sales.

And that's basically what I hope to share with the audience.

Awesome.

And you're well known for your skills in social selling, but I think probably most people who are watching this or listening to this on the podcast will know you for your algorithm report.

You've become really famous for that.

And you've got more than 140,000 followers, mostly off the back of that, I would guess.

Yeah.

Tell us a little bit about where the algorithm report came from, and what kind of insights people get from that.

Yeah, well working with, so, my main focus is to work with mid-size, larger enterprises.

And back in 2018, we had two enterprise clients.

And they were baffled by the fact that when they publish a white paper or a really well-thought article, they would reach, let's say, 5000 views.

And they were baffled by the fact that if they would publish like a team picture of like, any event that they would participate in, like, I don't know, half the marathon at Boston, they would get like 30,000 views, and they were like, we want to switch that, you know, we want to have 30,000 views for the article and just 5000 views for them.

So, they started to ask us questions.

And back then we only knew from our own experience based on our own postings what would happen, but we could only guess, and then I teamed up with some really amazing people.

And they helped me to, I delivered them with the questions and they started to research like what happens if somebody likes if somebody comments what happens if you change the post in terms of format.

And basically, we released like an algorithm report in October 2018.

That was the first one and it was actually shared first with the two clients.

And they were very, very enthusiastic about it.

So, I thought, OK, let's just publish it.

And it went like, it blew up.

I remember I had almost 1 million views on that post, which was for me back then it was like huge.

And so that was a start, actually.

And back then I didn't thought even about redoing the same thing next year.

I just thought like, OK, it's a one time exercise, job done.

And then I think it was something in May 2019.

May, June 2019.

And people actually came back to me and said, like, are you going to do the research again this year, because we have seen some changes.

And that was when like, it occurred to me like, hey, maybe if we do this on a more regular basis, then you know, people would benefit from it

Our next speaker is known as Mr LinkedIn! Welcome to Mark Williams, who's coming from North Wales to speak onstage in Birmingham at UpLift Live about advanced LinkedIn strategies.



TRANSCRIPT

Who would have predicted this time last year that AI would be even anywhere near LinkedIn, you know?

Welcome back to the UpLift Live podcast. This is John Espirian from the Mission Control team for UpLift Live, which is the UK's first LinkedIn-focused conference for LinkedIn specialists, power users and enthusiasts.

It's time for another speaker announcement, and this time we're chatting with Mr LinkedIn himself, Mark Williams. I call Mark the Swiss Army knife of LinkedIn, as he knows so much about the platform and is probably the single person from whom I've learned most about LinkedIn.

I chat with Mark a lot as we're both Liverpool Football Club supporters, and I'm a regular contributor on his podcast, Linkedinformed. We're turning the tables today and I'm interviewing him.

Let's hop aboard and get to the interview with Mark!

Mark Williams, welcome to the UpLift Live podcast.

You are going to be one of our speakers in Birmingham.

It's a great honour to be able to host you.

Welcome to the show.

Thank you very much.

I can't wait.

I can't believe it's so long to wait till March.

It's seems a long time away for me at the moment.

But I'm sure once we get past Christmas, it'll come upon us in a flash.

Yeah, it will a bit.

And it feels odd to be saying this, given that you are Mr LinkedIn, but tell us, for the people who don't know who you are, what do you know about LinkedIn? Oh God! Where do you start? I think, you know, one of the things I would say about me and LinkedIn, I mean, it changes so often.

And there's so much complexity to it, that I don't think anybody could ever claim to know everything about LinkedIn.

But I have been doing this a long time.

And I think one of the things I feel is a strength with regards to knowing about LinkedIn is just that, that sense of knowing the company, the direction that they go in, and sometimes they make a change and you think, oh, you know, I assume this, or one would assume this from what they're doing.

But sometimes when you've been doing this, as long as I have you kind of go oh, I'm not actually sure that's true.

I think it's probably more like this, you know, and interpreting and understanding the platform from the perspective of users and how users have changed the way they use it, you know.

I guess again, the longer you've seen it, the more you've been around it, the easier it is to be able to make that kind of crossover between what the platform or what the company are doing, and how its users will actually want to use it.

Yeah, it's one of the things I appreciate most about your Linkedinformed podcast is that you actually cogitate and digest this stuff and then think about what it might mean strategically and explain that really well on the podcast.

So, if anyone hasn't come across Linkedinformed, it's just gone through its 400th episode.

It pretty much is required listening, I would say.

If you're going to be coming to this advanced conference for LinkedIn specialists, you need to be listening to Mark's podcast, go and check it out.

It's a regular for me on a Saturday afternoon.

Now, Mark, I often think of you as the Swiss Army knife of LinkedIn, because you just know so many things about so many parts of what is a massive beast.

We're too far away from the conference for you to tell us any specifics about what you're going to talk about but can you say something about the kind of state of LinkedIn and where you think it's going and maybe give us some idea of the kind of advanced things that you might want to talk about? I mean, it's funny, isn't it.

Every year, or certainly for the last few years, in January, I do a sort of prediction of what I think's going to happen over the next year.

And I usually get it quite wrong.

So, I've given up trying to rea