The owner of an Edinburgh-focused accountancy firm is celebrating after being named as one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices for 2020.
Laura Taylor has been recognised by the California-based professional networking site as one of the people most
responsible for driving professional conversation in the past 12 months.
The founder of cloud accountancy specialist Empowered by Cloud is among just 10 individuals from around the
world to be named in the Small Business and Entrepreneurship category.
It’s LinkedIn’s sixth annual ‘Voice’ awards, which highlight professionals in a variety of industries and countries who are building
communities and starting thoughtful conversations via the social networking platform.
Ms Taylor joins such luminaries as Virgin boss Richard Branson and Baroness Michelle Mone OBE in being recognised by the professional network platform, which has over 600 million users globally.
Recalling the moment she was told the good news, Ms Taylor admitted she thought she had been the victim of a hoax at her Glenrothes headquarters.
“I received an email from LinkedIn telling me that they were considering me. At first I thought it was a joke but once I looked into it, I realised that the email was in fact from LinkedIn and the LinkedIn Top Voices List was a real thing!” she said.
“I really can’t believe it. I think I have been a member for about 10 years however I only started using the platform actively over the last two-and-a-half years. However, to think that I have been chosen as a LinkedIn Voice for 2020 alongside a small number of other people out of the millions of users is quite extraordinary.”
Most of Empowered by Cloud’s clients are based in Edinburgh, though recent successes have established it as a UK-wide operator.
Career development and professional networking are two of the main aims of LinkedIn, and Ms Taylor says the platform has been invaluable in helping her grow the business she formed in early 2018.
“I have a 70/20/10 strategy where I post 70% adding value to help people in business, 20% personal posts about me and life as a business owner and 10% promo which is plain marketing,” she said.
“We have had opportunities from LinkedIn worth over £500,000 in the last two years. Most of these are created because people have been following me for a while and once the need arises for the service we offer, they get in touch as I stay front of mind.”
And how did she celebrate the prestigious honour? With a post on LinkedIn of course!
“I wanted to thank all of the people who have engaged with my content and have ultimately helped me to get this recognition,” she said.
To compile the list, LinkedIn editors partnered with the Data Science Team to monitor post engagement, while it was important that individuals shared experiences and expertise to help others and were not purely self-promoting on the platform.
Emily Spaven, UK Editor at LinkedIn News, said: “To compile the list, we used a combination of qualitative and quantitative signals – including engagement (including reactions, comments and shares across each member’s content), posting cadence and follower growth.
“As Covid-19 continues to upend our lives, these voices are fostering meaningful conversation and community in a time when many of us crave it more than ever.”
