“I hate most of the posts I read on LinkedIn.”
That’s what a full-time sales director said to me recently in a DM exchange on LinkedIn. She explained that what frustrates her most is the gap between what people post and how they actually show up in real life.
And honestly?
I sat there thinking…you know what…I can see her point.
And unfortunately…I think that’s what turns a lot of people off in building a personal brand.
There’s a group of professionals I know who are experienced and thoughtful, and they’re really good at what they do, but guess what?...
They’re not posting on LinkedIn. (And they should be!)
Not because they don’t have anything to say. But because they don’t want to…
- Add to the noise
- Say something they haven’t actually lived
- Or come across as performative or cringe in front of all these professional colleagues they know
And I truly get it. Especially once having been in that corporate environment for 15 years and never really posting online.
But as a result of all these feelings and ways of viewing this, I’ll tell you one for-sure certainty…
They’re losing visibility…the kind of visibility that can be life-changing in a good way.
And maybe that’s you.
You go on reading on the platform, observing, and doing excellent work behind the scenes, but no one really knows about it…because you’re not talking about it.
In this very thoughtful DM conversation, this same woman went on to say…
“Opportunities aren’t happening the way they used to.”
For the first time, she’s seriously thinking about building something of her own. Which led her to realize that not showing up might actually be a risk.
(Meanwhile me going….1000%!)
And this is just why I can’t advocate enough now…especially now…that building a personal brand and sharing what you do will truly open doors to meeting people and being considered for opportunities you don’t even know about yet.
And I get it…
Maybe you’ve convinced yourself that you don’t want to “play the LinkedIn game.”
But then what’s the cost of being overlooked?
You know you don’t want to sound like everyone else.
And so you stay invisible to those searching for someone just like you.
So what’s next from all of this?
I’ll tell you the same thing I told her…
You don’t need to become what you dislike to be effective on LinkedIn.
☝️Please read that again.
A Few Things That Can Help
Document, don’t perform.
Stop thinking of LinkedIn as a place to impress people. Instead, the goal here is to post and comment so others can see how you think.
Document your experience, and in that process of sharing, you begin to build a bridge that invites connection and conversation.
Stay close to your lived experience.
If you haven’t done it, don’t preach it. And if you’re in it now, talk about it.
There is so much you can extract from the activities you have on your calendar today that can become a month's worth of content right now.
And yes… others will notice this lived experience and be grateful for your insights…even ask you questions about how they can work with you.
Share observations, not declarations.
You don’t need a “hot take” or to provide a tip. You need to share more about your perspective and show the work.
By getting into the details and actually walking us through a scenario of yours…perhaps it’s how you helped a client tighten up their branding…or how you helped an organization organize their financials…none of this needs to result in a huge revelation of yours (although if it does, that’s great!)…but inviting us into what you observed helps us understand a little more of what you do best.
Consistency over volume.
One grounded post a week will take you further than forcing content you don’t believe in. Start there, and allow yourself to grow into more (if you want).
Overwhelm starts with feeling like you need to be out there a lot for it to do anything, but everyone starts at one post. And honestly, one high-quality post a week can go a long way toward helping you stay top-of-mind.
If you were to prioritize LinkedIn this week, it could be as simple as writing one post about something you’re currently navigating by observation or what you’re thinking about.
And then spend some time engaging with others in a way that actually reflects your perspective.
The AI comments are in droves these days, so simply being a human and responding as though you were texting that person is going to help you stand out and be remembered.
That’s it.
Because the people who hesitate the most to post on LinkedIn…the smart people like YOU… are often the ones that should be posting because they’ve got a lot of good things to share.
If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines for this reason, the good news is you’re not behind.
You’re just being thoughtful. And now is the best time than any.
If you’re in that transition, from corporate into building something of your own, or on LinkedIn, and wanting better results when it comes to visibility, clarity, and confidence, I’ve been having more of these conversations lately.
Please…hit reply and tell me about your scenario.
In case you missed it, I did a LinkedIn Live this week with Samantha Kelly, an executive personal branding specialist. Samantha and I started chatting after she saw my post about creating your own caricature in ChatGPT.
It took us a couple of months to get together, but that's the reality of how things happen here on LinkedIn. It's not instantaneous... but rather a long game, filled with small daily actions that sometimes unfold into great collabs and opportunities.
Check it out here.
Talk soon,
Find me on LinkedIn, YouTube, or book a 1-on-1 clarity call
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