Is Linkedin Broken + The Linkedin Hunger Games.

Hey y’all it’s us again! (John and Alec). Summer is in full swing and LinkedIn has been acting AFOOL for a few weeks, let’s find some fun among the madness! Here’s are some things we saw hidden amidst the mountain of AI-generated silliness that continues to fill all of our feeds 😅

But before we begin, Alec (hi 👋) launched a 30-day posting challenge with a twist: The LinkedIn Hunger Games.

35+ people are already in, but we’ve got a few spots left for readers of this newsletter.

Want in on the chaos? Click here to join.

MVP (Most Vulnerable Poster)

MVP (Most Vulnerable Poster) of the week goes to this post from Collin Strachan, Founder of Every Mile Creative. Collin might have the coolest job on the planet right now- he runs a creative agency and films all of his content exclusively in Alaska. He has become a really great voice on LinkedIn, but as Collin points out in this post it wasn’t always as great as it looks today!: 

• Embrace the roller coaster! A lot of Collin’s day to day content paints a picture of a booming business where he can seemingly do no wrong, and that can be tough to see in your feed if you’re new in your business and struggling to get started. Collin does a great job of this post to let everyone know it wasn’t like this at the beginning, and there were bumps along the way! It’s huge that he’s able to let his audience know it’s ok to struggle a bit, because he’s been in their shoes.

• Priorities: Collin isn’t necessarily trying to make tens of millions of dollars on LinkedIn (although he might at the current rate!). He’s extremely transparent and vulnerable about what success looks like for him and what he’s willing to do to get there- he wants to spend time outdoors with his family, and if he can do that he’s winning. LinkedIn can be a place where we all get bogged down with “keeping up with the Joneses” but Collin makes it ok to set whatever goals work for you and go get them!

Least Robotic Sounding Company

Least Robotic Sounding Company of the week goes to Insantly.ai: Instantly is literally a company that sells something robotic (AI-powered lead gen automation) but their content on LinkedIn is anything but robotic. They do a great job of mixing up the type of content- they post about new features and platform updates, but they also add value that has little to do with their actual product. They host virtual events like this one, and they’re committed to adding value not just featuring dumping! It would be easy for a company literally selling something robotic to have a robotic brand voice, but Instantly continues to do a great job of being authentic instead🤖.

Oddest thing we saw this week (Spoiler: LinkedIn isn’t broken!)

It seems like for the last few weeks, everyone’s LinkedIn feed has been filled with claims of LinkedIn’s certain demise, much like this post above from Romina. LinkedIn can be a tricky place and the mythical “algorithm” is a moving target to be sure. However, a quick google search shows that this is nothing new- people have been claiming that LinkedIn is “broken” for years, and yet here we all are still using it! Although LI can be a frustrating platform to figure out at times, here are a few tips on how to keep “the algorithm” happy 🤑

• Be yourself: AI-generated content doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, and it seems like people are getting better at spotting it by the day, so how can you fly in the face of that trend? Be a person! LinkedIn is a great place to show your customers, potential employers, or potential friends and connections who your really are, so take advantage of it :)

• Mix it up: It’s easy to just sit back and complain about “the algorithm” and act like we don’t have agency over what we post, but the best way to stay ahead of the curve is to try different things! Post a photo and hate the engagement? Try text only tomorrow. Post a video “the algorithm” hated? Ok, try a carousel tomorrow!

• Be consistent: The only strategy we know for a 100% fact will fail is…doing nothing! It can be challenging to keep showing up every day with LinkedIn being a bit of a black box, but doing nothing is the only way to guarantee that zero people know what you’re up to. Posting consistently sharpens your skills and gives you more bites at the apple- keep swinging and you’ll love what happens after a while! Speaking of consistency…

Parting thoughts: Accountability + Consistency = Magic

Have an amazing week y’all!

Alec and John