If your LinkedIn posts aren’t getting the traction you want, chances are it’s not the algorithm. It’s the content. Earlier this year, we wrote about why your authentic voice matters more than ever, and this holds especially true on the number one networking platform for professionals.
Call us old-fashioned, but we miss the days of LinkedIn when you could read a post and know that it actually came from the person who wrote it. The thing is, we know this once unpopular opinion is becoming, well, a bit more popular. The age of AI seems to have snuck up on us and now it feels as though it floods our feeds. Nothing against the em dash — we actually love the em dash — but so does ChatGPT. It’s become a tell-tale sign of when a post was AI-generated. And we’re not the only ones who have noticed.
While it may be easier than ever to sound polished, it’s harder to sound actually real.
So, in a world that feels controlled by AI and algorithms, how do you break through the noise? Get back to the basics. Show up as a human being.
Don’t be afraid to get personal
Some of the best-performing LinkedIn posts we help our clients with, or the ones we ourselves have, aren’t about quarterly earnings or big achievements (though we do like to share those); they are the ones that show the people actually behind the brand. People want to see each other’s humanity.
Personal stories work. Mother’s Day is a great example (especially since we have a badass mom at the helm of Sublime). This is a great opportunity to share a story about being a mom or how yours shaped your leadership style. Other examples of ways to build trust and be relatable (which ultimately leads to engagement) include:
- Share personal photos from your life and your team. Within reason, of course. This shouldn’t resemble a Facebook album circa 2009 from that time you went to the Bahamas.
- Highlight an employee who’s going above and beyond simply because you want to elevate the people who make your business what it is. And be sure to tag them!
- Consider being vulnerable enough to admit where you’ve dropped the ball and what you learned from it. Transparency may as well be synonymous with authenticity.
- Talk about your charitable work with depth and sincerity, not just photo ops. One of our clients raised money for a nonprofit supporting police officers, mental health, and therapy dogs. It resonated not because it was polished, but because it was personal.
Mix up the format (but be consistent)
Not every post should follow the same formula, and not just because it’s another dead giveaway that a robot wrote it. Like a good mixed tape (yes, we keep aging ourselves), people like variety. Consider rotating between:
- Quick industry insights
- Personal reflections
- Timely reactions to world events
- Employee spotlights
- “What do you think?” questions to drive comments
- Event recaps or photo posts
By mixing things up, you won’t just keep it interesting, but you’ll have more to pull from to maintain a good cadence of posting.
Pro tip: Read your post out loud before publishing. If it sounds too stiff, too formal, or too vague, revise it. LinkedIn is professional but it’s still a social platform. Talk like a human.
Add a call to action
Don’t just inform — invite. (We know, there’s that em dash, again) But seriously, oftentimes people like to be engaged, not spoken at. Encourage your followers to comment by posing a thought-provoking question. Or point them to something useful. The best-performing posts make it clear what the next step is, whether it’s sharing thoughts, tagging a colleague, or clicking a link.
When you post with authenticity and intention, you’ll see real results:
- Stronger engagement: Real stories and human voices consistently outperform generic ones.
- Better brand perception: People trust people, not logos.
- Employee morale boost: Highlighting your team publicly makes people feel seen and valued.
- Talent attraction: Job seekers look at your posts and think, “That looks like a place I want to be.”
- Stronger customer relationships: Clients want to work with people they relate to, not just companies that talk about themselves.
- Improved reach: The algorithm favors meaningful interactions. Authenticity drives comments, shares, and likes.
And perhaps most importantly, connection generated by simply being you. Humans are not machines, nor were we meant to be. In marketing and branding, the word “authenticity” gets thrown around a lot, but we genuinely believe it’s more important than ever.
Your audience can tell the difference. And the good news? We promise they’ll thank you for showing up as yourself.
Want help making LinkedIn part of your brand strategy? Let’s talk. We create posts, build thought leadership programs, and coach teams to show up with substance. No bots, just bold.