Do You Need to Be Fake on LinkedIn?

I’ve managed to build up a sizeable following on Instagram and I’m rapidly growing on YouTube with the help of my good friend Linden Chasteen.

But when I started publishing content on LinkedIn earlier this year, that was a whole different game.

LinkedIn is this strange amalgamation of a social network, job board, and B2B platform.

It’s hard for creators starting off to find the rhythm on this platform because it’s so fragmented.

And one of the biggest limiting beliefs creators have is that they need to virtue signal and make statements which are against their values to appease the algorithm.

This is true to some extent, but I never liked to do this — and that hurt my growth when I started.

I posted motivational quotes and mindset tips in a very direct tone. What I quickly learned is that this format doesn’t work well on the platform.

Users come to LinkedIn for positivity. Many workplaces ban social media except for LinkedIn. So for 8 hours per day, people in the office have one choice to get their dopamine fix.

Do they want to hear direct orders and be told what they’re doing wrong? No, their bosses are already doing that.

So I made a switch — not by going against my values or my message, but rather by changing the format in which its delivered.

The mindset principles I shared at the beginning — taking intentional action, being authentic, looking for lateral options — are the same ones I share today.

But I always make sure to do two things:

1. Meet the reader where they’re at.

2. End on an inspirational note.

This can be hard for some people — especially knowing most won’t take the advice you give. Trust that a select few will — and they will see results.

Moreover, plenty of people from money Twitter have begun to shift to other platforms — including LinkedIn:

There’s a huge narrative here to tap into.

I haven’t been paid a dime by LinkedIn for all the PR I’m giving them — but that’s okay. They give me traffic.

You too can capitalize on this traffic to build your business — all without selling your soul.

Stay true to your values — just change the format to suit the platform. Go kill it out there.

-Eric Otten