By Jodie Cook
LinkedIn just made a decision that’s about to destroy most creators’ reach. The platform decided faceless education is dead. That means generic business advice gets buried. Safe content gets ignored. Yet most people keep posting like nothing changed.
When I visited LinkedIn’s New York headquarters in September they told me something that should have been obvious. People don’t come to LinkedIn for Wikipedia. They come for connections with real humans who happen to know useful things. The algorithm now reflects this reality. If you don’t adapt, your content becomes invisible.
Stop hiding behind your content: LinkedIn’s new reality
Your face beats your frameworks
I tested this with two identical posts. Same exact advice about scaling a coaching business. One had my face. One had a pretty Canva graphic. The face post got 4x more views. LinkedIn’s algorithm now prioritizes posts where people can see who’s talking.
Upload a simple selfie with your next post. Not a professional headshot. Just you, being you. Show people the human behind the advice. When someone scrolls to your content, they should recognize you instantly, not just your brand colours.
Turn teaching into entertainment
Remember when LinkedIn was all “5 tips for better leadership” posts? Those days died. The platform wants productive procrastination now. People need to be hooked by your content but should feel good about scrolling, not guilty. You’re a teacher, a gameshow host, and their cheerleader.
Share your morning routine disaster that led to a business breakthrough. Tell them about the client call where everything went wrong before it went right. Make them laugh before you make them think. Educational content wrapped in entertainment gets 10x the engagement of straight advice.
Lead with why they should care
Your credentials matter more than ever. Not because you need to flex, but because people need to know why to listen. LinkedIn shows your content to strangers now, not just your network. They don’t know you’re the coach who helped 100 founders scale. Tell them in line one.
“After coaching founders through $50M in raises, here’s what I know about pitch decks.” Beat that. “I spent 10 years making these LinkedIn mistakes so you don’t have to.” Perfect. Skip the wind-up. Get straight to why your voice matters.
Make your quirks your superpowers
Generic Gerald posts about leadership. Boring Barbara shares motivational quotes. Meanwhile, Anna who collects vintage typewriters and relates every business lesson to her collection? She’s memorable. Your weird hobby, your strange morning ritual, your controversial opinion about your industry. These are connection points.
Pick three personality markers that make you, you. Maybe you start every day with fantasy novels. Perhaps you dictate all your content while walking. Whatever makes you different, weave it into your posts. Give people reasons to remember you beyond your expertise.
Create binge-worthy content series
LinkedIn rewards creators who keep people on the platform through rabbit holes of connected content. Think Netflix for business content. One post should make them want to check your profile for more.
Start a weekly series only you could create. “Startup lessons from my disastrous kitchen experiments.” “What my toddler taught me about negotiations.” “Bad marketing emails I got this week.” Make it specific to your experience. People find one post in your series, then they hunt for the rest.
Become the expert people actually remember: LinkedIn in 2026
Enough of the frameworks, hot takes, and platitudes. Your audience craves real connections. They want to learn from someone they’d grab coffee with, not another faceless expert. LinkedIn finally caught up to what humans always wanted. Connection first, content second.
Stop posting like a content machine. Start showing up like the expert you actually are. Be more weird. The algorithm rewards humanity. Your perfectly polished posts are losing to someone’s messy Monday confession that happens to include brilliant advice. Choose which side you want to be on.
Feature image credit: Getty
By Jodie Cook
Find Jodie Cook on LinkedIn. Visit Jodie’s website.
