Informed: the podcast for LinkedIn® users
"Informed" is for you if you'd like to understand more about how LinkedIn works so that you can be an effective user of the platform. It's hard to know whom to believe with so many self-appointed gurus out there telling you the latest hacks for going viral and earning 7-figure deals. And even LinkedIn's own publications often don't speak to the reality of using the platform. But for those who see past superficial promises and sanitised reports, this podcast provides evidence and thoughtful opinion. With a track record of more than 10 years of sensible, no-nonsense advice about honest best practice...
508. How much can we trust LinkedIn's numbers?
Postbag voice note from Ashley Leeds about negative effects of invitations not being accepted.
This week, I've seen lots of people reporting very low impression counts.
Microsoft/LinkedIn official stats for the end of October 2026
My LinkedIn membership tracker
Solo and small business owners: join the Espresso+ community to improve your LinkedIn and online presence. Find out more at jesp.me/join
Support the show: Informed is not sponsored, so all production and hosting is self-funded. To make a small donation, go to jesp.me/informed-tip – thanks!
507. What's your experience of LinkedIn?
A few points to consider on what it means to have different experiences of LinkedIn.
Voice notes for the Postbag:
Mark Lee: adverts in the feed and posts referred into the feed Mic Adam: post visibility set to 1st connections only, and event issuesTamas Banki: do reposts affect my own original posts?Mary Wu: connect or follow first?What is your experience of LinkedIn?
Buy a recording from UpLift Live Nano London for only £20
Solo and small business owners: join the Espresso+ community to improve your LinkedIn and online presence. F...
506. Newsletters continued
Postbag
Mary Wu: post boostingMic Adam: company pagesAshley Leeds: LinkedIn groupsNicky Oliver: company verifications and newslettersCompany page comment blocking and removing people from a page
Pinned comments return
New recommend / super like reaction for Premium members
My interview on Embracing Marketing Mistakes
Solo and small business owners: join the Espresso+ community to improve your LinkedIn and online presence. Find out more at jesp.me/join
Support the show: Informed is not sponsored, so all production and hosting is self-funded. To make a small donation, go...
505. Are LinkedIn newsletters in trouble?
Postbag question by Ivan Tobias: What are the biggest misconceptions you've found building other people's LinkedIn profiles that other LinkedIn experts perpetuate?
Can your LinkedIn profile URL reveal your account's age?
Native bold support for text
LinkedIn newsletter analytics and visibility
Solo and small business owners: join the Espresso+ community to improve your LinkedIn and online presence. Find out more at jesp.me/join
Support the show: Informed is not sponsored, so all production and hosting is self-funded. To make a small donation, go to jesp.me/informed-tip – thanks!
504. Improving your LinkedIn feed relevance
Voice note questions from Steve Bruce, Hanne Møller, Ashley Leeds, Mary Wu, Darren Millings, and Mic Adam. The questions cover these topics: endorsements, languages, percentage of content creators on the platform, batch tagging, licenses and certifications, About sections, connection strategy, and profile updates – plenty!
Tips for feed relevance:
Unfollow or even disconnect with the people you're not interested in.Use the "not interested" option where appropriate.Mark posts and comments as AI slop if appropriate.Create a custom content search for topics by a named group of creators.Use the new Network tab at the top...503. Improvement suggestions for LinkedIn
The Postbag includes voice notes from Mark Lee, Ashley Leeds, and Lynnaire Johnston.
Suggested LinkedIn fixes:
Exact date and time on posts & comments Batch delete notifications Pinned comments Combine split DM threads from the same person Rich text support in posts Reorderable sections in LinkedIn profiles Update image option when editing posts and comments Folders and tags in direct messages Block option for company pages Muted words & phrases option Away message option for non-connections Export option for newsletter subscribers Block voice notes option in direct messages Videos and audio in commentsVoice note transcriptions in DMsSend DM...502. How many active users does LinkedIn have?
Postbag questions and contributions from Hanne Møller, Mary Wu, Gillian Whitney, Mic Adam, and Mari-Liis Garcia.
Private connection notes are here for Premium members.
How many active users are there on LinkedIn?
Don't forget to grab your ticket for UpLift Live Nano Bristol on 17 September 2026 at https://jesp.me/nanobristol
Solo and small business owners: join the Espresso+ community to improve your LinkedIn and online presence. Find out more at jesp.me/join
Support the show: Informed is not sponsored, so all production and hosting is self-funded. To m...
501. Profile top card basics
A look at some of the basics of your LinkedIn profile's top card.
Plus, voice note contributions from Lynnaire Johnston and Mark Lee.
Solo and small business owners: join the Espresso+ community to improve your LinkedIn and online presence. Find out more at jesp.me/join
Support the show: Informed is not sponsored, so all production and hosting is self-funded. To make a small donation, go to jesp.me/informed-tip – thanks!
500. The anniversary bumper Postbag
A special version of the Informed podcast as it reaches its 500th episode, with voice note contributions from several listeners.
Plus, a reminder to join us in Bristol for UpLift Live Nano on 17 September 2026. Your chance to ask your LinkedIn questions in person and even have your profile reviewed – and we even throw in a delicious buffet lunch at our fab venue on the Bristol waterfront.
Get tickets: https://jesp.me/nanobristol
Solo and small business owners: join the Espresso+ community to improve your LinkedIn and online presence. Find out more at jesp.me...
499. Is SSI going away?
Brenda Meller voice note about the new "Seems like AI slop" feature
Is Social Selling Index (SSI) going away for free users?
My first collaborative post, with Lynnaire Johnston
Come to UpLift Live Nano Bristol! It's on Thursday 17 September at The Watershed.
Tickets: https://jesp.me/nanobristol
New book: Mic Drop: The Human Side of LinkedIn, by Mic Adam
"Eyes hurt" is trending on Google …
Solo and small business owners: join the Espresso+ community to improve your LinkedIn and online presence. Find out more at je...
498. "Seems like AI slop"
Postbag
Mark Lee and Jeremy Freeman sent voice notes about where to get official LinkedIn info and change logs.
"Seems like AI slop" is a new feature on LinkedIn posts viewed in the main feed.
Update on collaborative posts
Solo and small business owners: join the Espresso+ community to improve your LinkedIn and online presence. Find out more at jesp.me/join
Support the show: Informed is not sponsored, so all production and hosting is self-funded. To make a small donation, go to jesp.me/informed-tip – thanks!
497. Collaborative posts
Voice note from Gillian Whitney on out-of-network content viewers
Voice note from Mary Wu on profile URLs, plus some feedback on limiting posts
Get your ticket to UpLift Live Nano Bristol for Thursday 17 September
Collaborative posts
Solo and small business owners: join the Espresso+ community to improve your LinkedIn and online presence. Find out more at jesp.me/join
Support the show: Informed is not sponsored, so all production and hosting is self-funded. To make a small donation, go to jesp.me/informed-tip – thanks!
496. Post visibility
Postbag
Nigel Cliffe voice note on limiting your post visibility
Ashley Leeds voice note on automation tools
Lionel Guerraz on connecting with your company's CEO
Caryn Yuen on link display in comments
To see what proportion of your network is seeing your posts, go to the Content performance panel in your profile analytics. I've reached about a quarter of a million people in the past year, but only 38% of them are 1st connections or followers.
WhatsApp usernames are now available to reserve
Open the app...
495. Creator Marketplace and company page collaborations
Postbag
Lionel Guerraz voice note about content reach
Come to UpLift Live Nano Bristol on 17 September 2026 – a chance to ask your LinkedIn questions direct to me and get yourself a live LinkedIn profile review!
Creator Marketplace and company page collaborations
Solo and small business owners: join the Espresso+ community to improve your LinkedIn and online presence. Find out more at jesp.me/join
Support the show: Informed is not sponsored, so all production and hosting is self-funded. To make a small donation, go to jesp.me/informed-tip – thanks!
494. GIFs and games
Voice notes with feedback from Nigel Cliffe and Meena McDonald
Native GIF support in LinkedIn comments
Wend game
Solo and small business owners: join the Espresso+ community to improve your LinkedIn and online presence. Find out more at jesp.me/join
Support the show: Informed is not sponsored, so all production and hosting is self-funded. To make a small donation, go to jesp.me/informed-tip – thanks!
493. Who is looking at your content?
Discovery analytics for in and out of network viewers
Should you comment on content where you don't expect to reply?
Why you shouldn't delete AI comments on your posts
Why you shouldn't use "comment X to get Y"
Video tab arrives on mobile
Solo and small business owners: join the Espresso+ community to improve your LinkedIn and online presence. Find out more at jesp.me/join
Support the show: Informed is not sponsored, so all production and hosting is self-funded. To make a small donation, go to...
492. More about AI, plus the Video tab returns
More chat about AI on LinkedIn, plus the return of a feature in the mobile app.
Postbag
Trevor Lambert about AI
Ross Thorpe about AI – check out Rooverse
Ashley Leeds about profile URLs
Trudy Pannekeet about group DMs
———
Video tab returns to UK, Australia & Canada
Connect button on mobile prompts for a note
Solo and small business owners: join the Espresso+ community to improve your LinkedIn and online presence. Find out more at jesp.me/join
Support the show: Informed...
491. AI slop and glitches on LinkedIn
Postbag
Judi Radice Hays: feedback on birthdays
Jeremy Freeman: LinkedIn newsletters
Kathie York: Since LinkedIn likes to see engagement within the first hour of a post, is it still bad form to be the first commenter? One reason I ask: having a link in a post hurts our 'reach.' What are the rules, now, for placing the link in a comment we create? And what happens to that comment if someone reposts our post?
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875 LinkedIn employees (5% of workforce) sacked!
Is AI slop really going away? We need a...
490. Should you change your posting schedule and topics on LinkedIn?
What happens when you need to change your plans?
Postbag
Lionel Guerraz: commenting and its effects on topic authority.
Judith Rafferty: how do we deal with birthdays on LinkedIn?
———
The main topic is about changing your schedule on LinkedIn and whether it's OK to post about different topics.
About statement previews are now 6 lines long on mobile. Desktop previews are still 4 lines long.
UpLift Live Nano Bristol: our conference's little brother event is on Thursday 17 September 2026 at The Watershed in Bristol. Come to learn about Linked...
489. LinkedIn member stats via Microsoft
New membership figures for LinkedIn are out. Let's take a look at the stats for this quarter.
Postbag
Richard G Abrahams on post impressions.Steve Messenger on comments being turned off on every post.Lynnaire Johnston on verification concerns.———
LinkedIn member results via Microsoft.I signed up for Premium All-in-One.Comments reduced from 1250 to 1000 characters.Solo and small business owners: join the Espresso+ community to improve your LinkedIn and online presence. Find out more at jesp.me/join
Support the show: Informed is not sponsored, so all production and hostin...
488. Reporting users on LinkedIn
How do you report someone and what happens when LinkedIn ignores your feedback?
See Melanie Goodman’s post
———
LinkedIn has a new CEO: Daniel Shapero
Content DNA is 6 years old – read sample chapters
Espresso+ members now get the full 32-chapter audiobook for free.
What comment features do you want?
Crosscheck AI feature
Your LinkedIn headline matters
Solo and small business owners: join the Espresso+ community to improve your LinkedIn and online presence. Find out more at jesp.me/join
Support th...
487. Current jobs market stats
Postbag
Mary Wu voice note about the use of someone else's account.
–––
Grad's Guide 2026 – some stats around the current jobs market.
Main reportUK versionUS versionCreative Collision at LinkedIn HQ on 28 April
There is no 360Brew anymore?
AI People search reaches all of the US
Solo and small business owners: join the Espresso+ community to improve your LinkedIn and online presence. Find out more at jesp.me/join
Support the show: Informed is not sponsored, so all production and hosting is self-funded. To make...
486. Collaborative content
Postbag
Voice note response to Mark Lee’s question, from Tonny Mikkelsen.
Mark’s real question was about limiting content searches to the UK only. There's no good route for that, as the "All filters" panel on post searches does not include anything about location.
———
Post collaborations
Differences between desktop and mobile versions of LinkedIn
Customise your profile username
Solo and small business owners: join the Espresso+ community to improve your LinkedIn and online presence. Find out more at jesp.me/join
Support the show...
485. Direct messages and algorithmic immunity
Postbag
Should I delete posts on LinkedIn?
Richard G Abrahams: Should I write a newsletter?
Mark Lee: Can I target my posts to certain locations?
Clip from my UpLift Live 26 talk on "direct messages and algorithmic immunity".
I put in around 12 hours of editing time to get the replays ready, and we have about 17.5 hours of content in total now available over the past 3 years of the conference.
Get your replay ticket
Social Insider report on document post engagement rates
Look out for...
484. UpLift Live 26 conference
Last week we ran the third annual UpLift Live conference in Birmingham. This episode contains some reflections on the day from me and from some of our attendees and speakers.
Our speakers for the 2026 conference were, in order:
John EspirianTony RestellNicole OsborneMic AdamGuy StrijboschHeather MurrayPhill AgnewDave HarlandBrenda MellerNo Postbag this week – but please do send in your questions for next week's show.
If you missed the conference and would like to watch the talks from 2024, 2025 or 2026, please grab a replay ticket at uplift-live.com/replay
Solo and small business ow...
483. Is LinkedIn a social media platform?
A quick look at a document that explains why LinkedIn should be considered a social media platform just like all of the other big players.
Postbag
Teresa Ward: should we use @mentions in comments?
Lionel Guerraz: on saving money with tech tools
———
Don't use the vertical pipe | symbol in your headline
Is LinkedIn social media?
UpLift Live 26 is almost here. Still time to get your ticket at uplift-live.com
Solo and small business owners: join the Espresso+ community to improve your LinkedIn and online...
482. User interface glitches
This week's show "acknowledges" the challenge LinkedIn seems to have in presenting a stable user interface to its users.
Postbag
Voice note from Kaye King about improving our feeds
Voice note from Christian Harris on LinkedIn groups
Voice note from Kate Nankivell about line spacing in the About statement
———
LinkedIn is showing a weird mix of languages on the user interface. Why?
Throwback to 5 years ago when I posted a video of how to say hello and thank you in many different languages
Delibe...
481. How to get LinkedIn content seen?
This one tip will help content creators get their external content seen.
Postbag
Espresso+: Comment "X" and I will DM you – is that a good idea?
Judi Hays voice note … about voice notes
———
Getting content seen: one approach that works for me
How to reduce your LinkedIn notifications
Company page invitations reduced from 250 to 50
Removing date/time stamps
Some news about the UpLift Live 26 conference
Solo and small business owners: join the Espresso+ community to improve your LinkedIn and online pre...
480. LinkedIn voice notes
Among other topics, this week's show is about LinkedIn voice notes. I love them!
Postbag
Mark Lee voice note on spam comments
Niraj Kapur has sent a voice note about AI, based on the content of last week's episode.
I'll be sending more voice notes from now on – see my guide on LinkedIn voice notes
My average post length based on 5 years of data
I want to do more guest podcasts! See my past appearances on other podcasts
LinkedIn's weekly sharing tracker now gone. There ar...
479. Is AI going to take all our jobs?
Is AI coming for all our jobs? That's the main topic this week, with lots of resources for you to check out so you can work out on which side of the fence to fall.
Postbag
Anon: How can I make my Featured items look the same size?
Other topics in this week's show:
Something Big Is Happening AI article by Matt Shumer
Frank Prendergast has shared a voice note about this. Check out Frank's podcast with Justin Collery: The AI Argument
See this annotated version and...
478. UpLift Live interview with Phill Agnew
This week's show comes out early to remind you of this weekend's price rise for the UpLift Live 26. We have an interview with our final speaker, the host of the Nudge podcast, Phill Agnew.
Postbag
Ashley Leeds: Premium banner image buttons
Caryn Yuen: Some experts say that sharing glimpses of your personal life can help build your brand and make it easier for your audience to connect with you. How important do you think this is? How often should one be doing this? How do you decide what’s worth sharing, and what’s no...
477. The post-Milan Postbag
Being away for a week in Milan did wonders for people asking me questions for the show!
Postbag
Richard G Abrahams: As a fiction author, given that time learning and using social media is time not spent writing and editing fiction, and given that LinkedIn is a business platform, is there really any value for me to go through the learning curve to promote my novels? Will I really get return for the effort?
Ashley Leeds: How are LinkedIn group recommendation emails generated? How is your Espresso+ podcast on Apple?
Kate...
476. Audio pronunciations + mystery speaker reveal
This week we look at audio pronunciation on your profile.
Postbag
Sara Gallagher: How can I realistically tell what advice is applicable to me, and what "works" because of the skewed sample but won’t in the broader LinkedIn universe? Does it just come down to trial and error?
Is your security certificate valid?Recording an audio pronunciationMystery speaker for UpLift Live 26 – who is it?Illiya Vjestica is running a bonus UpLift Live 26 webinar on Thursday 5 February at 4pm, on the topic of presentation best practice. This one's free for all ticket-holders to t...
475. Recommendations and video testimonials
Main topic is how others can be your marketing department via their recommendations and video testimonials.
Postbag
Mark Lee: I’m wondering what would happen if I chose to start another newsletter on a different topic potentially of interest to a different subset of my connections. Do all my connections get notified of the new newsletter? Does it have an impact on what happens with the other newsletter? Do all new connections get notified that I have two newsletters?
Do off-topic posts work?
Dates and times on posts
Recommendations an...
474. What is real and what is fake on LinkedIn?
What is real and what is fake on LinkedIn? We're looking at some fake accounts this week.
Postbag
Gillian Whitney voice note
Can anything be done to stop DMs fragmenting when sending LinkedIn recommendations?
LinkedIn security fake account
Update on fake LinkedIn security accounts via Guy Strijbosch
Where did all the Top Voices go?
Keep your headline short: check out some tips on the importance of making a quick impact with your profile headline.
UpLift Live conference discount
Our most recent...
473. My top 10 LinkedIn questions
Happy New Year!
Postbag
Hanne Møller – reposting your own post
Caryn Yuen – hashtags
I know LinkedIn has removed the ability to follow hashtags, but people can still use them. Some include hashtags within the body of their post to draw attention to certain words, while others add several at the end in a more Instagram-style approach. So what purpose do hashtags actually serve on LinkedIn now?
My top LinkedIn questions
Where do I start?What do I post about?Should I post personal stuff?How do I appro...472. Year in Review: LinkedIn's version of Wrapped
What's in your LinkedIn Year in Review? This is LinkedIn's version of Spotify Wrapped.
Postbag
Should a CTA be included in the headline?
Caryn Yuen
If the CTA is very short and part of a reasonably short overall headline, then that’s OK. Headlines that are too long won’t be read by humans, and if the intention of the text isn’t clear to the AI-powered LinkedIn search, that could do you harm.
How to share achievements
Famey Lockwood
LinkedIn has a new template for an...
471. Is LinkedIn Premium worth it?
Postbag
Does the industry setting matter on your profile?
Christopher Johnson (voice note)
LinkedIn industry options help page
Fake accounts with similar headlines?
LB Brittingham
I'm searching for other experts supporting introverts and I keep coming across profiles with "introvert living in an industry of extroverts" or similar. Many seem like real accounts. Maybe it's some sort of LinkedIn insider knowledge/meme? Kind of like newbies to Threads don't understand the rage bait from fake accounts when they first get there. I'm wondering if the same thing...
470. How many active members are on LinkedIn?
This week's main topic looks at how many active accounts there are on LinkedIn. See my LinkedIn membership tracker, particularly the updated section titled "How many active users are on LinkedIn?"
Postbag
– What do you think of people customising their pronouns?
In short, don't do it!
– There are quite a few LinkedIn experts who seem to attach an image to every single one of their posts. Do text-only posts perform less well than posts with images?
Looking at my own data since the start of 2024, my text-only posts get 27% more...
469. Engagement pods
Postbag
via Beth Kirk: Loving the informed podcast! I have a question around the proactive use of DMs to build relationships on LinkedIn. Do you have any top tips for people with established audiences please?
— Look for opportunities to start conversations: birthdays, job changes
— Look through your network to find key referral partners and potential clients, then scour their profiles and content for anything that could start a conversation
— Don’t jump in out of the blue with a sales message. That will look like a campaign. Be more human!
— If t...
