Why your LinkedIn profile now influences human referrals, search results and AI recommendations
LinkedIn is no longer merely an online CV. Potential clients use it for research, referral partners use it to validate recommendations and AI systems increasingly use its content as source material. Your profile now functions much like a professional website, and the content attached to it provides the evidence behind your claims.
What clients think when your LinkedIn is inactive
What a potential client actually thinks when they visit your LinkedIn profile and find nothing posted since 2022 Someone recommended you to me. They said you were experienced, sensible and good at what you do. That carries weight. I trust the person who gave me your name, which is why I looked you up. Your […]
Your referral network is already on LinkedIn
Your referral network is on LinkedIn right now. The only question is whose posts they’re reading. “I don’t need LinkedIn. Most of my work comes from referrals.” Fair enough. Referrals are still one of the strongest ways professionals win new business. A recommendation from a trusted client, colleague or adviser carries weight that no advertisement […]
Your clients can recognise AI LinkedIn posts
ChatGPT writes a LinkedIn post in 20 seconds. Your clients are starting to recognise it. ChatGPT can write a LinkedIn post in less time than it takes to make coffee. Give it a topic, ask for a professional tone, add a line about sounding human and twenty seconds later there it is. A neat opening. […]
What 34 LinkedIn profiles got wrong
I looked at 40 South African professional LinkedIn profiles last month. Here’s what 34 of them had in common Last month, I looked through 40 LinkedIn profiles belonging to South African attorneys, accountants, consultants, developers and business owners. Thirty-four of them had the same problem: they treated LinkedIn like an online CV. The profiles listed […]
The attorney down the road has half your experience and twice your referrals. LinkedIn is the reason.
The attorney down the road has half your experience and twice your referrals. LinkedIn is the reason. You probably know someone like this. An attorney who qualified years after you did. A consultant with a shorter track record. An accountant whose experience doesn’t come close to yours. Yet somehow, their name keeps coming up when […]
You don't need to become a LinkedIn influencer. But you can't afford to stay invisible.
You don’t need to become a LinkedIn influencer but you can’t afford to stay invisible Somewhere along the way, professionals got the wrong idea about 'content'. They heard “show up online” and pictured themselves pointing at floating words in a video, wearing a blazer on top and slippers underneath, while pretending a ring light […]