The LinkedIn Experiment
If you are reading this, you most likely found my website via LinkedIn. The irony isn't lost on me.
For years, I've been the guy who rolls his eyes at LinkedIn and most other social media platforms. My usual pattern is creating an account to see what all the hype is about, accepting a few connection requests, then I either become a lurker, or most likely, I abandon the platform and never return. I rarely participate.
My LinkedIn feed became a wasteland of corporate buzzwords, profound life lessons, and selfies at conferences. My DMs are filled with recruiters and SaaS sales pitches. We also can't forget about all of the LinkedIn gurus saying that if I sign up for their course I can be making six figures on the platform.
To be honest, it has always felt disingenuous.
But recently, I've been reconsidering my position. Several podcasts I respect have suggested LinkedIn might be valuable when approached correctly. They argue it's an untapped networking resource that can generate genuine opportunities when used strategically rather than performatively.
So here's my experiment: I'm committing to post on LinkedIn once or twice a week for 12 weeks. No growth hacks, no paying for reach, just consistent, authentic content related to my field and interests.
My hypothesis? Most likely nothing will happen. My second guess? I'll get a bunch of connection requests from people trying to sell me something.
The risk: The inevitable ribbing from my closest friends and colleagues who'll suddenly see me posting on a platform I've routinely mocked. I can already hear the "Look who's joined the LinkedIn influencer crowd" comments and can already see the raised eyebrows.
But I'm willing to be proven wrong. Maybe there's more to LinkedIn than corporate virtue signaling and thinly-veiled sales pitches. Maybe there's actual value in connecting with industry peers in this format. Maybe it will open up
The rules for my experiment are simple:
- At least one post per week for 12 weeks
- Content must be authentic
- Track metrics
- Note any tangible opportunities that arise
- Engage in discussion and comment on other's posts here and there
I'm documenting this experiment here, away from the LinkedIn algorithm's watchful eye, where I can be completely candid. In three months, I'll return with part two of this article to share what happened.
Will I become a LinkedIn convert?
Follow me on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerkurz/
Update | Week 2
- Updated the information on my profile
- Created a new banner
- Updated my headshot
- Followed new people that I'm interested in
- 3 posts that generated over 4,000 impressions, 1,500 members reached, 85 engagements, and 20 new followers
- 0 opportunities generated
- 0 new solicitations
Update | Week 4
- 3,353 new impressions
- 1,652 members reached
- 63 new engagements
- 21 new followers
- 1 opportunity generated
- 5 new solicitations
- Getting the gears from friends and family about my increased LinkedIn activity has exponentially increased over the past 2 weeks
I have started to try and incorporate LinkedIn best practices so that my posts and comments are more aligned with LinkedIn's algorithm.
Posting is still very uncomfortable, 8 weeks to go.
Update | Week 6
Since I've started this experiment:
- Surpassed 20k impressions
- Reached 5,000 members
- Over 438 engagements (385 reactions; 48 comments; 5 reposts)
- Increased followers by 35.9%
- 1 paid opportunity generated
- Around 40 new unwanted solicitations 👀
After I started to incorporate LinkedIn best practices in terms of post structures, my numbers started to dip. I wonder if the algorithm gives an initial boost to dormant users that start posting.
I still find using LinkedIn uncomfortable. I'm not a big fan. I also don't like using the "best practice" structure because it makes my posts less authentic. From here on out, I'm going to stop worrying about how to structure the best post and just post what I want, when I want, in the format I want.
I'm still getting roasted by my friends and family 😄.
