Latest / Social Media Marketing with Fexingo: Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Platform Strategy / How LinkedIn Became a Creator Platform
Transcript
- Lucas: LinkedIn might be the most misunderstood platform in the social media stack right now. And I think marketers are still treating it like a digital resume board—when in reality, it's quietly become one of the most interesting creator platforms of 2025. Luna: Quietly is the right word. I feel like every time I open LinkedIn now, I'm seeing essays—real, thousand-word posts—not just job updates. Lucas: Exactly. And that didn't happen by accident. In late 2024, LinkedIn rolled out a major algorithm update that shifted the signal away from pure follower count and toward what they called 'knowledge-sharing engagement.' The metric that matters now isn't how many people see your post—it's how many people comment, and specifically how many unique commenters you get relative to impressions. Luna: So the comment to impression ratio became the new king. That's a huge change from, say, Instagram or TikTok where it's all about watch time and shares. Lucas: Right. And the effect has been pretty dramatic. Take the creator 'The Anxious Achiever'—a pseudonymous career coach who posts about workplace anxiety and leadership. She started posting long-form LinkedIn articles in January 2025. By April, she had over 300,000 followers and her posts were regularly getting 2,000-plus comments. And she didn't have any existing audience outside LinkedIn. Luna: That's wild. And it shows that the algorithm is actually rewarding depth over hot takes—which is not something we can say about most social platforms right now. Lucas: It's a deliberate strategy from LinkedIn's side. They want to own the professional conversation space—think of it as 'Twitter for grown-ups' but with better moderation and longer shelf life. A post on LinkedIn can drive engagement for three, four days. On X, it's dead in three hours. Luna: And the content format has evolved too. It's not just text. I'm seeing a lot more native video—not polished production, but someone sitting at their desk, talking about a career lesson for two minutes. Lucas: That's another shift. LinkedIn launched a dedicated video feed in early 2025, similar to TikTok's 'For You' page. And the early data shows that video posts are getting 25 to 30 percent higher engagement rates than text-only posts—especially for B2B topics. So if you're a marketer trying to build authority, you almost have to be doing short-form video now. Luna: But not everyone is comfortable being on camera. Is there still a path for the writer who just wants to post thoughtful threads? Lucas: Absolutely. In fact, LinkedIn's sweet spot might be the written format—because it's the only major platform where long-form text still gets surfaced. On Instagram, anything over a caption gets cut off. On TikTok, it's video or nothing. But LinkedIn rewards the person who writes a 1,200-word post about 'three lessons from managing a remote team.' That post can get more reach than a 30-second video. Luna: I think the key insight here is that LinkedIn is optimizing for 'credibility signals'—comments from people with real profiles, with real job titles. That makes it harder to game than other platforms. Lucas: Exactly. And that's what makes it valuable for marketers. If you can build an engaged following on LinkedIn, the quality of that audience is often higher—because people are there in a professional mindset. They're not just killing time; they're looking to learn or network. Luna: So for someone listening who wants to start building on LinkedIn today—what's the first thing they should do? Post a long essay? Comment on other people's posts? Lucas: I'd say start with commenting—but not the 'great post, thanks for sharing' kind. LinkedIn's algorithm weights comments that are substantive. So if you see a post from someone in your industry, write a paragraph that adds a real insight or a counterpoint. The algorithm will show your comment to that person's network, which can bring followers back to your profile. Luna: That's the 'gateway' strategy—use comments to get in front of new audiences, then gradually shift to posting your own content. Lucas: And when you do post, focus on one format: the personal story with a professional lesson. That's the native language of LinkedIn. It's not 'here's a list of 10 tips'; it's 'here's a mistake I made as a manager and what it taught me.' Luna: That reminds me of a study I read—LinkedIn posts with a personal anecdote in the first two lines get 40 percent more engagement than posts that start with a generic hook. Lucas: Totally tracks. And it makes sense—people scroll LinkedIn during breaks, and they want something that feels human, not corporate. The brands that are doing well on LinkedIn right now are the ones that let real employees post, not just the marketing team. Luna: Before we keep going with more strategy—I want to mention something quick. A handful of listeners chip in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo—that's literally what funds these conversations. If today's episode was useful to you and you want to keep it ad-free, that's the link. Just a small thing that makes a big difference. Lucas: Yeah, it genuinely does. We appreciate every single person who does that. And now—back to LinkedIn. One area I think is underrated is LinkedIn's newsletter feature. It's basically a built-in email list inside the platform. Luna: Oh, I've seen those—some creators have hundreds of thousands of subscribers. And the open rate on LinkedIn newsletters is reportedly around 30 to 40 percent, which is much higher than traditional email. Lucas: It's because the notification goes directly to the LinkedIn inbox, and people check that regularly. So if you're a B2B marketer, starting a weekly LinkedIn newsletter is arguably more effective than an email newsletter—at least for growing an audience initially. Luna: What about the downside? I've seen some people worry that LinkedIn is becoming too noisy—too many 'thought leaders' posting generic inspiration quotes. Lucas: That's real. The platform has a problem with what I call 'performative expertise'—people who post just to look smart, without adding real value. But the algorithm is getting better at filtering that out. Posts that get a lot of comments but low time spent reading get demoted. So superficial content is starting to fade. Luna: That's good to hear. I think the key for any marketer is to focus on one niche. Don't try to be a general business guru. Pick a specific area—like 'supply chain technology' or 'hiring in the AI era'—and go deep. Lucas: And consistency matters more than frequency. Publishing one high-quality post per week will outperform five mediocre ones. I've seen creators go from zero to 10,000 followers in three months by posting twice a week with real substance. Luna: So to sum up for our listeners: LinkedIn is no longer just a place to list your job history. It's a legitimate creator platform with a unique algorithm that rewards depth, credibility, and genuine interaction. The playbook is different from every other social network. Lucas: And the timing is good. As other platforms get more saturated with ai generated content, LinkedIn's emphasis on human expertise becomes more valuable. If you build authority there now, you'll have an asset that compounds. Luna: Yeah, I think we'll look back at 2025 as the year LinkedIn became a first-class content destination. It's not just a supplement to your strategy anymore—for B2B, it might be the main event.