LinkedIn was launched in 2003, and Callaghan has also used it. Mainly, for networking and job hunting. "I find it to be quite a poor platform, personally, considering the rich data opportunities on offer. For example, when it was bought by Microsoft, I was convinced they were going to add some feature rich CRM based tools where you could record calls, conversations and information about connections in real time... It still hasn't been done. The advertising is also hugely expensive and judging by the ads I see, really poorly targeted."
To Callaghan, crap on LinkedIn is anything that's blatantly dishonest. Think heart-warming recruitment stories where a company hires someone with no skills just because they showed up dripping wet from the rain because they couldn't afford a car. Or posts that are irrelevant in a business environment -- like how cool someone's kid is. As Callaghan put it, all children are amazing, there's no need to make up a story about how they started a business at 4 years old selling lemonade to show off how great your parenting is. Finally, engagement bait. Like tacky videos of a robot built 10 years ago or a cute dog linked to some tedious business analogy.
"LinkedIn is unfortunately a really boring platform content-wise," Callaghan said. "While people are scrolling around it, they're looking for stuff that's a bit different that they can engage with. There are tons of blogs online telling you how to use the LinkedIn algorithm to your benefit which certainly doesn't help. Things like long, spaced out posts improve a reader's engagement because they're scrolling through it which in turn improves the visibility to other people."
Callaghan also pointed out that LinkedIn users tend to copy/paste post templates or just the exact same content that they saw viral on the platform, making it so inauthentic, repetitive and cringy.
"People really don't need to resort to posting 'Crap on LinkedIn' to get engagement. How many of those likes and comments result in a sell for that poster? Always ask yourself 'Is this really braggy?' 'Is this false?' 'Do my buyers care about this?' and delete where appropriate," Callaghan added. "In the meantime, if you see your post appear on our feed – take it as a lesson, be a good sport and have a nice day."
