LinkedIn: don't take it too seriously and dial it down

This one’s personal, staying human is the only hill worth dying on here

Forget the hacks and growth tricks. LinkedIn engagement comes down to a few simple things. It’s not rocket science. It’s barely science.

It’s not about going viral or chasing a one-off hit. It’s about building real connections: they like you, you like them, and maybe you do some business together. I’ll take slow, one-by-one growth over a viral spike any day. It takes longer, but it sticks. What you gain fast, you lose fast.

Yes, this is personal.

→ I like my feed to be professional, a little personal, inspiring, useful, and ideally to make me pause, wonder, and smile. So, I give more than I take, aiming to make someone’s feed a bit better than it was before I showed up.

Here’s a bullet list for 2026: what to do (and not do) if you want to stay human on this platform.

Give before you take: reciprocity
Share something useful, an insight, a data point, a real thought, before asking someone to subscribe, enroll, or accept your invite.
Don’t take yourself so seriously
This is LinkedIn. We’re not saving lives. Relax.
Give credit. Properly.
Sharing someone else’s idea without credit doesn’t make you clever; it makes you lazy. Even if you ‘borrow’ content, tag the source. People notice.

On LinkedIn, please stop

Starting with 'I’m thrilled to announce…'
If you wouldn’t say it out loud, don’t type it online. No one needs a performative announcement because you changed your job title or found another excuse to humblebrag.
Jargon and abbreviation soup
This is a cry for help, trying to impress others. Use real words. Be clear. In the worst case, it makes you look professional.
Humblebragging and faux engagement
The ‘I’m so grateful for this journey…'→ 7 paragraphs about themselves → wrapped in an ‘Enough about me, what do you think about me?’ disguised question. Bonus cringe if your AI-generated and automated DMs pretend to be personal. We can smell that from a mile away.

And hey, if life hands you lemons, brand them, market them, and post a carousel. It’s still LinkedIn. We’re here to do business. Might as well have a little fun while we’re at it.

Credit where credit is due: Oliver D. for the video, and all of you for filling my feed with the good, the bad, and the ugly that inspired me to write this post.