Topics to Avoid on LinkedIn

Can you imagine being let go from a company and then receiving a sponsored LinkedIn message inviting you to a webcast about the very solution you used to market, telling you that you can now learn about AI? Or being asked to “partner” with someone who has no understanding of your business model. Or getting pitched technology that has absolutely nothing to do with what you do. Or receiving a request to introduce someone you have never met to your entire network. These are just a few recent highlights from my LinkedIn inbox. If you are sending messages like these, here are a few friendly tips. 1.    Take a moment to review your target list before emailing former colleagues. 2.    Know the person you are reaching out to. Do not pitch a product unless you know whether it is relevant. 3.    Please do not ask someone to be your partner or introduce you to their network out of the blue. 4.    Do not tell someone they are doing something they are not doing, such as hiring a sales team, if they are not. 5. And for the love of the gods, LinkedIn is not a dating app. Do not send random compliments to strangers based on a profile photo. LinkedIn can be an incredible tool for connecting, sharing information, and staying in touch with your network. But you will waste your time and frustrate people if you do not use it properly. #linkedinetiquette #professionalcommunication #networkingtips #digitalmanners #personalbranding

🔸 What LinkedIn is Not For ❌ Advancing religious agendas — Churches can be a better setting for that. ❌ Expressing political ideologies — There are countless other platforms for those conversations. ❌ Approaching women with inappropriate or personal messages — This is never okay. Ever. LinkedIn is a professional platform designed for: ✅ Advancing careers ✅ Building meaningful professional relationships ✅ Staying informed on industry trends and innovations I received a message from a pastor at a religious organization, inviting me, ' Pastoral Leader,' to host a screening of an anti-abortion film at my church. Let me be clear: I am not a pastor. I do not lead a church. I do not share the religious or political beliefs assumed in the message. My views on women's bodies, healthcare, or personal beliefs are none of your business. 🔴 This Inmail that woke up to this morning is not appropriate and frankly upsetting. If you're using LinkedIn to cold-message people based on assumptions about their gender, faith, or political views, you're misusing the platform. LinkedIn should remain a space where we feel safe growing professionally, not one where we have to defend our boundaries. #LinkedInEtiquette #ProfessionalBoundaries #RespectInTheWorkplace #KeepItProfessional

Everything I've learned about LinkedIn with 33.5k followers: 1. The best way to build QUALITY connections is not by hot takes or by selfies. It's by engaging the community in meaningful ways. I do this mostly by asking questions rather than making statements. Folks like to engage questions more than declaratives. 2. Don't make my mistake. 95% of my connections are cybersecurity people. It's an echo chamber. I'm adding CFOs, CTOs, VPs of R&D, CIOs, General Counsel, etc. now, but it's awfully late to be doing that. 3. The LinkedIn algorithms always change. I always read the tips that come out, but I'm also always discovering evidence that they are no longer (or never were?) accurate. Conclusion: I don't chase the algorithms other than limiting hashtags. It's too much to keep up with. Stay the course on producing quality original content. 4. Don't stalk. Non-answers mean no. 5. Avoid politics and religion. I bring up issues in our industry on occasion (e.g., sexism at industry shows), but I avoid Trump vs. Kamala and that kind of stuff. My mantra: Stand in the busiest hallway at work. Talk in a loud voice. If you are not willing to say it in that circumstance, don't say it here. 6. Take a self-reflective look at your byline. Calling yourself a thought leader engenders eye rolls as much as respect. Keynote speaker, author, award-winning, globally recognized, etc. I personally am more suspicious seeing all that stuff. I judge you by your content. Quick-selling me on your awesomeness does not work for me. I can claim most of that stuff. I don't. 7. Is it just me or are the emojis distracting? 8. Don't steal others' content. Riff off of it all you want, but cite them. 9. Tagging me blindly on your post fills my already very busy inbox. I un-tag myself more often than not. 10. I think of LinkedIn as one of my communities. Larger and less intimate than others, but community nonetheless. I don't go as personal as some do on my posts, but I did post a picture of me hugging my 6 month-old sheepadoodle. I've made real friends here. You can too. 11. Help others. Help the industry. Help the community. I routinely share CVs and connect people with people. Do this. 12. Only go negative when it will truly achieve the goal more than positive. 13. I think the Top Voice stuff is related to answering those prompts that LinkedIn spams you with? If so, I will never be a Top Voice. If not, why am I not a Top Voice? lol :-) 14. Judge me. Judge everyone. Especially "influencers". There are a lot of platitudes, bad advice, etc. Popularity does not equal value. 15. Avoid the tired topics: Shortage of talent while gating newcomers. Who the CISO should report to. Etc. 16. Yes, we need to "speak the language of the business". Give examples. Better yet, show how you ARE the business. Move us forward rather than repeating the now-obvious. 17. Don't be afraid to share. Someone will find value in your content. Thank you! #informationsecurity #cybersecurity #ciso

𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐛𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐈𝐧: 𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐈𝐭 𝐎𝐮𝐭! 🚨 LinkedIn is a space meant for networking, professional growth, and meaningful conversations. But lately, the rise of clickbait posts has been impossible to ignore. 🙄 From misleading advice to outright absurd complaints, these posts are designed to provoke outrage or get engagement rather than add value. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐛𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲: The "LinkedIn is Not a Dating Site" Complaint A user posted a screenshot of 10 identical messages starting with, "Hi NAME, It's great connecting with you! How have you been?" and claimed, "LinkedIn is not a dating site." Seriously? 💬 This is just a generic professional greeting, not a pickup line. Icebreaker Hate Another person advised, "If someone asks you a non-serious question to start the interview, run because they aren’t taking the process seriously." 🤦♂️ Icebreakers are a basic principle of interviews to ease nerves and build rapport. #IcebreakerDuh ❄️ Deliberately Misleading Stories People sharing stories or screenshots of supposed "conversations" that are clearly fabricated to get comments like, "OMG, so unprofessional!" 🚩 Unrealistic Success Stories Posts like, "I sent out one email and landed my dream job with no experience!" Stories like these set false expectations and frustrate genuine job seekers. 😤 Overly Dramatic Headlines "The ONE Question Every Recruiter HATES to Hear!!!" Such posts lure you in but often lack substance or actionable advice. 🛑 Exaggerated Accomplishments Claims like "I increased company revenue by 1000% in one week with this ONE trick!" Overblown achievements undermine credibility and often lack evidence. 💹 Shock Value Posts "I fired my boss and took over the company in one day!" These posts are purely for reactions and have no basis in reality. 🤯 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐛𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠—𝐢𝐭 𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭. 👎 This post, by the way, is not clickbait! It’s meant to genuinely highlight the importance of focusing on posts that are helpful and constructive. LinkedIn thrives when we focus on authenticity and constructive engagement. 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬, 𝐥𝐞𝐭’𝐬: Share real insights and lessons learned. 💡 Call out bad advice politely but firmly. 💬 Promote positive and helpful content that adds value to our networks. 🤝 Let’s keep LinkedIn the professional and inspiring space it was meant to be! 🌟 #LinkedInTips #ProfessionalNetworking #Authenticity #SayNoToClickbait #IcebreakersMatter #JobSearchTips #RealTalk #PostsByLB

I want to help everyone have a better experience on LinkedIn! Consider this is a public service message to improve everyone's content and connections by removing the annoying things that drive people away. Here are 13 LinkedIn no-no’s 1. Selling in your first DM If you connect with someone and start selling your product before you have ever talked you will their business. 2. Don’t post the following Stock photos or meme’s without content Text only posts Article links without your original thoughts 3. Attacking content creators for their thoughts.  It’s okay to disagree and have civilized discussion but to outright attack a content creator’s experience, background, or content without having substantial facts is unprofessional and disrespectful. 4. Multiple paragraphs DMs. Sending long multiple paragraphs about your product or services should be saved for a phone call or email IF you’ve earned the relationship. 5. Sending DM’s that say “bump”  If someone doesn't respond to your first message, they are either not interested or too busy to respond. Sending a new DM each day with bump is annoying and will lead to you getting blocked. 6. Tag Spamming Most people know this but don’t tag 50 other active people to get your post viral. LinkedIn Algorithms know this and make them less visible. 7. Use Hastags in moderation In the past 3-5 hashtags were ideal. In today’s formula 1-2 are the max. Putting in 10+ hashtags is not only ineffective but looks desperate. 8. LinkedIn is not a dating platform This should be self-explanatory but this is a business platform and no place for romantic relationship advances. Professional relationships and business networking, yes. 9. Posting infrequently and expecting results Don’t expect to get a lot of tractions on your content if you only post once or twice a month. You must build your authority and audience over time. 10. LinkedIn is not just for your online resume and job hunting You can gain a ton of opportunities, knowledge, and professional referrals from this platform. It’s astonishing that people still think this is just for job hunting. 11. Hijack a thread One of the most annoying things is when you have a thought provoking post that is going viral and then you have someone hijack your thread. These are people that never communicate with you, and they decide to fight, argue, or take over your thread by commenting with everyone in your post, the only option is to block them and then that kills the post going viral.  12. Politics and Religion  Discussing these on this platform can be a no-no but is fine as long as it relates to business or professional development. Outright political hate speech or agenda pushing is not okay but explaining how a policy affects your business is great educational content. 13. Sales only posts If all your posts are about buying from me, listen to this, or your next sale, you will not get any traction or attention on LinkedIn. What other #LinkedInTips do you have?

Teachers, it’s time we have a tough love conversation about posting on LinkedIn. From a place of love and respect because I want you all to be taken seriously on this platform! First and foremost, posting on LinkedIn is not required and the vast majority of our clients find success in careers outside of education without posting on LinkedIn. Here’s what you need to know: 1) LinkedIn is not Facebook. Posting pictures of your family at church, your daughter’s dance recital, cookies you baked on a Friday night, etc. do not belong on LinkedIn. You are on this platform to build professional relationships and job search. As a rule of thumb, if you wouldn’t feel comfortable bringing it up in a job interview, it doesn’t belong on LinkedIn. 2) Writing posts about asking for job leads. This is the least effective way to use LinkedIn. It also shows hiring teams you haven’t done your due diligence about how to properly use this platform. If you're new to LinkedIn you likely don't have enough connections for these posts to be effective. It can also leave a bad taste in people’s mouths if the very first time you virtually meet them you’re asking for favors. 3) Do not be rude to people trying to help you! Hiring teams can see the interactions you have on this platform and being rude to people will always put you in a losing situation. 4) Venting about your current admin, class behavior, coworkers, etc. Teaching is hard work, there is no denying that! Yes, venting about your day, your coworkers, your job search, or whatever you’re frustrated about has a time and place, but it is not here on LinkedIn. As you move through the teacher career transition, you are building a new professional reputation that will likely stick with you for years after you leave education. You want to be viewed as a professional!

LinkedIn isn’t Facebook. Stop posting like it is. (Keep reading & I'll show you what to avoid.) LinkedIn is a professional platform, and treating it like Facebook could be hurting your brand. These are 8 common mistakes professionals make when posting on LinkedIn: ❌ Sharing personal stories with no professional context. ↳ LinkedIn is about showcasing your expertise. ❌ Posting without a clear goal. ↳ Aim to educate, inspire, or inform. ❌ Writing overly casual language. ↳ Keep it friendly but professional. ❌ Endless selfies with no context. ↳ Selfies are fine, but pair them with insights or value. ❌ Political and controversial posts. ↳ Unless it's related to your industry, avoid it. ❌ Using clickbait tactics. ↳ Authenticity wins here. ❌ Commenting with meaningless emojis. ↳ LinkedIn is about meaningful engagement. ❌ Tagging irrelevant people. ↳ Tagging random people may get you noticed, but not in the way you want. So, how should you approach LinkedIn? ✅️ Share Value. ✅️ Keep It Relevant. ✅️ Engage Authentically. Make these adjustments, and watch your LinkedIn presence elevate to a whole new level. 📌Follow me to learn how to position your Personal Brand on LinkedIn and elevate your presence & perception! 👇🏽 Ms. Muthoni Njoroge, The LinkedIn Lioness #roaringwithaudacity #globallinkedinbootcampwithmuthoni

Let’s Get This Straight. LinkedIn is a professional networking platform, not Tinder, Bumble, or Instagram DMs. If you're reaching out to someone — especially about a job — please: ✅ Be clear about the role, location, duration, and contract type ❌ Don’t send “Hi dear,” “Hello beautiful,” or any form of cringey small talk ❌ No vague messages like “Are you looking?” without any job info ❌ Definitely no flirting, emojis, or personal compliments — this isn’t the place We're here to grow careers, not collect awkward messages. Respect people’s time and professionalism. If you can’t approach someone like a recruiter or a colleague, you probably shouldn’t be messaging them here at all. Let’s keep LinkedIn what it’s meant to be: a space for real opportunities, real networking, and real conversations. #LinkedInEtiquette #KeepItProfessional #NotTinder #CareerGrowth #RecruiterTips #JobSearch #BoundariesMatter

We’ve all worked for toxic bosses, with toxic people, and in toxic environments. But just because you experienced something terrible doesn’t mean you should share those experiences on LinkedIn. I beg you, 🛑 STOP posting this stuff on LinkedIn. Here is why it’s a bad idea to post this stuff: 1. The industry you are in, whatever it is, is smaller than you think. Word travels fast. If it gets around you’re not easy to work with, you can kiss your career goodbye. 2. When you look for your next role, do you think someone wants to hire someone who took to social media to complain about their toxic boss or company? Trust me, no one likes a trouble maker or a complainer and that’s how you’ve just labeled yourself. 3. Sure, your post about your toxic experience will generate some likes and support emojis, and it might even go viral — but it’s only for a moment in time and then everyone forgets and goes back to their daily lives, except for you. (I partially blame LinkedIn’s algo for this because they highly reward this type of content and make you think you should post more of it - DON'T!) 4. Holding space for anyone who was toxic in your life is a waste of your time, energy, and mental health. No single person is worth it. Telling other people about how awful a company was or your boss was isn’t going to get them fired or stop them from being the asshole they are - so stop wasting energy on them. Concentrate on filling up your own cup and giving back to yourself. ☕ #leadership #careeradvice

LinkedIn Is Not Your Diary: Think Before You Post LinkedIn is a professional platform, not a place for oversharing deeply personal stories you wouldn’t discuss in a job interview. Here’s a rule of thumb: 👉 If you wouldn’t share it with a prospective boss during an interview (or a stranger at Starbucks), it’s probably not appropriate to share it with strangers online. Stories of death, tragedy, or personal virtue can be compelling, but ask yourself: Is this story adding professional value? Am I sharing to inspire or to seek validation and likes? Would I regret a future employer or colleague reading this? Oversharing might feel cathartic, but it can cross into territory that detracts from your professional presence. If the thought of sharing it in a professional setting feels uncomfortable, consider keeping it offline. #LinkedInEtiquette #ThinkBeforeYouPost #ProfessionalBrand