Claim OwnershipInformed: the podcast for LinkedIn® users
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© John Espirian
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"Informed" is for you if you'd like to understand more about how LinkedIn works so that you can be an effective user of the platform.
It's hard to know whom to believe with so many self-appointed gurus out there telling you the latest hacks for going viral and earning 7-figure deals. And even LinkedIn's own publications often don't speak to the reality of using the platform.
But for those who see past superficial promises and sanitised reports, this podcast provides evidence and thoughtful opinion. With a track record of more than 10 years of sensible, no-nonsense advice about honest best practice for LinkedIn, Informed is a trusted source of insight by many thousands of regular listeners.
The show was created by Mark Williams, who's affectionately known as "Mr LinkedIn". Mark retired in late 2025 and handed over the reins of the show to John Espirian, the relentlessly helpful® LinkedIn nerd. John is a LinkedIn trainer and consultant, the founder of the Espresso+ community, the creator of the UpLift Live conference (the UK's original event dedicated to LinkedIn best practice), and the author of the personal branding handbook Content DNA.
John's reputation is for getting to the point and for not being a salesy douche canoe, so you can expect short, sharp episodes with zero ads or sponsored slots. This also is NOT an interview show, so if you've read this far then please don't pitch yourself for a guest appearance. However, you're welcome to get in touch if you have a LinkedIn question you'd like John to cover on the show. (To do that, search for the "Informed podcast" company page on LinkedIn and send a message.)
This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the LinkedIn® corporation. John Espirian is an independent trainer and does not work for LinkedIn® – while it would be great to have LinkedIn's endorsement, the show's independence from the corporation means you, the listener, are never fed an airbrushed political spiel.
It's hard to know whom to believe with so many self-appointed gurus out there telling you the latest hacks for going viral and earning 7-figure deals. And even LinkedIn's own publications often don't speak to the reality of using the platform.
But for those who see past superficial promises and sanitised reports, this podcast provides evidence and thoughtful opinion. With a track record of more than 10 years of sensible, no-nonsense advice about honest best practice for LinkedIn, Informed is a trusted source of insight by many thousands of regular listeners.
The show was created by Mark Williams, who's affectionately known as "Mr LinkedIn". Mark retired in late 2025 and handed over the reins of the show to John Espirian, the relentlessly helpful® LinkedIn nerd. John is a LinkedIn trainer and consultant, the founder of the Espresso+ community, the creator of the UpLift Live conference (the UK's original event dedicated to LinkedIn best practice), and the author of the personal branding handbook Content DNA.
John's reputation is for getting to the point and for not being a salesy douche canoe, so you can expect short, sharp episodes with zero ads or sponsored slots. This also is NOT an interview show, so if you've read this far then please don't pitch yourself for a guest appearance. However, you're welcome to get in touch if you have a LinkedIn question you'd like John to cover on the show. (To do that, search for the "Informed podcast" company page on LinkedIn and send a message.)
This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the LinkedIn® corporation. John Espirian is an independent trainer and does not work for LinkedIn® – while it would be great to have LinkedIn's endorsement, the show's independence from the corporation means you, the listener, are never fed an airbrushed political spiel.
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Postbagvia Beth Kirk: Loving the informed podcast! I have a question around the proactive use of DMs to build relationships on LinkedIn. Do you have any top tips for people with established audiences please?— Look for opportunities to start conversations: birthdays, job changes— Look through your network to find key referral partners and potential clients, then scour their profiles and content for anything that could start a conversation— Don’t jump in out of the blue with a sales message. That will look like a campaign. Be more human!— If there’s any sign that the other party might be open to it, use a voice note or even a video note to further humanise. I get great response rates.via Espresso+: Does anyone get high levels of impressions with comments as a company page?via Espresso+: How to be found through ChatGPT?via Espresso+: Does an emoji in the Name field lead to spending one day in LinkedIn jail?Engagement podsPods are unholy alliances of LinkedIn users who are trying to artificially boost their posts’ visibility in the LinkedIn feed. LinkedIn are trying to crack down, with a new video about this by Gyanda Sachdeva, a VP of Product Management at LinkedIn.Thanks to an update from Tony Restell, UpLift Live26 speaker, who got this direct from LinkedIn:Any profiles or companies you come across that are selling fake engagement services, please report directly via email to trademark@linkedin.com
Thanks to Mark Williams for his kind farewell newsletter.PostbagProfile verification: to verify or not? (see more)Post timing: when is best to post?Recommendations: should they be up to date?Other topicsEveryone is talking about algorithmic bias against women. I’m going to investigate.A couple of text-plus-image posts:Changing the skin tone in emojis“Quiet Piggy”Starting a post with a short bit of quoted text often seems to get me good engagement, as per the second example.Why put a date and time stamp on posts? I wish LinkedIn would do something about this.About the showThis feels a bit meta but here are some things related to the development and marketing of the podcast:There’s a new page at espirian.co.uk/informedThere’s a new banner image as part of my rotating Premium bannerI’ve invited 250 people (the monthly limit) to follow the company pageThere were ~1000 downloads for episodes 466 & 467 – thanks!
The first episode of the new-look show took me 6 hours to record, edit and produce last week.PostbagHow do you manage lots of ongoing DMs?How much should we care about algorithms?Downgrading desktop featuresWhy not refresh your About statement with some icebreakers? Pick 3–5 conversation starters and drop them into your profile so that people doing their research can say something interesting to you.Free LinkedIn members can now send only 3 free personalised invitations per month – there are 5 quick tips in the show for how to get around this very annoying limitation.
This is the new-look Informed podcast, all about LinkedIn best practice, hosted for the first time by John Espirian. There’s a quick backstory of the handover from the show’s creator, Mark Williams, to John, and then on to listener questions in the Postbag.Postbag questionsCan you deactivate a company page without closing your personal profile?Can you talk about visibility being down on LinkedIn?Should we invest time in making newsletters, livestreams and videos on LinkedIn?How are comment impressions gauged and are they a useful metric?Is post boosting a good idea?Generative AI data training: how to turn it off if you don’t want to give your data to LinkedIn for free.Microsoft’s 2026 Q1 results are out, with some nuggets about LinkedIn growth.LinksGrowth stalling post 1Growth stalling post 2LinkedIn membership growth trackerRyan Roslansky on LinkedIn’s resultsBook a consultation with JohnEspresso+ community
My final ever episode. I have made the decision to retire, which means no more LinkedIn™️ training or LinkedIn™️ at all so the podcast needs to be handed on to someone else.Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
This week’s topic was inspired by a post I didn’t even read!I only caught a glimpse of it in my feed, but the headline or hook must have stuck in my brain and started to evolve into an idea for a podcast episode. It’s not the first time that’s happened—and it definitely won’t be the last.Chances are, it’s happened to you too, even if you didn’t realise it.That inspiration came from just one impression out of almost 20,000!Impressions to irrelevant people don’t matter so long as there are enough relevant ones.It can be argued that nobody is completely irrelevant anyway… you just don’t know! Content topic is critical to attract attention of the right audience So are impressions really a vanity metric?To hear all my thoughts on this subject plus the following topics, click on the podcast link below.Also covered:A profile feature makes a welcome return Video posting advice from LinkedIn™️...and it's actually quite good! New video trends feature Is spam getting worse? Premium free trial rules tightened Post of the week An announcement about the podcast Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
We often come across people on LinkedIn™️ who look interesting and produce content we find valuable...so we follow or connect and over time we feel as though we get to know them better.But do we REALLY know them?Interesting People interviews are designed to reveal more about the background, personal lives and characteristics of some of our favourite people on LinkedIn™️.Lea Turner is known for her openness and authenticity so it was a challenge to get her to reveal something we hadn't heard before...but she is most definitely very interesting!Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
The only dedicated LinkedIn™️ conference in the UK enters its second year this week. I won't be able to attend but they have a stellar line up of speakers so I asked John Espirian to come on the podcast to give us a glimpse of what in person and virtual attendees can expect.Plus:The challenge of keeping up with AI! AI video is getting better but it's not fooling me yet Exposing automated AI comment cheats (idiots) Two new features A new video newsletter from LinkedIn™️ What happened to the mobile video feed? This post made me laugh Post of the week Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
So, the world's largest online business networking platform has decided to invest in offline networking? LinkedIn's new experience centre, in London is a bit more than just about networking but it's an interesting new development.That plus:Can you simulate the engagement of a LinkedIn™️ post? New profile feature Embedding posts Do screenshots boost a posts reach? Are Russian comment bots infiltrating LinkedIn™️? The LinkedIn™️ DM privacy case has been dropped...but was it baseless?Post of the weekMentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
In this episode of the Informed podcast I argue that thoughtful and considered commenting is the single most effective action that anyone can take on LinkedIn™️ - that's a bold statement but one I really believe to be true.That plus:Boobgate! New Newsletter analytics Feed sorting removed New feed sort tab being tested How to spot AI comments How LinkedIn™️ influence user behaviour Post of the week Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
In this episode I cover the positives and negatives of the new(ish) mobile video feed.Plus a brilliant post of the week (and it's not a video).Video summaryhttps://youtu.be/_Cpjy-U0UXMMentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
What would you spend your time doing if you only had one hour on LinkedIn™️ per week?Is it possible to have impact in that time?A recent interaction led me to think about this topic. One hour a week is woefully inadequate but it's an interesting challenge...what would be the best things to do in those precious 60 minutes a week?That plus:Two new featuresYour plummeting SSI means nothing! How much?! Is LinkedIn™️ Recruiter overpriced? Premium Duo pricing announced Top Voice requirements are tightened Post of the week Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
In this weeks episode I discuss my predictions for LinkedIn™️ this year.I've always said that there are 3 LinkedIns:The company The platform The community (us) My prediction is that the biggest changes this year will come from user behaviour and those changes provide opportunities for all of us.Topics covered:Introduction07.00 New features24.30 My predictions for 202553.15 Is the trend towards video damaging the reach of other great content?60.00 UpLift Live conference in MarchMentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
We often come across people on LinkedIn™️ who look interesting and produce content we find valuable...so we follow or connect and over time we feel as though we get to know them better.But do we REALLY know them?Interesting People interviews are designed to reveal more about the background, personal lives and characteristics of some of our favourite people on LinkedIn™️.This episode features the wonderful Louise Brogan, A much travelled LinkedIn™️ trainer with an IT background, a passionate feminist and advocate for small businesses.We talked about the following topicsGrowing up in Northern Ireland during the troubles. Going to a school situated along the 'murder mile'! Why she left Belfast to study in Scotland How her travels have taken her around the world three times! Her early career in IT support including working for a massive corporate and why she eventually joined the NHS. Starting her own business and being risk averse The impact of losing her Dad when she had a 4 week old baby The advice she received which guided her towards social media training The pivot from broad social media to specialist LinkedIn™️ training & the benefits that has brought How she became a successful 'YouTuber' (over 2 million views) and why it attracts customers How she once turned criticism into a successful LinkedIn™️ post Being a feminist Her passion for small businesses Meeting the King! 👑 Being an empath in business Whats on her happy list A book recommendationLouise is a talker...something we both have in common so I'm impressed that we managed to keep this recording to just over an hour!Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
How the new feed is quietly stifling engagement.Also covered in this week's episode:Audio events are being scrapped How the 'see more' can be a curse New - enhanced profile cover slideshowsMore job losses at LinkedIn Elon's cringe comment Post of the weekMentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Has your network grown out of control?Do you think it might be time to disconnect from a few?Does it make sense to do it and will it help you?What is the best way to go about it?In this episode I try to answer all those questions plus:Not all subscribers are the same Positivity and LinkedIn™️ The Recruitment Network support automation LinkedIn shares tips for posting short videos LinkedIn's new 'Build your voice' hub Post of the week I also briefly talk about this brilliant post from Richard van der BlomMentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
This may be an unpopular opinion: using LinkedIn™️ as a 'funnel' to push followers/connections onto your site is not a great strategy!Also covered in this episode:New 'Open to volunteering' 55 million users are now verified LinkedIn launches “Know-How That Sticks” campaignLazy iOS mobile version historiesThe dangers of outsourcing messaging from your account Post of the weekMentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
This week, I discussed the mystery surrounding the disappearing connections and revealed that this is not the first time it has happened! Also, in this episode:Latest statistics from LinkedIn™️ Update on ServicesThe new AI hiring assistantPost of the weekMentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
LinkedIn™️ say that 10 million users have a services page, a 48% increase year on year. But the vast majority of those profiles aren't really freelancers or even service providers!In addition, LinkedIn™️ are stating that there has been a 65% increase in service enquiries. My experience tallies with this but the enquiries are almost mostly inappropriate & irrelevant!Services has so much potential but it's LinkedIn™️'s worst feature...poorly designed and implemented.This is what I think they could do to improve it.Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
You can be great at posting content that engages an audience, you can have a highly impressive profile and you can be amazing at searching for the right contacts … you can be a LinkedIn™️ superuser!But none of that matters if you are not primarily focused on building strong, sustainable relationships with the right people.More of that later, the other topics covered in this episode are:Have LinkedIn™️ really stopped training their AI with our content?A few new features and a couple of retirements!Is LinkedIn one of the worst social media platforms for your privacy?LinkedIn™️ want you to show personality without being 'personal' An update to Dwell time Post of the weekMentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
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