Recently, I was asked by one of my industry colleagues: “why have you stopped posting your articles on LinkedIn?”
It’s a fair question. For years, LinkedIn was the digital town square for professionals – a place to share industry insights, debate strategic trends, and occasionally pretend we all read 300-page market reports over morning coffee.
So, before answering, I decided to log on and audit my main feed just to check my suspicions still held true – but also somewhat hopeful I’d be greeted by some sharp commentary on agency pitch dynamics, marketing efficiency, or organizational strategy.
Instead, here is the exact lineup of professional enlightenment LinkedIn’s algorithm served me in a matter of two minutes:
The Line-Up
• A story about an overweight orange cat – presumably teaching us key lessons on corporate agility and caloric management?
• A video about rope and scaling tall buildings. Perhaps a metaphor for climbing the corporate ladder? Or just urban rappelling? (Actually, I think it was an ad for something…)
• A rant about British Airways loyalty (or lack thereof) – because nothing says B2B networking like public air travel grievances and stories.
• A video of US teachers locking doors with classroom chairs.
• A video of someone diving off an iceberg (truly the ultimate cold outreach..)
• A video of a Chinese border police officer recognizing his mother’s cooking in one bite.
• A story about someone rowing across the Pacific looking for followers (I’m not kidding)
And somewhere buried in that surreal digital swamp, sat one solitary piece of relevant industry news – an article about Omnicom winning the Coca-Cola account. It looked lost, bewildered and wondering how it ended up flanked by icebergs and an overweight orange cat.
It’s bad. And I’ve not even mentioned the endless stream of financial advisors reaching out to ask about managing my vast (not!) financial portfolio. Perhaps it was this post that was also lurking on my feed that inspires them to send invites…?
The Great Dilution
LinkedIn hasn’t just evolved; it has suffered a total identity crisis. What was once a tailored professional forum has steadily mutated into a strange hybrid of TikTok viral clips, Reddit rants, and Facebook family updates – many of which are retrofitted with forced “leadership takeaways…”
Where we once shared thoughtful analysis, the feed is now dominated by high-drama storytelling and engagement bait:
• “I got fired today. Here are 5 things it taught me about B2B SaaS sales…”
• “Watch this cat open a door. What does this teach us about seamless UX design?”
• “Here’s a video of someone doing something wildly dangerous – agree or disagree?”
When serious, substantive commentary is pushed to the bottom of the pile in favour of sensationalism and shock-value engagement, publishing high-value content starts to feel like trying to deliver a keynote speech inside a circus tent.
Signals vs. Noise
Content platforms thrive on relevance. When signal-to-noise ratios collapse, the value proposition for serious contributors vanishes.
I believe that when professionals publish analysis, thought leadership, or industry perspectives, they rely on a context where that information can be evaluated, debated, and applied. When that context is replaced by algorithmic dopamine farming, publishing thoughtful content becomes an exercise in shouting into a void of cat memes and viral stunts.
For the record, I haven’t stopped writing. Far from it. I’ve simply chosen to direct my writing toward channels where substance still matters, where conversations are focused and where the audience comes to engage with real industry issues rather than jumping off iceberg videos.
Until LinkedIn remembers that it’s supposed to be a professional network rather than a viral video repository, I’ll be limiting my insights to places where they won’t get buried under an overweight cat’s daily routine.
By all accounts I’m not alone in my views on how badly LinkedIn has seemingly lost its way. …What do you think? Has your feed become a digital circus, too? Or do I just need to interact with more iceberg-jumping videos to fix my algorithm?
Drop your thoughts below – or just share your favourite orange cat meme. At this point, I can’t tell the difference anyway.
Photo by Freepik.
Surprising as it may seem, clients can sometimes get as tongue-tied asking questions in a pitch as agencies can when answering. Nerves, large groups of people, discussions or presentations that run over time can all contribute to important questions being left unasked.
And worst of all, is that stoney, deafening silence when someone asks: ‘any questions…?‘
We’re often asked by clients to talk through some ‘big-picture’ questions before heading into a pitch and here are a few that may provoke some revealing answers about who you’re meeting with, their philosophy towards client relationships and yes, whether they’re right for you:
Thought leadership
Who here on the call actively participates social media for business purposes?
Ask for an online show of hands as to who’s generating content for blogs, Instagram, or tweeting about what’s going on in the industry.
Why the question’s important:
The purpose of the question is to see where the unrehearsed thought leadership is really coming from and how valuable that thinking could be to your business. Who put their hands up? The CEO? Or was it the junior account guy? All of them? None of them? If the word “digital” or “social” was mentioned even once in the pitch, you should have a reasonable expectation the prospective agency is practicing what they’re preaching.
Once you know who’s doing what, ask for some examples of specific -recent – tweets or blogs to get a feel for the content, commentary and subject knowledge.
Other success
Which of your current clients can we talk to you about recent results?
Why the question’s important:
You’re eliminating the subjective and getting right to the bottom line. This isn’t about how the agency works or what the chemistry is like – it’s about current or recent tangible results that the prospective agency has actually achieved for current clients. And in case anyone’s forgotten, the role of any agency (whether brand, digital or media), should be to deliver results for clients (including you).
Specific costs
If we were your client today, what would this meeting have cost us?
Why the question’s important:
It cuts through hypothetical fee proposals and rate cards and gets to the heart of how the agency bills for its time and services across a broad spectrum of resources. Consider that you’ll likely be tapping on all the resources that showed up for the pitch at one point or another – so why not find out what things really cost now? One more thing… make a note of the final number and if they’re the winning agency, you’ve got a benchmark for future strategy and / or campaign development.
Why us?
Tell us why do you want to work with us.
Why the question’s important:
The agency’s answer should give you some insight into the potential fit with your team and your business because it should encourage them to highlight what’s really important about you as a client to the pitching agency. Generally speaking, you want to hear answers that reflect a passion for whatever business you’re in – or skills and resources that would be a perfect match for you as a client.
First result
What’s the first result you’d reasonably expect to achieve if you won our business?
Why the question’s important:
Their answers will give you a perspective on how they view your business as it stands today and their proposed initial areas of focus. In most cases, marketers are searching for an agency that can hit the ground running and make a measurable difference in the first ninety days or so.
If the answers are vague, or focused in areas that you don’t think will make a short-term measurable difference, you should probably think twice or, at the very least, ask more questions.
So if you’re heading into a pitch any time soon and want to avoid an awkward silence after ‘any questions...?’ – wonder no more. And the answers might be quite revealing.