LinkedIn has dominated the professional landscape as the gold standard for networking and business development for years. For much of that time, LinkedIn’s focus on professional networking and job opportunities made it a pretty dry place to be – but in a way that felt consummately professional, different from other social networking sites that were full of frivolity by comparison.
Now, LinkedIn has become a major platform for people creating heaps of content to build their own personal brands by sharing stories, tips, or discussions about the way we work. While we fully step into a tumultuous 2025 many of our Infraction community members have begun to ask whether LinkedIn is still the powerhouse it once was. This discussion was sparked by a single but pressing question: does LinkedIn make it harder to build genuine relationships and to generate real business?
That isn’t everyone’s experience, of course – LinkedIn is still an iconic brand name within a category they’re credited with having created, and is still relied upon as the main source for over 70% of recruiters to find new candidates. But as algorithmic shifts deprioritize links while amplifying a select few, the constant deluge of “engagement bait” AI-driven posts and outlandish anecdotes are saturating the platform. And it’s becoming a whole lot trickier to cut through the noise.
The Problem: Has LinkedIn Become a Content Trap?
Our discussion kicked off with Thomas Parrott noting that LinkedIn’s relentless push to keep users on-platform is starting to make it tougher to distribute content effectively. Linkedin’s “focus on keeping users on-site—deprioritizing links and favoring algorithm-friendly posts—has made it harder to distribute content effectively,” he pointed out.
Harriet Formby added to this sentiment, questioning the effectiveness of the often-recommended three-posts-per-week strategy. “I’ve been testing different types of posts, and I cannot say that anything ‘works.’ But what I do find is that if there is a CTA (message me, etc.), then it seems to get less traction.” This suggests that LinkedIn may be actively suppressing content that encourages direct engagement outside of its own ecosystem.
The Engagement Dilemma
A recurring frustration is the rising dominance of engagement bait posts driven by generative AI platforms like ChatGPT. You can spot them a mile away amidst the congratulatory messages and listings, usually by their copious use of emojis and em dashes. Posts like these all follow a specific formula in an attempt to ‘go viral’ – one that typically resembles the same ‘LIKE, CONNECT, COMMENT to get the download link’ that, Thomas says, have “completely flooded my feed, and honestly, it feels like a race to the bottom.”
For those of us in niche industries these engagement-driven tactics don’t always align with brand positioning. Authenticity matters, and that means having a brand voice that doesn’t sound or read like everyone else. As Harriet also pointed out, the simple stuff often works better — “sometimes just a single sentence screenshot from my notes app gets way more engagement than a polished carousel.”
This raises another question: Are we overthinking content, or is LinkedIn just no longer the right place to build meaningful engagement?
The Two-Sided LinkedIn Dilemma for Infraction Members
For members of the Infraction community, LinkedIn serves two key purposes:
Helping their clients build a presence and generate leads on LinkedIn
Using LinkedIn themselves to find and engage new clients
Plenty of fractional professionals also rely on LinkedIn as part of their service offerings, whether they’re running ad campaigns, refining brand positioning, or managing client content strategies. The challenge is that LinkedIn’s algorithm changes impact both their client work and their own ability to attract new business.
1. Build a Presence, and Generate Leads
If you’re using LinkedIn as a business development tool on behalf of your clients, finding ways to move beyond ‘trend-chasing’ tactics that feel inauthentic is your biggest challenge. Focus on making sure your client’s content gains visibility despite these algorithmic shifts, and keep a close eye on measuring success if you start to see those engagement rates dropping.
Many in the community have started experimenting with non-traditional content approaches. One member shared, “Instead of chasing likes and comments, I now focus on high-value content like long-form insights and case studies. Even if they don’t ‘go viral,’ they bring in the right audience over time.”
2. Finding Clients as a Fractional Professional
Infraction members also need LinkedIn for their own client acquisition. Yet, many have noticed a decline in those inbound opportunities. Harriet shared, “Honestly, I’ve had way more success in direct messages and referrals than from LinkedIn posts themselves. The real connections happen in private.”
So, where does that leave us? The consensus is shifting toward:
Leveraging LinkedIn as a discovery tool, but not a full client acquisition strategy
Focusing on referrals, direct networking, and community-driven growth over mass posting
Building email lists and owned content channels to ensure long-term visibility beyond LinkedIn’s algorithm changes
Business Development is Moving Beyond LinkedIn
The big question: If LinkedIn isn’t working like it used to, where should we focus our efforts?
1. Practical, High-Value Content Still Wins
People are overwhelmed with generic thought leadership content on the platform; there are just too many voices trying to accomplish the same goal. What’s actually working? Tools, templates, and actionable resources that solve real problems. As AI-generated content continues to flood the internet, trust is built through genuinely useful insights rather than performative “thought leadership.”
For example, one of our community members shared that they’re focusing on building interactive assessments rather than static LinkedIn posts. “I’m coding a tool that helps US brands gauge their readiness for international expansion. Instead of posting generic insights, I want people to engage with something valuable and personalized.” This sort of interactive, problem-solving content could be the future of engagement beyond algorithm-optimized posts.
2. The Power of Human Connection
LinkedIn might be making it harder to connect at scale, but relationships remain at the heart of business development. Community-driven spaces (like Infraction), niche events, and high-touch, personalized outreach are becoming far more effective than engagement-driven tactics.
Harriet observed that she had way more success in direct messages and referrals than from LinkedIn posts themselves. Real connections are happening in private, away from the newsfeed, and in most cases these don’t necessarily require LinkedIn to maintain. So while LinkedIn may still be useful as a tool for discovery, its value in actual relationship-building on the platform seems to be diminishing.
3. Differentiation is More Critical Than Ever
The companies and individuals winning in 2025 aren’t the loudest – they’re the most authentic. Emotional connection, storytelling, and having a clear, differentiated brand voice are cutting through the noise better than formulaic LinkedIn growth hacks.
To this trend, Infraction community members shared that they’ve stopped chasing algorithm trends and are instead focusing on outreach techniques like strategic email newsletters. Some, who had become used to posting up three times a week like clockwork, focused their time and attention on a single, deep-dive newsletter per month, and saw far more inbound leads than anything they’d ever posted on LinkedIn.
The Gist
So, if LinkedIn falls to the oversaturation of other platforms, what’s next?
For many of us in the Infraction community, the answer isn’t abandoning LinkedIn. it’s diversifying how we approach the platform to build relationships and generate business. We’re doubling down on strategies that prioritize real conversations over vanity metrics, showing deep expertise over AI-driven content, and direct connections over platform dependency.
That’s exactly why our community exists: we’re figuring out these shifts together and sharing what we think is working (and what isn’t working). If you’re looking for real, unfiltered conversations about where business development is headed, you’re in the right place.
What do you think? Are you still seeing success on LinkedIn, or are you exploring new channels? Drop your thoughts below and let’s keep this conversation going!