I Tried to Do LinkedIn the “Right” Way. Being Real Worked Better.

Be careful what you wish for.

Ever since I left the Meta platforms last January (Facebook, Instagram, Threads…), I’ve been trying to feel my way around LinkedIn. I love TikTok, but as someone who’s uncomfortable in front of a camera, it doesn’t really work as a social media replacement.

Trying to Do LinkedIn the “Right” Way

LinkedIn, though, is hailed as the platform for businesses. So I decided to give it more of my attention.

The thing is, I’m not your typical businesswoman. I’ve always bucked the way business is supposed to be done. And while I’ve technically been on LinkedIn since the early 2000s, I’ve never used it consistently.

And we all know consistency is the magic word.

So I started spending more time scrolling my home feed. Reading. Observing. Trying. Trying to post more.

I won’t lie. I wasn’t very successful at that last part.

I even asked ChatGPT for help, which turns out doesn’t matter much if you don’t follow through. Advice is only useful if you act on it. And that part, the actual posting and interacting, felt hard.

Why LinkedIn Felt Like a Networking Event I Never Wanted to Attend

A lot of what I saw on LinkedIn reminded me of those local business after-hours events. The ones where I’d stand off to the side like a wallflower, watching the beautiful, polished people in their coastal chic outfits smile and laugh their way through forced connections.

I hated those events when my employer insisted I attend them. An online version didn’t feel any more appealing.

Posting What I Was Told Not To

Then, on the final day of 2025, almost exactly a year after deciding to give LinkedIn a real chance, I posted something different.

It wasn’t promotional. It wasn’t business advice. It wasn’t what I’d been told I should be posting.

It was real.

It shared more of who I am as a person than who I am as a business owner.

Expecting the usual crickets, I went on with my very low-key New Year’s Eve and spent the holiday taking down Christmas decorations.

When I logged back in the next morning, I was stunned. Thousands of people had seen the post. There were comments. Actual conversations. More than one or two.

With a raised eyebrow, I replied to a few, read the rest, and got back to work.

Later that day, I checked again.

The post had been shared. The comments had climbed past a hundred.

Holy cow.

Maybe I’d Been Going About This All Wrong

I’m not sure what the lesson here is. Maybe it’s about not giving up. Possibly it’s a reminder that I’d been approaching this all wrong. It could be proof that I shouldn’t have been afraid to show up as myself in the first place.

And yes, the post was about AI, but probably not in the way you’re thinking. I shared an ethical dilemma I’ve been wrestling with and asked whether anyone else was feeling it too.

Apparently, I wasn’t alone.

Does this mean I’ve cracked the LinkedIn glass ceiling? Probably not. I’m not naive enough to think one post changes everything.

But it is a reminder that staying committed to being real, in a business world that often rewards performance over honesty, is still the right move.