đ¤ Noticed Anything a Bit⌠Different, Recently?
If youâre reading this, then chances are youâve been on LinkedIn a lot. You are, most likely, more than familiar with the dumbed down format of posts that the algorithm favours; the ones that are written in a series of short sentences, line breaks, and emojis that can sometimes make you roll your eyes, not because theyâre necessarily bad, but rather because you see them constantly. All. The. Time.
Well, dear reader, get used to it, because youâre going to be seeing a lot more of them. Youâre going to be in a perpetual state of eye-rolling and skim-reading, because LinkedIn is now allowing people to promote their own individual posts, so long as theyâre sponsored by a business.
So if youâve noticed a rise in the number of promoted LinkedIn B2B influencer posts on your feed over the last couple of months, then itâs no coincidence. And if youâre annoyed by it, if you donât want to see these posts by people you donât know with an echo chamber for a comments section, then Iâm sorry, thereâs nothing I can do to stop it. But perhaps you can find some comfort in the fact that you are not alone. Youâre not the only one being force-fed this influencer stuff; there are, without a doubt, others in your exact position.
But whatâs the general consensus? What does the LinkedIn community think about all this?
đ The Good Bits
Itâs common knowledge that people on social media (across all platforms, not just LinkedIn) tend to respond more favourably to an individual rather than to a company. You have only to look on Twitter (sorry, I mean X) to see a myriad of businesses trying their best to appeal to the ânormal folkâ of the world. Theyâll tweet once or twice like a normal person in an attempt to say âhey, look, weâre just like you.â It works a lot of the time, but every so often it can crash and burn in a roasting pit.
 But it doesnât change the fact that people respond more positively to, well, other people. If thereâs a face we can associate with whatâs being said, then we relate to it more.Â
It only makes sense, then, that LinkedIn has made the decision to allow influencers to promote their posts through the sponsorship of a business. In his LinkedIn post a couple of months back, Justin Rowe, Founder and CEO of Impactible, made a post exclaiming just how exciting this new feature was. In fact, he listed two reasons as to why itâs so great:
    1. It humanises your brand
    2. Personal posts that show your expertise and have social proof (lots of likes and comments) are such a powerful inbound generation machine.
Case closed then, right? Justin Rowe loves it; Tom Hunt loves it; B2B influencers in general love it!
But what do THE PEOPLE think?
đ The Iffy Bits
Some people, however, have expressed concern, and rightly so. Some are worried that it has the potential to turn LinkedIn from the authentic, most trusted social media platform it is today into a paid influencer playground invaded by businesses oversaturating and toppling the voice of people.
What do you think? Is the B2B world bound to crash and burn into a pit of sponsorship and promotions, taking away the authenticity of people just trying to make a name for themselves? Or will it boost the B2B creator economy?
Sam Hollis is a Writer for Fame, SaaS Marketer, as well as his own fictional short stories. He lives and works in Birmingham with his three cats and his dog (way too many pets, if you ask us)