A few years ago, I set myself a slightly ridiculous goal - hit 1,000,000 impressions with the content I was posting. I didn’t want to become a LinkedIn influencer and I wasn’t particularly interested in collecting followers, but I knew that in order to be known for what I do, I had to get folks to know about me.

I estimated there were probably 22,000 to 27,000 recruitment founders who fit TEAM’s ICP. Start-ups, solos and independent recruitment agencies up to around 50 people. My goal was simple. I wanted as many of them as possible to know who I was and, more importantly, know what TEAM was.

On 2 January 2024, I checked my LinkedIn analytics and I’d generated 556,782 impressions over the previous 365 days. By 27 October 2025, I’d reached 951,312 and actually asked ChatGPT: “How can I get to 1,000,000?”

On Tuesday 11^th August I checked again. 2,012,056 impressions. 571,386 people reached. 25,596 engagements. The most interesting number for me is that 65% of those impressions came from outside my existing network.

So, after a few years of taking LinkedIn much more seriously, what have I actually learnt?

WHAT WORKED

• Having an opinion: The posts where I actually say what I think create far better conversations than safe corporate content. You don’t need to be controversial for the sake of it, but don’t be afraid to have a view.
• Talking about more than TEAM: Recruitment is my world, but LinkedIn doesn’t need to be one massive advert for TEAM. I talk about recruitment, business, AI, the economy, things I’ve seen, things that frustrate me, things I’ve learnt and occasionally even the ridiculous price of a pint, what are my next pair of Air Max 90s or a LEGO set I have my eye on. It’s all part of who I am.
• Using real experiences: Something I’ve seen, a conversation I’ve had, a problem we’re dealing with, something that’s annoyed me or a brilliant win I’ve seen someone have. They’re easier to write about because they’re actually mine.
• Not being scared of the camera: This has been a big one. I record loads of videos and ideas. Some work, some absolutely don’t and there are some I watch back now and genuinely cringe at 😂. But the more I’ve done it, the less I’ve cared about making everything perfect. Get the camera out, talk, post it and learn.
• Capturing ideas when they happen: I don’t sit down on Monday morning and think, “Right, time to create some content.” If something happens and I’ve got a thought about it, I’ll record it, photograph it, screenshot it, voice note it or scribble it down. Most ideas won’t become posts. Some will.
• Using all the tools available: Text, photos, video, polls, events, articles, reposts, comments and scheduled posts. I’ll rip a Reel I’ve made for Instagram and use it on LinkedIn if it’s relevant. I’ll create a poll around something I genuinely want people’s views on. I’ll share an event before it happens, show what’s happening during it and talk about what I’ve learnt afterwards. Don’t get stuck doing one type of content.
• Showcasing brilliant people: One of the best parts of my job is the people I get to meet. Recruitment founders, TEAM members, Service Partners, speakers, our HQ team and people doing genuinely clever things. If someone deserves more attention, I’m happy to use my platform to give them some.
• Sharing other people’s stuff. Not every post needs to benefit me. Someone running a brilliant event? Share it. Someone has a great idea? Talk about it. Has someone achieved something elite? Celebrate it. Someone taught me something? Give them the credit. Social media should actually be social.
• Talking about the wins I’m seeing: If a TEAM member does a split deal, wins a client, tries something clever or tells me something that’s working, I want other people to hear about it. Real examples beat generic advice every day of the week.
• Trying new 'tings': Some ideas will bomb. Who cares? I’d rather try ten different things and have three fly than spend my life publishing the same safe content because that’s what the “LinkedIn experts” say works.
• Showing the workings: Screenshots, numbers, photos, whiteboards, behind the scenes, notes and brain dumps. Not everything needs to go through Canva. Sometimes the slightly messy picture of what’s actually happening is far more interesting.
• Writing like I speak. Probably one of the biggest lessons. The less my posts sound like “LinkedIn content”, the happier I am with them.
• Using ChatGPT properly: Not, “Write me a LinkedIn post about recruitment.” I use it to research, challenge my thinking, analyse information, sense-check ideas, analyse meetings and calls, organise brain dumps, look at websites and work through different angles. It helps me get what’s in my head onto the screen. It’s a sparring partner, not my personality.

WHAT DIDN’T WORK

• Corporate stuff: “Pleased to announce…” “Delighted to share…” “Exciting news…” Sometimes it’s necessary, but it’s rarely memorable.
• Over-produced graphics: There’s absolutely a place for brilliant design, but putting an average idea into a beautifully branded Canva template doesn’t suddenly make the idea interesting.
• 💩 AI content: You can spot it a mile away. Generic hook, perfectly constructed story, predictable three-part lesson and an artificial question at the end. If AI has removed your personality from your content, you’ve used it badly.
• Manufacturing engagement: I don’t want to end every post with a pointless question just because someone says LinkedIn wants a CTA. If there’s a genuine question, ask it. If there isn’t, don’t.
• Posting because the content calendar says so: I’d rather not post than publish something I don’t actually care about.
• Playing it too safe: Some of the posts I’ve nearly not published have created the best conversations.
• Being mean: You can disagree with someone, challenge an idea and call out something you think is rubbish without being a d*ck about it. There’s still a person on the other end. I don’t want to build reach by making someone else look stupid.
• Taking myself too seriously: I’ll happily laugh at myself, post something that makes me look daft and admit when I’ve got something wrong. LinkedIn could probably do with a bit more of that.

So, 2,012,056 impressions is nice, but that’s not actually why I started doing any of this. Have I reached all those 22,000 to 27,000 recruitment founders? I have absolutely no idea. But that’s still the goal.

Because I’d take 20,000 relevant recruitment founders knowing exactly who I and TEAM Network are, over 20 million random impressions every single time. The biggest thing I’ve learnt? Stop trying to create “content”.

Start talking about what you’re actually seeing, doing, learning, questioning, enjoying and occasionally getting completely wrong.

There’s probably more interesting content happening around you every day than anything you could manufacture for a content calendar.

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