We caught up with Alicia Teltz who is speaking at The Changemakers Conference Scotland on 29 October in Edinburgh.
You describe your LinkedIn advice as ‘unhinged and audacious’ — what do you think most people get wrong about building a personal brand on LinkedIn?
Most people still think LinkedIn is either Facebook for jobs or a place where everything has to look polished and corporate. That’s why so many are afraid to show up as their real selves. They think they need to look like they’ve got it all figured out. But marketing has shifted. We crave the behind-the-scenes: the emotions, the challenges, the messy middle. Especially, since COVID, the line between business and personal has blurred. We want to see the human side of people: what it really takes to build, lead, and grow. And funnily enough, that’s also the content that performs best.
With so much content competing for attention, what are your top strategies for creating posts that actually stop the scroll and spark engagement?
LinkedIn has evolved through several phases. At first, the feed was empty and anything you posted performed well. Then came the educational era with cheat sheets, how-tos, infographics. But now, with AI flooding the feed with the same kind of “value” posts, that no longer cuts it. To stand out today, you need three things:
1. Value — still essential. 2. Storytelling — explain how you learned what you know and why it matters. 3. Personality — because in a feed full of AI, human always wins.
How can marketers and business leaders use social selling to build genuine relationships rather than just push products or services?
When marketers show more of their personality, stories, and behind-the-scenes moments, they build deeper connections and loyal audiences. People naturally root for the hero and they want to see your journey, your growth, your challenges. That’s how parasocial relationships form. And when people feel connected to you, they’re far more likely to buy from you.
You’ve seen LinkedIn evolve from the inside — what emerging trends or platform shifts should marketers be paying attention to right now?
You have to remember — you’re playing in LinkedIn’s playground. LinkedIn is an $18B software, data, and media company, and its feed is designed to support that.
For example, their biggest revenue stream is Talent Solutions Software, so topics around careers, hiring, and growth will always perform best — that’s what fuels their business model.
And as LinkedIn evolves, it’s positioning itself as a trusted news and media platform. Unlike other social networks, everyone here shows up with their real name, which makes it the most credible place for ideas and news to spread. When creators share their take on world events through their own lens of expertise, that’s the future of how information travels.
Tickets are still available at The Changemakers Scotland Conference on 29 October - book here.
