Informed: the podcast for LinkedIn® users
John Espirian
"Informed" is for you if you'd like to understand more about how LinkedIn works so that you can be an effective user of the platform.
It's hard to know whom to believe with so many self-appointed gurus out there telling you the latest hacks for going viral and earning 7-figure deals. And even LinkedIn's own publications often don't speak to the reality of using the platform.
But for those who see past superficial promises and sanitised reports, this podcast provides evidence and thoughtful opinion. With a track record of more than 10 years of sensible, no-nonsense advice about honest best practice for LinkedIn, Informed is a trusted source of insight by many thousands of regular listeners.
The show was created by Mark Williams, who's affectionately known as "Mr LinkedIn". Mark retired in late 2025 and handed over the reins of the show to John Espirian, the relentlessly helpful® LinkedIn nerd. John is a LinkedIn trainer and consultant, the founder of the Espresso+ community, the creator of the UpLift Live conference (the UK's original event dedicated to LinkedIn best practice), and the author of the personal branding handbook Content DNA.
John's reputation is for getting to the point and for not being a salesy douche canoe, so you can expect short, sharp episodes with zero ads or sponsored slots. This also is NOT an interview show, so if you've read this far then please don't pitch yourself for a guest appearance. However, you're welcome to get in touch if you have a LinkedIn question you'd like John to cover on the show. (To do that, search for the "Informed podcast" company page on LinkedIn and send a message.)
This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the LinkedIn® corporation. John Espirian is an independent trainer and does not work for LinkedIn® – while it would be great to have LinkedIn's endorsement, the show's independence from the corporation means you, the listener, are never fed an airbrushed political spiel.
It's hard to know whom to believe with so many self-appointed gurus out there telling you the latest hacks for going viral and earning 7-figure deals. And even LinkedIn's own publications often don't speak to the reality of using the platform.
But for those who see past superficial promises and sanitised reports, this podcast provides evidence and thoughtful opinion. With a track record of more than 10 years of sensible, no-nonsense advice about honest best practice for LinkedIn, Informed is a trusted source of insight by many thousands of regular listeners.
The show was created by Mark Williams, who's affectionately known as "Mr LinkedIn". Mark retired in late 2025 and handed over the reins of the show to John Espirian, the relentlessly helpful® LinkedIn nerd. John is a LinkedIn trainer and consultant, the founder of the Espresso+ community, the creator of the UpLift Live conference (the UK's original event dedicated to LinkedIn best practice), and the author of the personal branding handbook Content DNA.
John's reputation is for getting to the point and for not being a salesy douche canoe, so you can expect short, sharp episodes with zero ads or sponsored slots. This also is NOT an interview show, so if you've read this far then please don't pitch yourself for a guest appearance. However, you're welcome to get in touch if you have a LinkedIn question you'd like John to cover on the show. (To do that, search for the "Informed podcast" company page on LinkedIn and send a message.)
This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the LinkedIn® corporation. John Espirian is an independent trainer and does not work for LinkedIn® – while it would be great to have LinkedIn's endorsement, the show's independence from the corporation means you, the listener, are never fed an airbrushed political spiel.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Dec 19, 2020 • 1h 10min
My Predictions for 2021
This is the final episode of 2020...and good riddance to it, what a year! I thought it would be fun to give you my predictions for next year but also to look back at some of my previous predictions to see whether I'm a visionary or not!Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Dec 12, 2020 • 1h 10min
Is it time to reconsider Groups?
By reputation, most LinkedIn users believe groups to be the place where people pitch their wares but don't start or engage in round-table discussions. Is this still true and should we be taking a closer look at groups again?Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Dec 5, 2020 • 1h 5min
Video & Content with David Kilkelly
Native video posts have become a popular way to share ideas, provide helpful tips and build relationships with your followers, and with the recent addition of Stories, where video typically features heavily, I thought it would be worth revisiting the topic. David Kilkelly is one of my favourite video experts on LinkedIn. I have followed him for some time for a source of inspiration and helpful tips so I thought I would have a chat with him about LinkedIn video. Interestingly our chat was as much about content as it was specifically about video.Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Nov 21, 2020 • 1h
We're connected - now what?
What happens after you connect with someone on LinkedIn? In this episode, I talk through my recommended post connection process. Plus my rant about the LinkedIn top voices lists and a brilliant post of the week.Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Nov 14, 2020 • 1h 1min
About you
Your LinkedIn profile is clearly very important and underpins everything you do on LinkedIn – I think we all know that these days. Building an effective, optimised profile is actually pretty easy, once you have been shown how. But one section, in my experience, causes us untold levels of anxiety – the About section (previously summary). Most About sections are about as interesting as watching paint dry! So why do we find it so hard to write something interesting and informative about ourselves? In this edition of LinkedInformed I’m going to focus on how to write an excellent About section and demonstrate some great examples.Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Nov 7, 2020 • 1h 1min
Approaching Others on LinkedIn
Loren Greiff has an innovative approach to using LinkedIn, especially regarding two techniques that she explains in detail in this episode - Triggers and Ethical Line Jumping!Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Oct 31, 2020 • 58min
A Deep Dive Into LinkedIn Stories
It always happens whilst I’m away… LinkedIn finally brought stories to the UK. Unfortunately I was too busy swimming in the crystal clear water of the Ionian sea to pay any attention to it! Not only that, they also brought out another new feature just towards the end of the week that would have been really useful for the whole of my holiday but pretty useless right at the end! So this week I’ve been spending lots of time experimenting and having fun with LinkedIn storiesMentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Oct 17, 2020 • 1h 14min
The Algorithm Revisited
Are Followers better than connections? Does scheduling content have a negative impact on post reach? plus a hack that can improve your re-share reachMentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Oct 10, 2020 • 1h 6min
It's Episode 300!
Join the party for a celebration of reaching 300 episodes.A look back at some earlier episodes plus lots of lovely messages from listeners.A few new things about LinkedIn to discuss plus I ponder the question 'Is it worth posting something controversial?'We also have a post of the week from a job seeker and a question about attracting post engagement.Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Oct 3, 2020 • 1h 1min
LinkedIn Myths
There are plenty of myths out there about LinkedIn so this week I discuss my favourite 5 plus others from other LinkedIn specialists. In addition, there are plenty of changes to the design and functionality of LinkedIn to talk about this weekMentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
