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
May 2, 2020 • 1h 17min
Working for LinkedIn Support
What's it like to work for LinkedIn? This week I chat with ex LinkedIn employee Jenae Kaska about her time at LinkedIn and the work she did supporting users via the @LinkedInhelp Twitter account.Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Apr 18, 2020 • 30min
Reaching Out
Hey Mark, how are you in these crazy times? You around for a catch-up next week? I'm taking this time to talk to people in my network who I've not spoken to for a while! This is a message I received from a connection this week and it reminded me that I'm not doing enough of this...Are you? We all need to help each other at this time.Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Apr 11, 2020 • 56min
Rising above the Covid-19 noise
As we enter the 3rd week of isolation, I tackle the issue of how to post effectively when our feeds are full of Covid-19 related content. - Do we try to post about something different or is it best to just join in with the noise?Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Apr 4, 2020 • 1h 9min
My Interview on Thought Bubble
Welcome to this weeks episode. I hope you are keeping well in these weird times we are having to cope with. Some of you may be working from home whilst others may have been furloughed, either way, I hope this weeks episode helps to take your mind off the crisis for a while. This week I going to let you listen to an interview I recently did with Scott Millward on his excellent Thought Bubble podcast. You may remember Scott from episode 265 where I chatted with him about how to go viral on LinkedIn. We had a really interesting and thoroughly enjoyable chat and I thought you might like to hear it.Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Mar 20, 2020 • 1h
What The F*"* is Happening?!
Well well well, a lot can happen in a week! Last week I casually mentioned Coronavirus at the end of the episode, like it was something of minor importance, now it dominates everything! Including this episode. Amongst all the panic and negativity out there, I thought I would share with you my own personal journey in dealing with this challenge. I like to think I'm pretty good in a crisis, in truth I'm really not but a few sleepless nights finally got my head into a better place.Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Mar 14, 2020 • 51min
Dealing with a personal tragedy on LinkedIn
On December 4th 2019 Steve Phillip received the kind of call we all dread. He was informed his son Jordan had committed suicide. As Steve reeled from the shock and devastation he turned to the place he knows best...LinkedInMentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Mar 7, 2020 • 1h 2min
Followers
Who are your followers and what do you do with them? This week I look at how to find your company and personal followers and what to do to ensure your content is reaching those that are most important to you.Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Feb 29, 2020 • 58min
LinkedIn Stories
LinkedIn have announced that they are currently testing Stories. This short form, 24-hour type of content was made popular on Snapchat and Instagram. Will it work for LinkedIn?Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Feb 22, 2020 • 1h 4min
A New Era Awaits
I’m back! What an amazing holiday that was and I’m not going to lie…this week has been really difficult with jet-lag coupled with a desire to stay in Thailand forever somewhat messing with my workflow!! So what happened whilst I was away? In short – not much but what did happen was massive! Jeff Wiener is stepping down and will be replaced by Ryan Roslansky. I’m not sure how much this was covered whilst I was away but let me tell you…This could be HUGE! So in this episode, I want to look back at the reign of Jeff and dig into the background of Ryan to assess how much things will change under his leadership. I also have a brilliant new feature to tell you about And a post of the week.Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Feb 1, 2020 • 1h 7min
Are You Relevant?
Welcome to episode 277 which should have been 278 but I failed to get an episode out last week so apologies for that. Despite missing a week and thereby needing to search the internet back across the last 2 weeks, I found hardly anything of interest! It seems Jan is a very quiet month for LinkedIn news – checking back this time last year was exactly the same! We do, however, have a brilliant post of the week to talk about as well as the main subject of relevancy.Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
