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
Apr 26, 2019 • 57min
A New Way To DM – Game Changer?
Hello and welcome to another episode of LinkedInformed and the first from my new office (studio). I hope the sound quality is the same as it was in my last office! This week I want to focus on several new features but one in particular which really caught my attention!Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Apr 13, 2019 • 52min
Has Organic Reach Peaked On LinkedIn?
Welcome to episode 245. I hope you had a good week on LinkedIn, things definitely seem to be getting back to normal after the troubles of last week. That said, I know some of you are still finding you are invisible in searches so hang in there, the issue does appear to be getting better. This week I want to focus on LinkedIn organic reach and try to answer the question ‘Has it peaked or is there more to come?’Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Apr 6, 2019 • 1h 8min
The LinkedIn Meltdown!
Welcome to another episode in what has been a difficult week for LinkedIn and many of its members. I have two main topics to discuss this week; LinkedIn seize control of LinkedInLocal events LinkedIn had a meltdown this week with millions of users discovering that their profiles were invisible! Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Mar 30, 2019 • 1h 4min
LinkedIn Video Tips
Welcome to episode 243, this week I want to return to the subject of native LinkedIn video. It’s been a while since I covered this and the techniques for this type of post has developed somewhat. I also have some interesting analaysis to share with you on the content in my hoe page feed. But first… Interesting Stuff I Saw This Week Are we now going to get Brand Ambassadors on LinkedIn? Oh please no! LinkedIn top voice and video creator String Nguyen has signed up with a video service and now much of her posts are boring promos! Microsoft and Adobe strengthen partnership to take on Salesforce using LinkedIn Feed Analysis For the rest go to http://linkedinformed.com/episode243Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Mar 23, 2019 • 44min
The Types of Posts That Engage
Welcome to a new episode of LinkedInformed. It's been a very slow week for news about LinkedIn so I thought I would take the opportunity to focus on the subject of content and specifically the type of posts that typically attract comments and likes and therefore have greater reach. For more go to http://linkedinformed.com/episode242/Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Mar 16, 2019 • 42min
Who Should You Follow?
Welcome to this weeks show. So who do you follow on LinkedIn and why? I’m not talking about who you connect with, that should be for different reasons (even though you do then follow them) but those people on LinkedIn that you purposely follow with the intention of seeing their activity, posts and articles in your feed. Have you got a clear strategy or is it based on ad-hoc seeing ‘something good’ from someone and then following them’?Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Mar 9, 2019 • 54min
Employer Branding on LinkedIn
Welcome to a new episode and this week I will be focussing on a subject that I haven’t covered before on the podcast – Employer branding and it’s close cousin, employee advocacy. If you are not interested in recruiting or working in HR then this might be an episode to skip but I do know there are plenty of listeners who do have a keen interest in using their company page for employer branding purposes and the activities of some of their employees for employee advocacy purposes. For more information go to https://linkedinformed.com/episode240Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Feb 23, 2019 • 53min
LinkedIn Company Pages...There is hope!
Welcome to a new episode, this week we are back to talking about LinkedIn company pages.....but with a difference! More of that later but as always firstly....... Interesting Stuff I Saw This Week LinkedIn Updates Sales Navigator, Gets Closer to Salesforce LinkedIn announces the rebuild of three core talent tools to one platform LinkedIn debuts LinkedIn Live, a new live video broadcast service Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Feb 9, 2019 • 51min
LinkedIn Allsorts!
Welcome to episode 238. I really struggled to think of a title for this episode because unlike most weeks, no one subject dominates! That said, I have a lot to talk about in this episode. Firstly, due to a family bereavement, I will not be producing an episode next week but will be back the week after. For the remaining notes go to https://linkedinformed.com/episode238Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Feb 2, 2019 • 1h 9min
Should You Be Paying For LinkedIn?
Welcome to a new episode, this week I want to focus on attempting to answer one of the most common and complex questions I get about LinkedIn….Premium accounts – are they worth it? More of that later…… Interesting Stuff I Saw This Week New Ways to Keep a Pulse on the Companies You Care About Five Things We Learned from Microsoft’s Earnings Introducing Interest Targeting LinkedIn Articles versus LinkedIn Posts/Updates Could it be that ‘Trending content in your area’ might actually be paid ads! Listener Mark Lee got in touch with this message “I saw a post on my home page yesterday. Linkedin was showing it to me allegedly because it was ‘Trending in London’. This was odd for two reasons. Firstly it contained a link to a newspaper article (so encouraged me to leave the Linkedin platform). The other reason it was odd was that the article was not able to be viewed by anyone outside the USA. So why was it trending in London? I don’t think it was. But equally, why would a foreign newspaper (or anyone else) sponsor a link to an article that can’t be viewed by the people who see the link? What is going on here? For the rest of the show notes go to https://linkedinformed.com/episode237Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
