LinkedIn is overrun with terrible AI-generated content and people are getting tired of it. You probably are too. All that title case, sensationalist hooks that aren’t backed up in the post, not to mention the comments. With robots running the show, LinkedIn users are craving realness. And realness means weird.
“Be more weird on LinkedIn” is the instruction from the people actually building relationships on the platform. Forget polished. Stop hiding. Let your true colours come out and connect with others who feel the same. Your quirks are your competitive advantage.
Own what makes you different on LinkedIn
Take off the mask
You can’t be a different person at work, home and the gym. That’s exhausting. There’s only one you. Tiptoe into areas you don’t think are relevant, because you might be surprised. People are craving your realness and they want to see what’s behind the gloss. Start getting more personal in the DMs and the comments on your posts before you do it in your posts.
Run an experiment of seeing how much you have in common with your connections. But not the regular stuff like where you’re based or what you studied at college. The weird stuff. The unconventional stuff. The stuff that’s not strictly business. How much you can deadlift, your favourite flavour of protein powder, and the flowers you’re growing in your garden.
Turn your obsessions into content
Your weird hobbies hold business lessons others can’t teach. Stop keeping them a secret. Map the connections between what fascinates you and what you sell. The founder obsessed with vintage typewriters has skills in mechanical precision. The CEO who collects hot sauces understands variety and market positioning. Combine different aspects of your world for posts people remember.
Next Monday, post about the strangest connection or biggest crossover between your hobby and your business. Watch engagement spike when people finally see something unexpected in their feed. Your potential clients remember the consultant who explains strategy through beekeeping, not the one sharing another list of productivity tips. Find your unique angle and double down on it. Become unforgettable.
Break corporate storytelling rules
The LinkedIn feed is full of tidy success stories. So give your followers the opposite. Share the project that succeeded by accident. Write about the worst advice that somehow worked. Tell stories that don’t follow the formula, and people lean in. They can’t predict the ending.
Pick your messiest business moment and find the lesson hiding inside. Maybe your biggest client came from a cancelled meeting. Perhaps your core product emerged from a complete pivot. Show you see opportunity where others see chaos. No one needs another manufactured case study.
Make your tone unmistakable
If I covered up your name and picture, would I know who wrote your post? Your LinkedIn voice should sound like you. Forget professional if that’s not your vibe. If you explain everything through food metaphors, go for it. When movie quotes naturally pop into your explanations, use them. Your sentence structure and word choices are a signature. This rare communication style attracts clients who get your references and appreciate your approach.
Write your next post exactly how you’d explain it to a friend at coffee. Include the tangents, the random analogies, the specific phrases only you use. Watch how the comments change. Your human content gets more humanized responses. The AI-generated comments don’t know what to do. They glitch and go elsewhere. But real people with real opinions will share theirs. Like the good old days of LinkedIn.
Say what everyone thinks but won’t post
Every industry has unspoken truths people dance around. Name them. Challenge the morning routine obsession if you do your best work at midnight. Question networking events if you’ve built your business through deep one-on-one connections. Your unpopular opinions attract clients tired of the same advice.
List three things in your industry everyone accepts but you don’t. Pick the most controversial and explain why common wisdom fails. Start your post with a proven hook and share your truth. Back it with your experience, not theory. When half your audience disagrees and the other half messages to say “finally someone said it,” you’ve found your people.
Let weird filter your audience
Your niche preferences do the qualifying for you. When you post about running your business from different countries each month, digital nomads reach out. Share your refusal to do calls before midday and attract clients who respect boundaries. Your weird becomes your client filter.
Define three non-negotiable quirks about how you work. Make them prominent in your content. The consultant who only works with clients they’d vacation with attracts better relationships. The coach who swears in sessions connects with people tired of corporate speak. Think of your posts as selection criteria before the first conversation.
Package quirks into methodology
Your unusual background creates solutions others miss. The bad job, the relaxing sabbatical, the useless degree. The lawyer turned baker brings precision to creative fields. The engineer who became a therapist sees systems in human behavior. Combine unexpected elements. Create approaches competitors can’t copy. They haven’t lived your specific path.
Map how your weird journey influences your current methods. Which insights come from your unusual combination of experiences? Build these into your signature framework. Clients pay premium prices for perspectives they can’t get elsewhere. Your weird becomes intellectual property.
Weird wins on LinkedIn when you commit completely
LinkedIn rewards those willing to stand out by standing firm in who they are. Your quirks, obsessions, and unconventional views are shortcuts to finding clients who value exactly what makes you different. Stop smoothing your edges. Share the thoughts that feel too strange. Tell the stories without clean endings. Build genuine connection on LinkedIn by being the person who makes others feel empowered to be themselves.
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