[FAQ]

Folks, my calendar is bonkers. I’d love to queue a week’s worth of LinkedIn posts, comments, and DMs in one sitting—then focus on client work.

But I keep hearing horror stories: “the algorithm can tell,” “your network feels the canned vibe,” etc.

Is there a sweet spot where I can automate or batch and still feel human?

• Best tools?
• Rules of thumb (how much real-time is enough)?
• Things that definitely backfire?

[Jeff Bullas]

The TL;DR: yes, you can batch… just don’t outsource the soul. Here’s how I keep it real for myself:

1. Separate “broadcast” from “conversation”

Schedule the broadcasts: thought-leadership posts, carousel drops, article links. A tool like Taplio, Buffer, or Hootsuite won’t hurt reach—the 2025 data says scheduled vs. native posting shows <2 % variance on average impressions when the content quality’s equal.

Show up live for conversations: reply to comments within the first hour, send connection notes manually, drop quick voice memos in DMs. That micro-interaction layer is what people feel as authenticity.

2. Batch but inject freshness

Write four posts Monday morning—but before each one publishes, skim the feed for trending hooks or news so you can update the intro sentence. Ten seconds of “today-izing” stops it feeling canned.
Leave space for at least one spontaneous post a week—audiences love the “in-the-moment” riff.

3. Guardrails that keep you human

No copy-pasting the same comment under multiple posts; LinkedIn flags patterns and people smell it.
Use AI as a draft, not a stamp. Let ChatGPT spit the skeleton, then add your own story or analogy—readers hear that shift in voice.
Voice or video replies in DMs beat wall-of-text templates every time, and they can still be batched (record five in a row).

4. Metrics to sanity-check authenticity

Comment-to-impression ratio—if it drops while reach stays flat, your tone’s slipping robotic.
Accepted-connection-request rate—should hover 30 %+ in your niche if the notes feel personal.

5. When automation actually backfires

Auto-liking people’s posts at scale—easy way to get throttled or even restricted.
Sending more than ~100 identical DMs/day—LinkedIn’s abuse filter will tap you on the shoulder.
Posting at off-brand times just because the scheduler suggested “optimal”—if you never engage in that window, you’ll look absent.

Bottom line

Batch the stuff that doesn’t require dialogue.
Reserve 30–45 live minutes per day (can be two 15-min sprints) for real engagement.
Let AI handle the heavy lifting, but give each touch your own fingerprints.

Do that and you’ll save hours without turning into a LinkedIn chatbot. 👍

— Jeff

[Author]

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