Jeff Bullas

That’s a sign of a mature networker; curation is just as important as connection.

Short Answer: The correct etiquette is to simply remove the connection silently without any notification or message. It’s a standard feature, not a personal insult.

A better way to see this is not as ‘unfriending’ someone, but as curating the content formats that appear in your daily feed.

First, and most importantly, never send a message explaining that you are removing someone; this is the most harmful practice as it creates an awkward situation where none is needed. The platform is designed for this to be a silent, discreet action, and in over ninety-nine per cent of cases, the person will never notice. Second, the main reason to remove a connection is to improve the quality of your feed. If a connection consistently posts video, image, or text content that is irrelevant or low-quality, removing them allows you to better focus on the content from the network you want to build. Third, if you know the person well and are worried they might notice, the better option is to simply ‘unfollow’ them. This keeps the connection intact for messaging but removes all their posts from your feed, achieving the primary goal without severing the tie completely.

Cheers,

Jeff

You’re right to be cautious, as this first message sets the tone for the entire relationship.

Quick Answer: Your first message should be a simple thank you that re-establishes context and then asks a light, open-ended question. The goal is conversation, not conversion.

The message itself is a critical piece of text-based content, and its objective is to be generous, not extractive.

The most common and harmful mistake is to immediately launch into a sales pitch or ask for a favour. First, the structure of your message should be simple: start with a brief thank you, then remind them of the context for your connection, such as ‘I really enjoyed your recent post on X’. Second, your goal is to add value or spark curiosity. Instead of asking for something, you can offer something, like a link to a helpful text article or a relevant video, framing it as ‘I saw this and thought you might find it interesting’. This positions you as a helpful resource, not a salesperson. Third, always end your message with a low-pressure, open-ended question that invites a real response, such as ‘What are your thoughts on this?’. This focuses on starting a genuine conversation, which is the entire point of networking.

Cheers,

Jeff

Moving from guesswork to data is the smartest move any advertiser can make.

Quick Answer: The best practice is to create multiple ads within the same campaign and ad set. Isolate one variable per ad, such as the headline or the image, and let LinkedIn’s ad rotation find the winner for you.

The entire goal of A/B testing is to scientifically determine which content format resonates most with your target audience.

First, to set up a clean test, you navigate into your campaign and ad set, create your baseline ad, and then use the duplicate function. On this duplicate ad, you must change only one variable. For example, you can test one ad image against another, or a video ad against a static image ad to see which format drives a lower cost-per-lead. Second, you can apply this same process to test the text content of your ad. You might test a very short, punchy headline against a longer, more descriptive one to see what compels a click. Third, the most common mistake is calling the test too early. You must give the campaign enough budget and time to generate statistically significant results. Don’t declare a winner after only a few clicks; let each ad variation run until it has at least a few thousand impressions to get a clear reading on which creative is truly performing better.

Cheers,

You’re asking the right question, as the first line does double duty.

Quick Answer: It is critically important. The algorithm uses the first line to categorise your content, and more importantly, it uses the audience’s reaction to that line to decide whether to distribute the post further.

The best way to think about it is that you have to hook both the human and the machine at the same time.

First, for the machine, the opening sentences of your text content are scanned for keywords that help the algorithm categorise the post and serve it to a relevant initial audience. However, the most critical factor is the human reaction. Second, the algorithm measures “dwell time,” which is how long someone stops scrolling to engage with your content. Since most of a post is hidden behind a ‘…see more’ link, your first line is the only thing that determines if a user will stop and click to expand. Third, this initial engagement is the most vital signal your post can send. If that first line is compelling enough to make people click and spend time with your full text, image, or video content, the algorithm reads this as a sign of quality and rewards you with much wider distribution. A weak first line guarantees your post will have almost no reach.

Cheers,

Jeff

That’s a concerning development for internal comms specialists.

Quick Answer: While there has been no official announcement, platforms typically remove features like this due to low user adoption or as part of a larger strategy to consolidate the user experience.

A likely strategic reason is to centralise where different content formats are being engaged with, pushing all interactions back toward the main feed and other core features.

First, the most common reason for removing a feature is underutilisation. If LinkedIn’s internal data showed that only a small percentage of employees were actively using the tab, they would view it as a maintenance cost without a significant return on engagement. Second, this could be a move to streamline the platform by consolidating features. They may want to push internal corporate discussions into private LinkedIn Groups, which are more robust, rather than having a separate, limited tab. Third, this could be a strategic push to encourage more public-facing employee advocacy. Instead of having employees engage with company video and text posts privately, LinkedIn’s business model benefits more when employees share and discuss that content publicly with their networks, which boosts overall platform metrics. It would be a clear signal that they are prioritising external reach over internal-facing community tools.

Cheers,

Jeff

Repurposing your content is one of the smartest ways to maximise the return on your creation time.

Short Answer: You must remove the TikTok watermark from your video, and you should always try to replace any trending audio with a similar sound from Instagram’s own library to please the algorithm.

The goal isn’t just to cross-post your video content; it’s to adapt it so that it feels completely native to the Reels environment.

The first step, as you noted, is to download a clean, watermark-free version of your video. The Instagram algorithm actively deprioritises content that contains the watermark of a rival platform, so this is a non-negotiable step.

The most important strategic step is to then handle the audio. Even if a sound is trending on both platforms, you should always upload your clean video to the Reels editor without sound and add the trending audio or music natively within Instagram. The algorithm heavily favours content that uses audio from its own library.

Beyond that, you should also consider the smaller details. Take the extra minute to re-do your on-screen text using Instagram’s native fonts to make the video feel more authentic. The caption text on Reels can also be a bit longer and more in-depth than on TikTok, so use that space to add more value, and be sure to use hashtags that are relevant to the Instagram ecosystem, not just copied over from your original post.

Cheers,
Jeff

This is a fantastic question because it touches on one of the most underutilised features on the platform.

Short Answer: Yes, custom alt text absolutely helps your Instagram SEO. It’s a direct signal you can send the algorithm to help it understand your image content and rank it in relevant searches.

While its primary purpose is accessibility for visually impaired users, that same descriptive text is a goldmine of keywords for the search algorithm.

Here’s how it works: if you don’t write your own alt text, Instagram’s AI analyses your photo and generates a generic description for screen readers. By writing your own, you can be far more specific and strategic. For instance, the AI might describe your photo as ‘a couple on a beach’. But in the custom alt text field, you can write, ‘A newlywed couple holding hands during a golden hour wedding photoshoot at a beach in Byron Bay’.

That highly descriptive text provides specific keywords like ‘wedding photoshoot’ and ‘Byron Bay’ directly to the algorithm. This significantly increases the chances of your image appearing when users search for those terms. It’s one of the most direct ways to tell Instagram exactly what your content is about, and you should absolutely take the extra thirty seconds to do it for every post.

Cheers,
Jeff

Recognising burnout is the first and most important step to building a more sustainable career as a creator.

Short Answer: The best way to combat burnout is to implement a strict content batching system to separate your creation days from your posting days, and to schedule non-negotiable breaks away from the platform.

This isn’t a problem with your creativity; it’s a problem with your process for producing the various image, video, and text assets your account requires.

You need to get off the daily content treadmill. The most effective way to do this is through ruthless systemisation, specifically with content batching. Instead of trying to come up with a new idea, film it, and edit it every single day, you should dedicate specific days to specific tasks. For example, you could spend one day brainstorming a month’s worth of video ideas, one full day filming all of them, and another day editing them into finished Reels. This organises your workflow into focused blocks and frees up your mind for the rest of the month.

Secondly, you must schedule proper time off where you don’t post or even open the app. Your content calendar, which you create during your batching days, is the tool that allows this. Planning your posts in advance gives you the freedom to take a week off without your account going silent. Finally, not every piece of content has to be a masterpiece. Give yourself permission to post lower-effort things like a simple text-based Story, a photo dump, or sharing a follower’s post to fill the gaps and reduce the pressure to constantly produce high-effort videos.

Cheers,
Jeff