Like a Message in a Bottle

The message in a bottle as a mode of communication dates back to 310 B.C., when the Ancient Greek philosopher Theophrastus first used bottled messages to confirm that the Mediterranean Sea was a tributary of the Atlantic Ocean. In the centuries that followed, many people in distress on the open sea (military personnel, members of shipwrecked crews, and forlorn lovers) stuffed their handwritten cries for help, romantic thoughts, mementos, and, in some cases, last wills and testaments into glass bottles, and hurled them into the drink. Many bottles floated for?decades before finally washing up on shore, the message’s urgency long gone. Bottled notes, including many written by oceanographers dating back to the mid-1900s as experiments, continue to find their way into the hands of beachcombers.

LinkedIn mirrors the exquisite randomness and variability of the ocean, giving content creators a sense of uncontrollability over who ultimately sees what they publish. Once a post is adrift, it ostensibly becomes a message in a bottle floating on the feed, lifted and lowered by the LinkedIn algorithm—a mystic force that dictates the flow of information across the platform—and winding up who knows where.

LinkedIn and the Message-in-a-Bottle Trope?

Getting a message in a bottle into the hands of its intended recipient would seem an exercise in futility. Water is a fickle courier. A small, glass vessel floating on ocean waves does not match up well with the immutable laws of physics or the whims of Poseidon. The sheer vastness of the LinkedIn webscape reinforces the metaphor. The sum of algorithmic effects, the variation of user habits, and the fractured home page timeline can alter the distribution and visibility of posts.????

The popular notion is that posting high-quality educational content regularly and frequently on LinkedIn will generate the kind of interaction that supports business or career development goals and produces wins. Increasingly, creators are drawn into the maelstrom of expression. Those who grind out content for LinkedIn daily operate with the hope that the right pair of eyes will catch it, discern its value, and act positively (e.g., a connection request), a ritual that has become the hallmark of the “spray and pray” approach.

While building momentum with content can unquestionably boost one’s credibility, heighten brand awareness, and improve connectivity, converting posts into meaningful conversations has become the Holy Grail of LinkedIn. While the metrics shed some light on how a post moves across this medium, the exact path and depth of the impression it makes are impossible to track accurately. We cannot know with certainty who will intersect, let alone engage, with our content.?

In addition, the competition for attention on LinkedIn is fierce. We live in an Age of Distraction; people are preoccupied, head down, and self-absorbed. As you focus on capturing interest in your work, those you hope will lean into what you offer are focused elsewhere. Or they are not active on LinkedIn.

The lyrics of the 1979 classic rock song by The Police, “Message in a Bottle,” as penned and sung by Sting, affirm an air of desperation to the act and the power of hope, as?a single sender plays on faith that their cry for help is heard:

?“I’ll send an SOS to the world;?I hope that someone gets my message in a bottle.”

Later in the song, we learn that this person realizes they are “not alone at being alone.” Surprisingly, “a hundred billion bottles wash up on the shore.” The passage speaks to the isolation and discouragement of many creators who cannot gain traction on LinkedIn with content or feel their posts are lost in the shuffle.

LinkedIn Content Marketing: A Personal Perspective

In a perfect world, each LinkedIn post I make would reach and resonate with a universally appreciative audience and prompt further learning about me. People would salivate like Pavolv’s dog for the next edition of my newsletter, line up to become my clients, sell out my workshops, and beg me to speak at their conferences. But alas, this is not a perfect world, or so I am told. Like other LinkedIn creators in the daily battle for relevance, I have to scratch and claw for notice in an ever-tightening attention economy.

Content marketing is something of a crapshoot. Once the platform accepts my post, your guess is as good, if not better than mine, as to where it goes. The LinkedIn algorithm will “decide” how broad the swath of my network who sees it will be. I gave up on the spray-and-pray approach long ago and made a revelatory course correction to create my algorithm through proactive personal outreach. If my content is not getting to the right people, I must lead the right people to my content—in other words, play the inbound game.

[A LinkedIn post can have powerful residual brand-building effects long after its release. Every post is automatically archived in reverse chronological order and accessible in one's LinkedIn activity log. (Recent activity is found below the About section of the profile page.) My creative strategy is to amass a portfolio of evergreen content, including these newsletter editions, that cover all the pertinent aspects of my unique value proposition. I can share the appropriate piece(s) when the situation dictates.]

I also understand that not everyone will be receptive to my posts, which is fine. I speak my truth, use my voice to achieve equilibrium within the LinkedIn ecosystem, and strive to connect intellectually and emotionally with professionals who align with my core values and find my perspective enlightening. I would guide you in the same manner I guide myself: Do not write for the LinkedIn algorithm; instead, write for the human limbic system. Believe that the content you produce will be liked and shared by those who need to see it—and it will be.

A Parting Thought (or Two)

LinkedIn provides powerful internal communication channels for professionals seeking recognition and distinction. From a branding standpoint, high-quality, thought-provoking content can form strong mental connections between creator and consumer. One thoughtful, compelling post can trigger profile views from economic buyers, potential referral alliances, or recruiters and generate a transformational event.

So, channel your inner Theophrastus and experiment with the curiosity of the great oceanographers. Keep stuffing bottles. Send your SOS to the world. People who would love to hear from you are waiting on the shore.

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A Note from our Sponsor

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