Why so much LinkedIn content is sh*t

Written By Andrew Stern

Let’s call a spade a spade… most of the content on LinkedIn is hot garbage.

Not because people are inherently boring (well, some certainly are. But on aggregate, that’s not the problem).

It’s not because the algorithm is broken (although I’m not wild about how few followers see your posts anymore, but alas).

It’s because somewhere along the way, everyone forgot how to sound like an actual human being.

Faaaarrrrrrrr too often, this is what I see on LinkedIn:

  • Trying to mimic some “growth hacker’s” fail-safe framework for virality!

  • Soulless AI slop that could have been written by anyone… or no one

    • Sure, the punctuation is in the right place and everything is spelled correctly… but it doesn’t sound like you (or anyone, really)

  • Repurposing some old sales deck or a stale blog post an intern half-wrote six months ago

  • The same formats and phrasing we’ve seen other top voices use, trying to glom on to a “trend”

I know you’ve seen it too.

I certainly get why it happens. Way too many folks are far too busy to “do content” (especially if it isn’t your forté and/or you never having time to focus on it). Even I struggle to carve out the time to create my own content when I’m neck deep in client content creation. I really do get it.

We all want our content to go viral, so we imitate the type of content that seems to be working. But in a sea of sameness, you’ll never stick out.

If content makes people’s eyes glaze over… or it sounds like literally everyone else’s — it ain’t working.

Here’s why that happens… and what to do instead.

They’re trying to impress the wrong audience

Most cringe content doesn’t come from inexperience… it comes from trying too hard to impress their peers instead of talking directly to their actual customers (or people they wish would become customers).

You’re not trying to earn a PhD (academic writing is the literal worst for this). You’re trying to land a new client, show up in a buyer’s feed, or build trust with someone who might Google you before a meeting.

So when people post jargon-filled nonsense like:

“We help enterprise leaders unlock synergistic growth through AI-enabled workforce transformation”

…they’re not building credibility. They sound boring af AND like they don’t actually know what they’re talking about. It’s just word vomit at this point. Jargon soup.

aka… cringe.

Somewhere along the way, marketers (and, really, anyone who wants to publish content) forgot that real people want to do business with other real people.

If those people can’t understand what the hell you’re saying, they sure as shit won’t care how smart you sound saying it.

AI isn’t the enemy… but it ain’t the answer either

I’m not here to bash AI indiscriminately. At Apiary, we use workflow and productivity tools just like everyone else. But here’s what we don’t do: ask ChatGPT to write an entire post and then slap a logo on it.

Why? Because that’s how people end up with soulless, surface-level copy that could’ve been written by anyone. Or no one.

Content isn’t just about information — it’s about perspective. It’s about personality. It’s about tone, voice, humor… all those good things. And AI, for all its speed and novelty, can’t fake any of that on your behalf.

If you want to stand out, you need content that reflects your actual voice, your actual values, and your actual take on the problem your audience is facing.

Otherwise? It’s just noise.

You don’t need a megaphone… you need a translator

Most founders and execs I work with don’t struggle to have good ideas. They struggle to explain them in a way that anyone outside their bubble can understand (or care about in the slightest).

That’s what we do at Apiary — we translate founder-speak into human-speak. We help smart people say smart things… in ways that actually land.

The best content doesn’t sound like marketing. It sounds like a sharp, interesting person thinking out loud… with a point.

Slate, the once-digital magazine turned podcasting company, used to describe their brand as “like you’re talking to the smartest person at a party.”

We’re not aiming for obnoxious know-it-all-ism (nor was Slate, tbc), but we are trying to be insightful, sharp, and more than anything, genuine. Be that engaging person everyone walks away from the party saying, “man, that Andrew dude was so interesting!”

We don’t need yet another post packed with buzzwords and awkward frameworks. You need a steady drumbeat of clear, engaging content that reflects who you are and what you believe.

So… what do you do instead?

Here’s the play:

  • Talk to people, not at them. Pretend you’re explaining something over coffee, not auditioning for a TED Talk.

  • Pick clarity over cleverness. Every time. But also… ya know… be funny if/when you can, haha

  • Start small. One sharp idea is better than a carousel of fluff.

  • Sound like you. Or better yet, sound like you on your best day. That’s what good ghostwriting does.

Want to sound smarter without sounding like everyone else?

That’s what we do at Apiary.

We help founders, execs, and SMB owner/operators turn their voice into a strategic content engine — without sounding like ChatGPT (or every other talking head in your feed).

If you’re ready to differentiate your content from all the cringey crap out there, you know where to find us.

Andrew Stern