“Less product, more people” Karen on making LinkedIn genuinely human

Season 2, Episode 1 of Social Media for Business with host Rebecca Bridgen

Karen has spent years at the centre of Maritime’s relationship web, from her long association with London International Shipping Week to her current role as Global Brand Ambassador at ShipMoney. Ask her for a social strategy and she will give you something simpler, sharper and harder to fake. Show up as yourself.

“If I don’t feel it, I don’t post it.”

That was Karen’s opening stance in Season 2 episode 1. It set the tone for a conversation about voice, boundaries and why trust beats polish on LinkedIn.

Be a person first, a brand second

Karen rejects the idea that LinkedIn should read like a brochure. For her, credibility arrives through consistency of tone and intent.

“LinkedIn is different. It has to be less product, more people.”

She loves the brand she represents, but believes attention is earned by revealing the humans behind it. Gratitude posts, short clips of the team, reflections after big industry weeks. Not glossy press lines, just recognisably human moments.

To which we agree. Social is the year-round room where relationships begin. Events are where those relationships are cemented.

Quality over quota

There is a long-standing belief that posting four times a week is the path to visibility. Karen is unconvinced.

“If I have nothing to say, those posts would be obvious and flat. Quality over quota.”

The rule she follows is quieter. Maintain a rhythm, yes, but never force it. Empty posts look and feel empty. Real posts read like a person wrote them in a specific moment for a specific reason.

But sometimes when you are completely yourself there’s the dreaded LinkedIn pop up that advises you not to post lest some are offended. Both host and guest have seen this pop up on unoffensive responses when drafting, but funny one. It is a useful reminder that automated tone policing does not always understand human nuance. For Karen, that is all the more reason to keep her natural phrasing intact.

“People recognise your language and your quirks. If I suddenly started using AI-tidied copy, anyone who knows me would spot it.”

Polish is fine. Ventriloquism is not.

Boundaries without blandness

What about pushback? Authentic voices are, by definition, not for everyone.

“Some will, some won’t, so what? Own your space.”

Karen is not confrontational, yet she keeps her lines clear. She avoids posting anything she would not say face to face and declines to perform a persona to please an imagined audience. The outcome is a feed with edges, which is another way of saying it feels like a real human being.

The post that surprised her

After an exhausting week at London International Shipping Week, Karen wrote a simple thank-you note on LinkedIn. No call to action. No campaign hook. Just the truth of how it felt.

“I wrote it from the heart, not for engagement. That is why it resonated.”

It is a neat illustration of her wider point. When intention is honest, results follow.

Video as a trust shortcut

Karen is not fond of posed photos. She does however see the power in quick video.

“Your voice and manner come through. Short conversations feel genuine.”

For brands that want to appear more human, three micro-videos can carry a month: what we value, what we learned this week, one thing we are improving. Keep them short, sincere and specific.

The algorithm mirrors your behaviour

Is LinkedIn “too personal” these days? Karen keeps it professional, but in her voice. More interesting to her is how feeds become skewed.

“Your feed mirrors your behaviour. Engage with what you want more of.”

If your timeline feels off, stop feeding it. Comment thoughtfully on the kind of posts you rate. Mute what does not serve you. The platform will adjust.

Practical advice for company pages

Asked what a maritime firm should change this month to go human first, Karen did not reach for a tactic. She reached for a posture.

1. Less product, more people. Show the humans who make the work possible.

2. Keep it simple. Short, on-brand clips beat generic product updates.

3. Be less obvious. Let the story do the work. Not every post needs a pitch.

The aim is not to disguise sales. It is to earn attention long enough for sales to become possible.

Networking without the cold pitch

The pair closed with a lightning round on rebuilding a LinkedIn network from zero. Karen’s plan was modest and effective: one or two warm, useful posts each week and daily genuine engagement. No copy-and-paste DMs. No instant sales messages.

“Cold pitching closes doors. Coffee invites and check-ins open them.”

Rebecca summed up the logic. People buy the person before they ever consider the product. Visibility makes familiarity possible. Events turn familiarity into trust.

Try this: one-post experiment

If you want to take the spirit of the episode for a spin, try this today:

• Write one paragraph about a real moment from your week.

• End with one practical lesson.

• Add one simple ask.

• Reply to five posts from people you respect with useful comments, not compliments.

Watch who appears in your inbox over the next seven days.

“Be yourself. If you own that, you don’t have to remember who you were pretending to be.”

That is the heart of Karen’s approach. Human-first is not a trick. It is a choice about tone, timing and what deserves to be said out loud. Less product, more people. Not softer, just truer.

Listen to the full conversation on Spotify https://shorturl.at/kj9fo and YouTube https://youtu.be/5mv0BoCfMNg

Follow Innov8 Social on LinkedIn for clips and upcoming guests.