CHAPTER 11 | Substantial Business Growth with LinkedIn
LinkedIn: Where Credibility Turns into Revenue
A re-reading of One Million Followers by Brendan Kane
So far, we have focused mostly on platforms where growth is fast: Facebook, Instagram, and global markets. But in this chapter, Kane takes us to a very different platform: LinkedIn. A place where growth is not fast, but the value of each audience member is several times greater.
LinkedIn is not an entertainment platform; it is a business platform. The audience comes here with a clear purpose: to learn, to grow, and to build professional relationships. If you miss this difference, you may publish on LinkedIn the same content that worked on Instagram — and get no results.
The Core Difference: A Professional Tone, Not an Entertaining One
The first and most important difference between LinkedIn and other platforms is tone. On Instagram, entertaining and emotional content wins; on LinkedIn, educational, analytical, and practical content. The LinkedIn audience is looking for something that serves their work — not something that merely amuses them.
To grasp this difference, think of Satya Nadella: on LinkedIn, he writes short, human posts, but always pairs them with a business insight. That blend of “human + professional” is exactly what wins on this platform.
“On LinkedIn, people don’t come for entertainment; they come for growth. If you have nothing to teach, no one will listen.”
The Hidden Power: B2B Growth and Access to Decision-Makers
Kane describes one of LinkedIn’s most important advantages this way: business decision-makers are here. If your business is B2B — meaning you sell to companies, not to end consumers — LinkedIn can be your most effective platform.
On Instagram, you speak to millions of people and hope one of them becomes a customer. On LinkedIn, you speak to a thousand people, but a thousand people with purchasing authority. In the business world, that difference changes everything.
Text Posts: The Quiet Winners
One of the most surprising points Kane makes is this: on LinkedIn, simple text posts outperform images and videos. Why? Because the audience here takes the time to read. They are looking for analysis, experience, and insight — not visual effects.
This means a well-structured piece of writing can be more effective than a professionally produced video. But there is a condition: the text must deliver real value. A post that is merely long-winded gets ignored on LinkedIn fast.
“On LinkedIn, one deep piece of writing is worth more than a thousand shallow videos.”
The Art of Commenting: Growth Through Other People’s Reach
One of Kane’s smartest LinkedIn tactics is leaving smart comments on other people’s posts. This dramatically increases your visibility — without you even publishing a single post. But there is a condition: the comment must add value, not just offer a simple compliment.
When you write a brief but deep analysis under a famous CEO’s post, their audience sees you and builds credibility for you. This is what the business world calls “brand building through borrowed credibility.”
A Consistent Content Strategy Turns You into an Expert
Kane insists that on LinkedIn, consistency matters more than volume. One high-quality weekly piece of content is more effective than ten rushed and scattered ones. Why? Because the human brain, through repetition, comes to recognize you as an expert in your field.
This is exactly what consultants, freelancers, and professional agencies have invested in. They build an audience with consistent content and win clients from within that audience. For this cycle to remain sustainable over the long run, brands need a reliable digital infrastructure — a fast website, a smooth app, or a page with a world-class user experience. This is precisely the specialty of the Stinoment engineering team (led by Mr. Hamed Asghari); from website and mobile app design to SEO and building highly engaging pages. For a free consultation, you can visit Stinoment.com.
Your Profile Is Your Professional Storefront
Kane says your LinkedIn profile is like a shop window. It must be complete, professional, and clear: a sharp profile photo, a precise job title, and a summary that states your expertise in a few sentences. An incomplete profile makes even the best content ineffective.
This principle ties directly back to the “one sentence” concept from the message chapter. Your profile must be able to tell any visitor, within seconds, who you are and what problem you solve.
LinkedIn as a Market Research Tool
And Kane’s final point in this chapter: LinkedIn is not just a publishing tool, it is a market research tool. You can observe competitors, understand what their audiences want, and discover the gaps that exist in the market.
This level of insight is not as easily accessible on any other platform. LinkedIn lets you know, before you produce content, what is missing in the market and which message has the highest chance of winning.
“LinkedIn is both a marketing field and a market research lab — if you know how to use it.”
💡 Hamed Asghari’s Note (CEO of Stinoment)
The most compelling part of this chapter for me is the principle that “simple text posts outperform videos.” This goes against today’s trend, where everyone is chasing video and Reels. But LinkedIn reminds us that every platform has its own rules. A team that rolls out one strategy across all platforms ends up losing on all of them.
The second point is “smart commenting.” This small technique carries a deep lesson: you don’t always need to create your own message; sometimes it is enough to add value to someone else’s. This is the very principle that consultants and professional agencies have used for years to build personal brands.
And the third point is LinkedIn as a market research tool. For B2B teams, this sentence is gold. Before launching a new product or service, you can spend hours on LinkedIn and understand where competitors have failed and what new solution the audience is looking for.
If I had to summarize this chapter for the Stinoment team in one sentence: “LinkedIn is not just a publishing channel for us; it is a tool for learning from the market.”
In the next session, we turn to one of the most exciting growth tools: how live events and streaming can turn your audience into an active, loyal community.
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