It's one of the most common pieces of advice in social media marketing, and one of the vaguest. Be human. Be authentic. Show your personality. But what does that look like in practice, especially for a B2B professional who doesn't want to turn LinkedIn into Instagram?
Being human on social media means writing the way you'd talk to a client over coffee. It means sharing what you actually think, not what sounds impressive. It means being recognisable as a person, not a press release.
For professionals at accounting firms, legal practices, IT consultancies, and recruitment agencies, this isn't about oversharing your personal life. It's about letting your expertise and perspective come through in a way that's direct, relatable, and distinctly yours.
Most professionals default to corporate language on social media. Long sentences, passive voice, abstract concepts. The result: posts that sound like everyone else's and that nobody engages with.
The fix is simple. Write shorter sentences. Use words your audience actually uses. If you wouldn't say "leverage synergies to optimise stakeholder alignment" to a client's face, don't write it in a LinkedIn post.
A good test: read your caption out loud. If it sounds like a press release, rewrite it. If it sounds like something you'd say in a meeting, you're on the right track.
Triniti Solutions' Rick and Danny Zwart went from a blank page to a confident LinkedIn presence by writing in their own voice instead of trying to sound like a corporate brand. Their audience responded because the posts felt real.
People connect with stories, especially honest ones. Sharing a lesson from a project that went wrong, a client conversation that changed your thinking, or a decision you'd make differently is far more engaging than another "5 tips for success" post.
This doesn't mean airing your company's dirty laundry. It means being willing to say "here's what we tried, here's what happened, here's what we learned." That honesty builds credibility in a way that polished corporate content never will.
High Touch, a Dutch consultancy, found their LinkedIn rhythm once they started sharing real experiences instead of generic advice. The shift from performed expertise to genuine reflection changed their engagement.
People follow people, not logos. Posts with faces consistently get more engagement than posts without them. Your audience wants to see who's behind the expertise.
This doesn't mean you need professional photography for every post. A smartphone photo at a conference, a quick selfie with your team after a project milestone, or a short video filmed at your desk all work. The bar is lower than you think. What matters is that it's real.
If you're camera-shy, start small. A headshot with a personal caption. A photo from an event with your take on what you learned. You don't need to become an influencer. You just need to be visible.
Social media is a conversation, not a loudspeaker. Yet most professionals treat it as one-way communication: post, disappear, repeat.
The professionals who build real followings do three things differently. They respond to every comment on their posts. Not just with "Thanks!" but with something that continues the conversation. They comment thoughtfully on other people's content, adding their perspective rather than just dropping a like. And they ask questions that invite their audience to share their own experiences.
Elly from EzwConsult built her reputation as an HR coach in Belgium not just through posting, but through consistent, genuine engagement with her audience's content. Five years of showing up, commenting, and contributing made her a recognised voice in her niche.
Should you invest time in your personal profile or your company page? Both, but for different reasons.
Your personal profile reaches a broader, more diverse audience: clients, industry peers, former colleagues, event connections. Your company page primarily reaches existing followers and clients. Content for each should match those audiences.
On your personal profile, share your perspective, your lessons, your industry observations. On your company page, share product updates, client success stories, team highlights, and educational content.
The two work best when they complement each other. Your personal profile builds relationships and trust. Your company page educates and converts. Together, they cover the full journey from "who is this person?" to "I want to work with their firm."
Sharing personal moments helps people relate to you beyond your professional role. But on LinkedIn especially, the balance matters. A story about how a holiday trip inspired a new approach to client work? That works. A daily update about your lunch? That doesn't.
The rule of thumb: personal stories should connect back to something your audience cares about. A consultant sharing how becoming a parent changed their time management approach is relatable and useful. The same consultant posting unrelated life updates every day will lose professional credibility.
Blend personal with professional. Let your personality show through your expertise, not instead of it.
