August 16, 2025 • 11 mins
How should a business use LinkedIn?
We've seen a rise in the number of CEOs using professional networking platform LinkedIn for communications, from discussing acquisitions, to talking about company results. So does this mean we should all be doing it? And how does it help small businesses?
Michael Thompson speaks with Fear & Greed presenter Natalie MacDonald, who spent seven years working at LinkedIn, and has just launched her new business Working@It.
Fear & Greed Q+A: Join the Fear & Greed team as they answer questions on business, investing, economics, politics and more. If you have your own question, get in touch via our website, LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook!
Find out more: https://fearandgreed.com.au/
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to Fear and Greed Q and A where we
ask and answer questions about business, investing, economics, politics and more.
Are Michael Thompson and good morning Natalie McDonald.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Good morning Michael.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Today. Our question is one It's a very loaded question,
this one how should businesses be using LinkedIn? And it
is loaded because I know about your background, right you
are not just a business journalist, and that you've been
working with us now at Fear and Greed for a
few days and we'll be working with us for a
few more days to come. You have had quite a
(00:39):
long career at LinkedIn as well as other places. You
spent seven years at LinkedIn, is that correct?
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Yep, seven years.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
And you were doing kind of a lot of business
journalism and reporting as well, and you saw a lot
of change, I suppose in the way that people are
using LinkedIn, which is such a massive, massive platform and
has grown and grown and grown in recent years to
the point that I think that the stats from a
(01:09):
couple of months ago was that I think eighty of
the top one hundred CEOs in Australia were all on LinkedIn,
and there has been a rise in the number of
CEOs who are using it for kind of official communications really,
and this is kind of a new trend, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Yeah, But as I say, seven years at LinkedIn, so
it's something that myself and the fantastic editorial team that
I was a part of have really been plugging away
at it for a while, you know, trying to create
that daily use case and trying to really expand the
vision of LinkedIn beyond just being that CV platform. It's
a knowledge parketplace. It's where you go to give and
(01:49):
receive information that you need in order to make smart
decisions about your career.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Yeah. Yeah, and this is the thing that since leaving LinkedIn,
you are working with us. You've also just launched a
new business called working at It and you can check
it out online working at it dot com, dot au.
And it is really trying to answer this question as well,
in part the question that we're looking at today of
how businesses should be using LinkedIn and how can they
(02:17):
use it and how can people within businesses use it
to develop their own careers and their own profiles as well.
So big picture, how should businesses be using LinkedIn?
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Prolifically? Would respond no, but really, you know how businesses
look to present themselves how they look to engage with
the world and engage with potential partners, engage with potential customers,
engage with potential talent is more important now than ever,
(02:49):
and really putting a stack in the ground and saying
we care about the same topics that you do. Let
us show you. And that is really where businesses need
to be at. I think the evolution that we've had,
as you say, you know eighty percent of the top
CEOs are using LinkedIn now, but more broadly as far
(03:10):
as going through the pandemic, going through work from home,
going through rising cost of living crisis, and all of
these changes are bringing our professional and our personal selves closer,
and businesses need to be capitalizing on that. LinkedIn is
an opportunity for them to build trust, to have influence,
to start conversations, to get engagement, to also attract the
(03:34):
best talent and position themselves as employers of choice.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Yeah, and we have seen that then with those bank
CEOs for instance, like Matt Common from Commonwealth Bank, Andrew
Irvine as well, and the CEO of Zero as well
in recent months kind of talking about either results or
talking about acquisitions and going through the reasons behind it,
and so it suddenly feels like there's a great deal
more accessibility. But they are big, big companies and this
(03:59):
is something that kind of those right down to small
business as well, which leads me to the question. You
might think that, okay, big business, big banks things, they've
got full teams that are able to help with this.
Smaller businesses, how do you do it? How important is
it to be a really kind of polished face of
the company in terms of what you in what you
(04:21):
put out there on LinkedIn.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
That's a fair question. I mean you say, in terms
of big business. One of my favorite leaders in Australia
that I've always referred to, former as AT CEO Shane Elliott.
He even in retirement now, it shares a lot of
his book recommendations. He loves books, he loves reading and
he loves sharing that, which I think is a really
fantastic example of leadership and content done in a genuine
(04:45):
and authentic way. But to your question around small businesses,
it's really a case of switching the conversation. Obviously, you
want to be demonstrating that you've won an award, but
it's so boring, no to see like a photo of
the award on your desk, like.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Fantastic if I see one more post that begins with
I am thrilled to announce and flow on from there exactly.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
That, But no one learns anything from it. No one
learns anything, and you're not positioning yourself for future. It's
like a good Oh, you won something, So flip it around,
think tangible, values, led actionable. So rather than saying I'm
so thrilled to announce that my team won, you start
with how do you build award winning teams? And here
(05:34):
are some of the mistakes that we made along the way,
And you put three points in there about how you
built a team that did go on and win an award,
or vice versa. Something else might be here's the work
that goes behind the scenes putting together an award winning
marketing campaign. Here are the three priorities that we have,
or even because everyone loves a bit of a car crash,
(05:56):
here are the three mistakes that we made along the way.
So really flipping that conversation round and as I say,
making it purpose driven, making it values driven, and making
it something that someone else can actually learn from, because
suddenly you're saying so much more about who you are
in the market.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Can I just say that one of the most effective
posts that we have done from Fear and Greed on
LinkedIn was not about any particular news story or any
milestone that we've had in podcasting. It was a behind
the scenes look at some of the technology that is used,
and it was just a short video of kind of
everything that happens in the studio when you turn it on,
(06:34):
and just talking about how big a role technology plays
and getting it out there. And that really connected with
people because it wasn't just your normal kind of oh,
look what we've done with another milestone, or this has
kind of happened. It's just and suddenly I'm like, okay,
all right, it doesn't need to be a polished kind
of studio lights and full kind of hair and makeup
in order for it to resonate. Often kind of perhaps
(06:57):
that more rustic approach can actually connect the authenticity.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
And this is what me, myself as a professional and person,
am all about. I in my content talk a lot
about being a mum and being a working parent, and
that has enabled me to build a really big platform
and become a trusted voice and is now me as
an individual alongside obviously business content known for in the market,
(07:22):
and so that's really what I would recommend to small
businesses as well, rather than looking at it from the
big picture brand stuff, because that will come. But look
at your employee generated content. Pick a couple of brand ambassadors,
as it were, and again, don't be tokenistic about it.
You know, really have a look at who are individuals
that are doing great things or who are being recognized
(07:44):
in industry or align with the narrative that you're wanting
to put out to the world, and put your energy
into those and let them be your ambassadors.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
In that case, then should businesses be giving employees more
freedom to post, to talk about what they are doing,
to kind of give a bit of an insight into
their jobs in order to really capture that authentic feel
for a workplace.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
I think something that organizations could be doing, maybe not
necessarily handing over the reins altogether, but looking at almost
an employee engagement strategy. So looking at if you've got
research or an event, or you've done had someone come
in and do an internal talk, maybe share some example
copy that they could put up or maybe be putting
(08:31):
into your weekly town hall meetings or a weekly email
that your CEO sends out examples or encouragement or prompts
to be taking those to LinkedIn, encouraging them to learn
more about how the platform works, more about things like
LinkedIn news on there, and how to be engaging more
so actually be sort of skilling up teams because that
(08:54):
in turn empowers them and they become your brand ambassadors.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Okay, then how do you balance the idea of the
personal brand of individuals with the business brand? Then is
there a risk that by encouraging your employees to become
ambassadors that they almost become the face of the business
where it should be the leader who is the one
that's kind of out there.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
But I think in those instances it becomes a yes
and not an awe kind of thing, because also what
you're telling to the industry, what you're telling to potential collaborators, partners, customers,
is that you are encouraging your team to be bringing
their whole self to work and that you are creating
(09:38):
an environment in which these individuals are able to thrive,
They're able to reskill or grow or develop. And that
says an awful lot more about you than a photo
of a trophy on a desk is going to do.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Okay, last question because we are running out of time,
and this one goes from the the biggest business is
right down to the smallest of small businesses in this country.
How important is it to have a content strategy in
terms of what you are putting out there, to actually
plan it and make sure that really what you are
posting is actually helping to build your brand.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
It's also a case of looking holistically, so looking at
your own content, so your website, and then also doing
a bit of an audit perhaps of your social media
content and so not just LinkedIn, maybe look at your
Instagram accounts as well, and take just for starters, perhaps
your exec team is your exec team on the same page,
is the narrative and the content that you're putting out
(10:39):
there or actually kind of messaging the same thing. So
almost work backwards and also consider it a bit of
an audience development activity as well. You know who you're
targeting is a business, so start there and then work
backwards in terms of what does content look like to
engage those people and to activate those people and to
(10:59):
have those important conversations.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
I think we have comprehensively answered the question of how
should businesses be using LinkedIn, though, I suspect we could
probably discuss this for another hour or two. What do
you think?
Speaker 2 (11:11):
Yeah, I've got got a bit more in the tank.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
You probably do, all right. Thank you very much, Natalie,
Thank you, Michael. That was Natalie McDonald, Fear and Greed
journalist and the founder of Working at It dot com
dot Auhead along to the website and see more about
what Natalie is talking about. If you've got something that
you would like to know that you'd like us to
delve into on this podcast, then please send through your
question on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, or at Fearangreed dot com
(11:34):
dot au. I'm Michael Thompson and this is Fear and
Greed Q and A
Welcome to Fear and Greed Q and A where we
ask and answer questions about business, investing, economics, politics and more.
Are Michael Thompson and good morning Natalie McDonald.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Good morning Michael.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Today. Our question is one It's a very loaded question,
this one how should businesses be using LinkedIn? And it
is loaded because I know about your background, right you
are not just a business journalist, and that you've been
working with us now at Fear and Greed for a
few days and we'll be working with us for a
few more days to come. You have had quite a
(00:39):
long career at LinkedIn as well as other places. You
spent seven years at LinkedIn, is that correct?
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Yep, seven years.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
And you were doing kind of a lot of business
journalism and reporting as well, and you saw a lot
of change, I suppose in the way that people are
using LinkedIn, which is such a massive, massive platform and
has grown and grown and grown in recent years to
the point that I think that the stats from a
(01:09):
couple of months ago was that I think eighty of
the top one hundred CEOs in Australia were all on LinkedIn,
and there has been a rise in the number of
CEOs who are using it for kind of official communications really,
and this is kind of a new trend, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Yeah, But as I say, seven years at LinkedIn, so
it's something that myself and the fantastic editorial team that
I was a part of have really been plugging away
at it for a while, you know, trying to create
that daily use case and trying to really expand the
vision of LinkedIn beyond just being that CV platform. It's
a knowledge parketplace. It's where you go to give and
(01:49):
receive information that you need in order to make smart
decisions about your career.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Yeah. Yeah, and this is the thing that since leaving LinkedIn,
you are working with us. You've also just launched a
new business called working at It and you can check
it out online working at it dot com, dot au.
And it is really trying to answer this question as well,
in part the question that we're looking at today of
how businesses should be using LinkedIn and how can they
(02:17):
use it and how can people within businesses use it
to develop their own careers and their own profiles as well.
So big picture, how should businesses be using LinkedIn?
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Prolifically? Would respond no, but really, you know how businesses
look to present themselves how they look to engage with
the world and engage with potential partners, engage with potential customers,
engage with potential talent is more important now than ever,
(02:49):
and really putting a stack in the ground and saying
we care about the same topics that you do. Let
us show you. And that is really where businesses need
to be at. I think the evolution that we've had,
as you say, you know eighty percent of the top
CEOs are using LinkedIn now, but more broadly as far
(03:10):
as going through the pandemic, going through work from home,
going through rising cost of living crisis, and all of
these changes are bringing our professional and our personal selves closer,
and businesses need to be capitalizing on that. LinkedIn is
an opportunity for them to build trust, to have influence,
to start conversations, to get engagement, to also attract the
(03:34):
best talent and position themselves as employers of choice.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Yeah, and we have seen that then with those bank
CEOs for instance, like Matt Common from Commonwealth Bank, Andrew
Irvine as well, and the CEO of Zero as well
in recent months kind of talking about either results or
talking about acquisitions and going through the reasons behind it,
and so it suddenly feels like there's a great deal
more accessibility. But they are big, big companies and this
(03:59):
is something that kind of those right down to small
business as well, which leads me to the question. You
might think that, okay, big business, big banks things, they've
got full teams that are able to help with this.
Smaller businesses, how do you do it? How important is
it to be a really kind of polished face of
the company in terms of what you in what you
(04:21):
put out there on LinkedIn.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
That's a fair question. I mean you say, in terms
of big business. One of my favorite leaders in Australia
that I've always referred to, former as AT CEO Shane Elliott.
He even in retirement now, it shares a lot of
his book recommendations. He loves books, he loves reading and
he loves sharing that, which I think is a really
fantastic example of leadership and content done in a genuine
(04:45):
and authentic way. But to your question around small businesses,
it's really a case of switching the conversation. Obviously, you
want to be demonstrating that you've won an award, but
it's so boring, no to see like a photo of
the award on your desk, like.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Fantastic if I see one more post that begins with
I am thrilled to announce and flow on from there exactly.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
That, But no one learns anything from it. No one
learns anything, and you're not positioning yourself for future. It's
like a good Oh, you won something, So flip it around,
think tangible, values, led actionable. So rather than saying I'm
so thrilled to announce that my team won, you start
with how do you build award winning teams? And here
(05:34):
are some of the mistakes that we made along the way,
And you put three points in there about how you
built a team that did go on and win an award,
or vice versa. Something else might be here's the work
that goes behind the scenes putting together an award winning
marketing campaign. Here are the three priorities that we have,
or even because everyone loves a bit of a car crash,
(05:56):
here are the three mistakes that we made along the way.
So really flipping that conversation round and as I say,
making it purpose driven, making it values driven, and making
it something that someone else can actually learn from, because
suddenly you're saying so much more about who you are
in the market.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Can I just say that one of the most effective
posts that we have done from Fear and Greed on
LinkedIn was not about any particular news story or any
milestone that we've had in podcasting. It was a behind
the scenes look at some of the technology that is used,
and it was just a short video of kind of
everything that happens in the studio when you turn it on,
(06:34):
and just talking about how big a role technology plays
and getting it out there. And that really connected with
people because it wasn't just your normal kind of oh,
look what we've done with another milestone, or this has
kind of happened. It's just and suddenly I'm like, okay,
all right, it doesn't need to be a polished kind
of studio lights and full kind of hair and makeup
in order for it to resonate. Often kind of perhaps
(06:57):
that more rustic approach can actually connect the authenticity.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
And this is what me, myself as a professional and person,
am all about. I in my content talk a lot
about being a mum and being a working parent, and
that has enabled me to build a really big platform
and become a trusted voice and is now me as
an individual alongside obviously business content known for in the market,
(07:22):
and so that's really what I would recommend to small
businesses as well, rather than looking at it from the
big picture brand stuff, because that will come. But look
at your employee generated content. Pick a couple of brand ambassadors,
as it were, and again, don't be tokenistic about it.
You know, really have a look at who are individuals
that are doing great things or who are being recognized
(07:44):
in industry or align with the narrative that you're wanting
to put out to the world, and put your energy
into those and let them be your ambassadors.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
In that case, then should businesses be giving employees more
freedom to post, to talk about what they are doing,
to kind of give a bit of an insight into
their jobs in order to really capture that authentic feel
for a workplace.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
I think something that organizations could be doing, maybe not
necessarily handing over the reins altogether, but looking at almost
an employee engagement strategy. So looking at if you've got
research or an event, or you've done had someone come
in and do an internal talk, maybe share some example
copy that they could put up or maybe be putting
(08:31):
into your weekly town hall meetings or a weekly email
that your CEO sends out examples or encouragement or prompts
to be taking those to LinkedIn, encouraging them to learn
more about how the platform works, more about things like
LinkedIn news on there, and how to be engaging more
so actually be sort of skilling up teams because that
(08:54):
in turn empowers them and they become your brand ambassadors.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Okay, then how do you balance the idea of the
personal brand of individuals with the business brand? Then is
there a risk that by encouraging your employees to become
ambassadors that they almost become the face of the business
where it should be the leader who is the one
that's kind of out there.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
But I think in those instances it becomes a yes
and not an awe kind of thing, because also what
you're telling to the industry, what you're telling to potential collaborators, partners, customers,
is that you are encouraging your team to be bringing
their whole self to work and that you are creating
(09:38):
an environment in which these individuals are able to thrive,
They're able to reskill or grow or develop. And that
says an awful lot more about you than a photo
of a trophy on a desk is going to do.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Okay, last question because we are running out of time,
and this one goes from the the biggest business is
right down to the smallest of small businesses in this country.
How important is it to have a content strategy in
terms of what you are putting out there, to actually
plan it and make sure that really what you are
posting is actually helping to build your brand.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
It's also a case of looking holistically, so looking at
your own content, so your website, and then also doing
a bit of an audit perhaps of your social media
content and so not just LinkedIn, maybe look at your
Instagram accounts as well, and take just for starters, perhaps
your exec team is your exec team on the same page,
is the narrative and the content that you're putting out
(10:39):
there or actually kind of messaging the same thing. So
almost work backwards and also consider it a bit of
an audience development activity as well. You know who you're
targeting is a business, so start there and then work
backwards in terms of what does content look like to
engage those people and to activate those people and to
(10:59):
have those important conversations.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
I think we have comprehensively answered the question of how
should businesses be using LinkedIn, though, I suspect we could
probably discuss this for another hour or two. What do
you think?
Speaker 2 (11:11):
Yeah, I've got got a bit more in the tank.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
You probably do, all right. Thank you very much, Natalie,
Thank you, Michael. That was Natalie McDonald, Fear and Greed
journalist and the founder of Working at It dot com
dot Auhead along to the website and see more about
what Natalie is talking about. If you've got something that
you would like to know that you'd like us to
delve into on this podcast, then please send through your
question on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, or at Fearangreed dot com
(11:34):
dot au. I'm Michael Thompson and this is Fear and
Greed Q and A
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