What’s better, LinkedIn, Instagram… or Substack?

The Friday before last, I took the day off.

On the way to lunch - an hour long drive - I remembered: I hadn't posted on Instagram yet today!

I grabbed my phone, created a carousel, hit post, and sat back, ready to catch up with my partner. We hadn't seen each other much yet that week.

When I looked up, though, we'd already arrived. The post had consumed my attention for the whole journey. I felt mixed feelings: partly proud I'd posted despite the set up not being ideal from the car, but also frustrated at losing valuable time with him.

Then over lunch, I checked my phone a few times. No likes. No comments. Nada. Hours later, and still nothing. Perhaps you've been there too...

But let's back up - because how did I end up there?

I've had Instagram for years as many of us have, but as far as a 'marketing' channel for my business, had never given it much energy. Rather I see Instagram as somewhere to connect with friends, share parts of my life and very occasionally, business too. But a place to find clients, it has not been.

But this year Instagram has been quietly beckoning me, like a seductive mistress from across the room, asking "Do you know what you're missing?". I had started to feel the FOMO - all around me, in groups and communities I've been in, people's businesses were taking off on Instagram. Hundreds of thousands of views on posts being the norm.

Much like all sordid affairs typically start, the temptation for Instagram had been growing thanks to a dissatisfaction with what I had at home. In this case: LinkedIn.

LinkedIn has been a trusted partner to me over the years, and felt like my digital home. But lately, things have been shifting. The reach and impressions that were once fairly guaranteed on LinkedIn have dipped, and in the last month or so, drastically more so. When clients complain about it, I've tried not to agree. I've tried to stay positive: keep going! It'll get better! Just focus on your lane, not the likes. But I was growing tired of my own platitudes, and realising in my own results, that they might be just that - empty platitudes.

LinkedIn has well and truly been having an identity crisis (I've since learned why, btw, more on that below) and Instagram was looking like more and more of a safe haven.

So I decided, somewhat on a whim, to commit to both platforms.

To post daily on BOTH LinkedIn and Instagram for 60 days. That way, I could put the question of 'which is better', out of mind because I'd have a data driven answer to draw from.

In the end, my experiment lasted a whole five days. Not 60.

In five days my LinkedIn posts got 6364 total impressions, and on Instagram, 5950. Whilst it sounds quite equal, my LinkedIn following is 3 x bigger. I got 4x as many new followers on LinkedIn as Instagram though, so it shows the 'Follow' button is maybe more readily hit on there.

Whilst my experiment is paltry, and I'm not proud of giving up, I want to be clear: my minimal results are not the reason I stopped posting on both. I know these things take time, and often, it's mid-flow that the wins start to come.

I stopped because my experiment was set up terribly.

I didn't create enough space on my calendar to do it justice. There was no content plan, content bank or white space on the calendar to create stuff. I had no clue how to edit IG reels well, and my old phone kept crashing on me. I was creating on car journeys or in 15 min gaps between calls most days - hence why my posts didn't perform great!

I realised: this is antithetical to what I am about. I'm just adding to the noise and overwhelm on these channels.

I'm not doing what I preach, which is to spend time and energy going deeper into my ideas... in order to resonate. I'm only saying surface level stuff to tick a box.

Posting on two platforms daily might be a great challenge for some people, but in just five days I simply felt worn out. I don't think my energy is wired like that - turns out other human design projectors feel the same way!

FOMO got the better of me.

I've since walked back on my public experiment, but the lesson has been a great reminder in exactly what I say to my clients: do what suits you. OK... sometimes we have to leave our comfort zones, absolutely, but there is a tonne of stuff on my to-do list that I know would move the needle in a bigger way than a daily post that feeds the tech bros bank accounts can do for my business.

On my to do list includes writing a new Hero Piece of my own, developing an email course, workshop series, and networking communities I've paid for and not even intro'd myself in yet and much much more.

The lesson for me, and perhaps one you know too: just because someone else is succeeding with a strategy, or a platform, doesn't mean it's for you.

If you divert your attention to what they're doing, it's likely at the expense of the plan you're already working towards. Often simply avoiding the hard, or maybe boring, tasks you know you need to attend to. And when we keep chopping and changing a strategy, nothing will stick. We have finite energy and we have to direct it appropriately, and there's an opportunity cost to everything.

So I still can't truly answer which platform is better for my business, but I do know enough about each to have some opinions.

My current take on LinkedIn vs Instagram

• LinkedIn IS going through an identity crisis. Let's not pretend it isn't.
  
  We've been talking about it for a while, but it’s got noticeably worse in recent months. What's still performing well the type of content I shared here.
  Think: what can we talk about with you? LinkedIn is turning into more of a discovery platform, closer to TikTok, with a For You feed that’s increasingly gamified - this post by LinkedIn insider Alicia Teltz explains that shift really well).

  The upshot for solo business owners like us is that our posts aren’t reaching our own networks as they used to. I’m barely seeing my clients’ content any more, which sucks. I'll bet if you go and scroll your feed now, you’ll see far more strangers show up than you used to. Again, like TikTok.
  
  My take? If you’re B2B and your clients are there, it’s still probably your best platform. It just needs you to keep paying attention to what's working, and, not relying on it as your only source of new contacts. I'm staying put there, and will keep reporting back as I learn.
  BTW if we're not connected yet - I do try to offer valuable, real and occasionally funny content about building an authority led coaching and consulting business, let's connect!
  

• Instagram has long been home for coaches, wellness, and B2C brands. That's not changing any time soon.
  
  My take is that if your audience are scrolling Instagram to chill out (as most of us are) they come across your content that offers relief (which a lot of therapy/coaching content does well), or entertainment or quick wins - then you can do well there. A reel or carousel that resonates can reach far more people than your follower count would suggest. And the nature of Instagram is that content is much more shareable, so growth can happen faster thanks to its network effects.
  
  But what I remain unconvinced by, is how well it suits businesses who sell high-trust, longer sales cycle type of work. Precisely because most people are on Instagram to switch off from work, anything too 'worky' sounding, is harder to cut through. It's also harder to use links or showcase depth - unless you record long videos. But video isn't for everyone. So if you sell something that can be an impulse buy - the way shopping channels work - then great. But most people aren't there to hire a consultant.

I sell to coaches and consultants, so both platforms could work well for me. Whichever direction, my belief is that committing to one that you learn, build an audience on, actively monitor its developments and put your energy into succeeding on, is a better strategy than half-arsing both.

[BTW if you are enjoying this email, why not send it to someone you know? They can subscribe here if they want more in their own inbox each Wednesday].

And then there’s Substack

I decided to pop Substack here because I now think of it as more of a social media platform rather than an email tool. And because I know how many of you are on there, or considering being there.

These days, new readers typically need a Substack account to subscribe to a newsletter, which means you have to belong to the Substack ecosystem to read Substack content. The same with all social platforms.

The people I see doing well on Substack essentially treat it as their primary channel. They use Notes to find and connect with people, they do partnerships, and they put in the same top-of-funnel energy that is required of a social platform.

So if it provides both the discoverability and growth of a social media platform, and the owned audience, is it like... the perfect platform?!

I am thinking about this a lot, and I have some thought but they’re incomplete.

All this platform talk and no conclusions?! I hear you scream.

That's right.

Here's what I think is more important, than which platform to choose.

Decide what you want to be known for. What do you want to own in your industry? What’s the subject, mission, or movement you want your name associated with as a coach, consultant, or advisor?

Once you know that, the platform question gets much easier. Positioning decisions become living, breathing business decisions - they are more than just where the words go on a page. They dictate how you choose to run your business in its entirety.

If that first question is the one you’re sitting with, book Begin With The Ask. It’s a single session with a follow-up call two weeks later, and it’s where we start working out what you want your name to stand for so everything downstream becomes clearer and easier.