Karola Karlson: I Committed LinkedIn Suicide—and It Was My Most Popular Post Ever

Karola is a marketing & growth expert who has scaled the global marketing team at Bolt from 2 to 30+ people, consulted 50+ tech companies in EU, UK, and US, and contributed to leading marketing blogs.

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You’ve recently committed a suicide… LinkedIn suicide.

Yes. A complete professional suicide.

Why?

Perhaps, the first thing worth mentioning is that ironically, when I posted about leaving LinkedIn—on LinkedIn—it became the most viral post I’ve ever had.

This was two weeks ago. The post now has around 70,000 impressions and more than 200 comments. Clearly, I hit a nerve. My decision to leave spoke to something that lot of people are feeling.

What exactly drove you to pull the plug?

It’s the AI content circus. I got increasingly disturbed—and, honestly, a bit depressed—watching how the platform had become dominated by AI-written posts. Or worse, AI-written posts copying other AI-written posts. And endless spiral of online slop.

Many of them follow the same formula: “Here’s a prompt to help you do in 10 minutes what used to take 10 hours.” Thousands of people will comment: “Prompt?” hoping to get the magical shortcut. It’s like watching a whole ecosystem develop around attention-deficit marketing.

But the truth is, these prompts don’t work. For example, when someone shows off AI-generated ad creatives, as a performance marketer with over a decade of experience, I can immediately tell that these ads would not perform well.

Sadly, such LinkedIn posts get engagement. Lots of it. LinkedIn has become a landfill of comment-bait and clickbait. Very little of what’s being posted has anything to do with original insights or useful advice.

I discussed your case with a LinkedIn expert, and she argued that LinkedIn is actually what you make of it.  So you can filter out the noise, curate your feed, and only follow people you admire. What do you think?

Sure, there’s some truth to that. You can curate your feed. You can unfollow the broetry posters, the fake founders, “top 10 AI tricks” people. But even then, there’s just a sheer exhaustion. A fatigue.

It’s not just LinkedIn. I can’t even keep up with the 10 marketing newsletters I’m subscribed to. Some come weekly, some twice a week—there’s just too much noise.

Even if I clean up my LinkedIn feed, the problem remains: I used the platform primarily as a personal marketing and networking channel. But now, with all the sloppy content flooding the algorithm, even a good post is unlikely to reach the right people.

Because the algorithm rewards the noise?

Exactly. I’ve spoken to several marketers and startup founders who rely heavily on LinkedIn. They all say the same: reach is way down. It’s not you. It’s the flood of low-effort content that takes over the feed.

Do you think the algorithm favors selfies and emotions over charts and nuance?

Definitely. And it also disfavours links. If your post includes a link that takes users off LinkedIn, it will have lower reach. That’s the same trick Facebook pulled years ago.

So, what’s next? Are you off for good? Or just taking a break?

I’m not sure about the final verdict. But for now, I’m out. Not out of marketing—but out of a platform that no longer aligns with what I want to contribute or consume. Maybe I’ll be back when the noise dies down. No promises, though.

Let’s talk about LinkedIn Ads. From your experience, how do they compare to other platforms like Facebook?

Well, the sad truth is most marketers will tell you the same thing: LinkedIn ads are 10x more expensive.

But as a B2B brand trying to reach decision-makers in other companies, LinkedIn might still be the most direct route—even if it’s expensive.

Meta ads for B2B? You’re interrupting people who came for memes and holiday tips.

That said, many LinkedIn advertisers’ ad creatives are weak. You’ve got a tiny on-screen real estate, and people mostly ads unless the targeting is razor-sharp and USPs relevant to the audience. And again, marketers are falling into the same trap—using the same AI tools to churn out low-quality ad visuals and messages.

As to B2B advertisers considering Meta ads, think about it this way: if I go to Instagram or Facebook—or even Twitter, for that matter—I don’t want to see anything work-related.

That’s why I think Meta’s whole ad offering for B2B is inherently flawed. Sure, you can target people with specific job titles or interests, but you’re reaching them when they’re not in the work mode.

And it shows. You might technically reach your target audience, but you’re interrupting them at a moment when they’re interested in memes, friends, beauty tips, holiday ideas. They have no interest in your SaaS webinar or an enterprise-grade cybersecurity tool.

So even if the targeting is right, the mindset is wrong.

Yes. It's disruptive. And not in a good way. I go to Instagram to see what my friends are up to, maybe discover a new book or try out a new recipe. And suddenly, boom—some B2B brand I’ve never heard of is inviting me to a webinar.

I’m just not in the headspace for that. It creates friction. That’s why I think LinkedIn is still in a favourable position: when people are scrolling LinkedIn, they’re already in work mode. That makes it one of the few platforms where business ads don’t feel out of place.

And LinkedIn’s targeting options are far better suited for business, right?

Absolutely. LinkedIn gives you targeting by company size, job title, years of experience, industry, seniority, even job function. No other platform has that kind of business intelligence built in.

You can reach CFOs in mid-sized manufacturing companies in Norway who have at least 10 years of experience. You can’t do that anywhere else—not with that level of precision.

So it’s not just about targeting business people—it’s about targeting the right business people.

Exactly. And building narrow audiences is where LinkedIn really excels. On Facebook, if your audience is less than half a million people, you’re already in the red. You need that scale so the algorithm can "learn."

But on LinkedIn? I’ve run campaigns to 2,000 people. Even 500. If you know who you want to reach, you can make sure your ad shows up in their feed—even if they’d never answer a cold email or take a sales call.

Can you go ultra-niche? Like, target a handful of people?

There’s a lower limit. If you’re uploading a list with emails or phone numbers, LinkedIn needs at least 400 matched contacts to create a Matched Audience. And they usually match 60–80% of those, which is actually pretty good.

So in practice, your realistic minimum is probably around 500–600 people.

But if you’re using standard targeting—like job titles, company names, or seniority—you can definitely go narrow. I’ve set up campaigns for audiences of 2,000 or even 1,000 people. The official LinkedIn recommendation is 50,000, but the platform still lets you go small. And often, smaller is smarter.

Earlier, you mentioned how you can spot bad ads at a glance. But what about the argument that intentionally boring ads might perform better with some audiences? I spoke with a tech marketer who said they create "bad" ads to filter out the wrong people.

I’ve heard that argument. And there’s some truth to it. If your ad is too funny, or too broadly appealing, you might attract clicks from people who’ll never buy. That’s a real problem when you pay per click.

But I’d still argue: even then, you’re not aiming for bad ads—you’re aiming for focused ones. Ads that speak clearly and directly to a specific audience. For example, if you’re targeting engineers, perhaps you don’t want glitzy, polished visuals. You want clarity. Logic. Relevance.

Good LinkedIn ads don’t look like ads. They feel like a friend whispering: ‘We get your pain.’

What makes an ad good depends entirely on the audience.

But let’s be clear—when I said those prompt-based AI ads were bad, I wasn’t talking about niche B2B ads. I was talking about generic DTC ads: energy drinks, protein shakes, toothbrush subscriptions.

Those ads should be colorful, full of product details—price, benefits, calories... And the AI-generated ads ignored this best practice. They were just some soulless, AI-generated filler. It’s not about minimalism or being clever. It’s just bad craft.

In B2B, the rules are different. You want your ad to demonstrate that you understand your audience’s industry and pain points. If your target is engineers, your message should be: "We get your pain. We know your workflow. We can save you time or eliminate that annoying manual task."

It’s message first, visual second.

You start with: What does my audience need to hear right now? Then you build a visual that supports that message—not the other way around.

You’ve analyzed a ton of LinkedIn ads. What are the common traits of the ones that work best?

The number one thing is that best-performing ads are crystal clear about whom they’re talking to and what problem they’re solving.

The best ads hit on a pain point that is so specific it stops you mid-scroll. A bold question in the headline, a stat that triggers curiosity, or a statement that reflects your own frustration—that’s how you hook people.

Relevance beats cleverness every time. But there are also some proven formats that consistently work well:

1. Pain-point ads

   These are simple, sharp, and empathetic. They show the audience: We see your problem which build instant connection.

   
   

2. Trend reports

   People love to see the latest insights, especially if they’re tailored to a single industry or role. It makes your brand look credible. And they work great for lead gen, too.

   
   

3. Case studies

   Especially if you're selling to enterprise-level customers. Seeing that someone like them already bought from you reduces risk. And if the case study features a well-known brand —success. That social proof is gold.

   
   

So a good LinkedIn ad is less about advertising and more about understanding.

Exactly. It’s not a show. It’s a signal: We get you. We’ve done this before. And we have something valuable for you. If you nail that, it doesn’t matter if the ad is a selfie or a white paper. It will work.

It’s a common belief that on LinkedIn, personal profiles outperform company pages. No one wants to read corporate posts anymore.

True. That’s why brands are increasingly using employees or creator-ambassadors to carry their message.

But from an advertising perspective—can a brand actually run ads from personal profiles?

Yes! And it works really well for some companies. Look at Instantly, for example—one of the most successful Estonian startups in recent years. They’ve built this killer ambassador program. Tons of LinkedIn creators post about them: videos, tutorials, reviews.

If you check their ad library, you’ll see many of those ambassador posts being used as paid ads. That’s a smart play.

So the company amplifies the creator’s post with ad money?

Exactly. It looks like a personal post, but it’s getting boosted by the brand’s budget. It’s the best of both worlds—credibility and reach.

Other brands doing the same?

For sure. Hotspot, Shopify, and Ahrefs all do it. Ahrefs is a great example. Their CMO regularly posts on LinkedIn, and the brand promotes his posts instead of publishing branded ones. It feels more authentic, and people trust it more.

So as a brand, you ask the person for permission to promote their post—and then you run it as an ad?

Exactly. You send a request through LinkedIn’s Ads Manager, they approve it, and boom—you’re amplifying that content with paid media.

Could brands do this with their own executives too? Like just get the CEO to post something and then promote it?

Totally. It doesn’t have to be external influencers. You can absolutely turn your leadership team into the face of your ads. It’s more relatable, and it tends to perform better in terms of engagement.

But the downside is that those posts don’t usually convert to leads, right?

Right. These types of posts are amazing for brand awareness, but not for driving traffic or collecting leads. When someone clicks on the ad, it just takes them to the LinkedIn post, not your website. That’s a dead end from a funnel perspective.

Unless… you retarget everyone who liked that post with a follow-up campaign.

You could easily set up a retargeting campaign, targeting people who engaged with the initial post. That’s actually a great strategy.

Speaking of engagement—what do you think of the strategy where the sales team follows up with everyone who liked a corporate ad?

I’ve heard about that one. The idea is that if someone liked your ad, they’re “warm,” so you send them a message or email. But honestly? I’m skeptical.

Why would anyone like a branded ad on LinkedIn? I mean, people do it, sure. You’ll see hundreds of likes on some posts. But who are these people?

Maybe they’re just trying to keep their algorithm busy.

(laughs) Maybe! “Look, I’m active—please show me better content.” But seriously, reaching out to someone just because they liked your ad feels... intrusive.

Especially in the EU. In Germany, people would block you forever. It’s aggressive. Just because someone tapped a thumbs-up doesn’t mean they want to talk to you.

So even though it sounds easy—it’s not effective.

Exactly. And as we know, easy things rarely bring real results. It’s like those viral “5 tricks to triple your revenue” posts. People want easy wins, but B2B doesn’t work like that.

Let’s go deeper into lead generation. You’ve used LinkedIn lead ads to promote trend reports, right?

Yes. We’ve done a few with clients. You run the ad, offer the report, and people fill in their email and company name. In theory, it’s a great way to build your funnel.

And in practice?

They almost never want to be contacted. They just want the report. That’s it.

So it's like tricking them into becoming a lead.

Kind of. But to be fair, it’s not a bad play. You’re still creating brand awareness, building credibility, and possibly warming them up for future contact.

Plus, you’re showing thought leadership. If the content is strong, they remember you.

That’s how I use my own blog and newsletter too. I create resources that are genuinely useful—LinkedIn ad examples, slide decks, creative templates. It’s not about getting them to buy something now. It’s about staying top of mind.

So basically you’re building the relationship in advance. No pitch, no ask—just giving them something actually useful.

Yeah. And honestly, that’s how I see marketing in general these days. Especially in B2B. It’s not about capturing demand—it’s about creating it. And to create demand, you have to earn attention first. You have to be interesting, or valuable, or preferably both.

And that takes time.

But if you’re patient, and if you build a consistent presence, people will start associating you with that topic or that skillset. Like, if I keep sharing good LinkedIn ad examples and insights, then eventually someone who’s struggling with their B2B campaigns will come to me—not because I pitched them, but because I’ve already helped them.

That’s why I love the idea of content libraries—like ad libraries, prompt collections, swipe files. Stuff that people can save, revisit, share. It builds authority without being pushy.

But you do promote that content with ads sometimes, right?

Sure, especially if I’m trying to grow my list or test a new idea. I’ll run a few single image ads, usually pretty minimal in design, maybe colourful background with a big headline and CTA button. I just want to catch the right person’s attention and make it easy for them to say “yes.”

And do you retarget people from those content ads too?

Not always, but it’s definitely an option. Sometimes I just let it run as a top-of-funnel thing. Other times, I’ll set up a second layer—maybe a webinar invite or a free strategy doc—just for the people who downloaded the first asset, like mini-campaigns built around content pieces.

You can build these micro-funnels. It doesn’t always lead to a sale, but it creates momentum. And that’s the hard part in B2B, getting attention and keeping it.

It’s funny how so much of this goes back to just being… human. Not tricks or tactics, just showing up, offering value, building trust.

That’s the secret. Everyone’s looking for the next hack, the next shortcut. But simply creating something valuable, sharing it with the right people, and following up thoughtfully… This is still the best strategy.

Okay. Finally, I’d ask for your recommendation—reading or listening or following—about marketing. Not fine arts.

(laughs) Yeah, otherwise we’ll end up with a really quirky list of, like, Black Mountain poets and obscure Substack writers.

Well, when it comes to marketing, I actually published a list of my favorite marketing newsletters on my blog a couple of months ago. And funny enough, I think if you Google “best marketing newsletters”, it might now be the first result. Or maybe right after all the AI-generated listicles. But it’s there. That list is a pretty solid starting point.

Any current favorites you'd highlight?

Right now, I’m a big fan of The GTM Strategist by Maya Voje. Sharp thinking, especially around B2B brand positioning and product messaging. And I also really enjoy The Link In Bio newsletter by Rachel Karten —she’s a social media consultant and writer. She’s witty and understands the strange dynamics of en vogue social media trends.

Nice. That’s already a solid list. But would you say marketers should also read outside their bubble?

That’s one of my greatest hopes. If you want to have original ideas, you must read beyond marketing. Step out of the growth-hack echo chamber. Even picking up something like The New Yorker, or n+1, or just watching well-made documentaries—anything that gets you outside the limited content loop of tactics and templates—gives you new perspectives.

It doesn’t have to be highbrow. But if you only read LinkedIn and business books, you’re going think and sound like everyone else. So yes, read outside of your work track. Listen to weird podcasts. Go to a gallery. Read a novel.

This is what differentiation, as well as being an interesting human being, is all about. 

Sign up for Karola’s online 3-hour masterclass to master B2B ads copywriting & design: https://marketing-fix.com/