Is Social Media Like LinkedIn Essential or Not?

LNeurotic Legal on 17/03/2026 - 23:17
Last edited 17/03/2026 - 23:18

So, I've been working on and off for many years and don't ask me how I've gotten by without any proper social media presence, but so far I've been quite successful.

I have been offered a new job recently and part of the negotiation I had during the job offer required that I maintain a social media presence for marketing and to gain clients.

I signed up to a LinkedIn account today and I setup some basic education details before I decided to search for some friends and take a look at how they formatted their profiles. At this point, it randomly logged me out and asked for identity verification. I tried to send a message through the contact form asking for alternative forms of verification which LinkedIn state are available such as via "Affidavit signed by Notary Public", but then after submitting the form, it redirected me to the identity verification page which makes me suspiciously believe that the option is actually not available and the form didn't actually properly submit. There is no confirmation email from LinkedIn.

As others are aware, selfies and government ID should generally not be provided to third parties due to consistent breaches whereby data has been improperly stored or retained even though their site states the data will be deleted immediately after verification.

Nevertheless, to fulfil the duties in my new job: What types of social media are better for marketing? Are instagram and youtube more preferable? I am thinking of starting a discord as that is the platform I am most familiar with.

I should note that I have a Youtube channel, but it's mostly old videos of footage of myself playing through some Fire Emblem Heroes maps, which I doubt would be acceptable, but I could reuse/rename the channel since it is an aged account but I am not familiar if this is assists or not as I won't be monetising the videos.

What do you guys think is the best way for me to approach this? Should I outsource this task to a social media agency, or will they come across the same issues I have due to account creation issues? Or is this just a LinkedIn thing?

Education & Work

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  • freefall101 on 17/03/2026 - 23:44
    +7

    Sounds a weird job, I’d be looking for a new one already. If they hired you to do marketing, they’ve clearly hired the wrong person. If not, they can explain to you what they expect.

    Either way, a bad YouTube channel is about as useful to corporate marketing as a toothbrush made of spiders.

    • Wiadro on 17/03/2026 - 23:56

      a toothbrush made of spiders

      Sounds like fun.

  • jv on 17/03/2026 - 23:21
    +6

    What types of social media are better for marketing?

    Myspace

    • Wiadro on 17/03/2026 - 23:28

      bebo was god

      • TheRealCher on 18/03/2026 - 14:23
        +1

        but Tom was my friend

  • Toilet Paper Hoarder on 18/03/2026 - 07:59
    +4

    What types of social media are better for marketing?

    Just create a profile on Australia's number one bargain sharing website.

  • pegaxs on 18/03/2026 - 08:24
    +4

    GitHub account. Or, really go all out and get an OnlyFans account.

    If you are going to indulge their fantasy, then I would make up a completely new account that is in no way connected to your actual social media accounts.

  • Wiadro on 17/03/2026 - 23:28
    +2

    job offer required that I maintain a social media presence for marketing and to gain clients.

    is the job in sales or marketing?

    if not, tell them to jam it.

    heres some inspirational videos for you
    1, 2

    • 87percent on 18/03/2026 - 07:56
      +5

      Why would a company require you to maintain a social media account if it has nothing to do with your role??

      I would tell them that I’ll maintain it during business hours, and also have a totally separate account with nothing linking it back

      • mskeggs on 18/03/2026 - 08:06
        +2

        The LinkedIn culture is terrible, but it is pretty routine for more senior staff to have accounts on there to post press releases etc.
        The idea being if you are the CIO other IT might link to you who wouldn’t follow a salesperson.
        It is very likely they will be happy for OP to manage that profile on work time.

        • Wiadro on 18/03/2026 - 08:40
          +1

          i use a fake LinkedIn to mock people, its fun, they get more triggered than facebook karens

          • 87percent on 18/03/2026 - 11:29
            +1

            @Wiadro: 10 years ago I put I was CEO for the company I worked at, and was getting so many messages from people and people adding me

            • JIMB0 on 18/03/2026 - 12:33
              +1

              @87percent: Put your title as recruitment officer and watch all the requests roll in from far away places.

    • Neurotic Legal on 17/03/2026 - 23:42

      It's not a job in sales or marketing.

      I will probably call tomorrow or sometime next week to clarify what exactly is required. I was thinking something along the lines of a small Youtube channel that is related to some upcoming changes to any legislation or public policy.

      Maybe I need to snoop around and see what others have done inside the law firm to comply, and not to set the bar too high for others.

      I hope it's not one of those virtue signalling tasks to show I am a sociable person.

      • SlickMick on 18/03/2026 - 20:19

        Surely it would be maintaining the corporate social media accounts?

        Else it's weird, and I'd be walking

      • Wiadro on 17/03/2026 - 23:57
        -1

        Why you calling?
        Just look for another job, if you have this much anxiety over it to post on a public forum to get advice.
        The job is probably not for you…….

  • ssfps on 18/03/2026 - 02:09
    +2

    I had an employer once firmly ask us to create linkedin profiles. I still have that profile, many years after i left, saying I work there.
    Personally, for what little hiring i've done (not much), i think less of people if I know they have an active linkedin profile.

  • ForkSnorter on 18/03/2026 - 14:07
    +2

    I thought LinkedIn was just a platform for bragging to your colleagues about your employment history and qualifications.

  • plmko on 18/03/2026 - 00:03
    +1

    Why not submit a fake ID that resembles the profile. You understand they have no authority to check and store.

    • tenpercent on 18/03/2026 - 09:32

      Does that work and is there any crime involved?

  • tenpercent on 18/03/2026 - 09:31
    +1

    Is Social Media Like LinkedIn Essential or Not?

    No.

  • 2esc on 18/03/2026 - 11:18
    +1

    Does ozbargins count?

    This is the closest i get to a social media presence.

  • p1 ama on 17/03/2026 - 23:59

    So, I've been working on and off for many years and don't ask me how I've gotten by without any proper social media presence, but so far I've been quite successful.

    Heaps of people not on social media. No issues.

    I have been offered a new job recently and part of the negotiation I had during the job offer required that I maintain a social media presence for marketing and to gain clients.

    What is your role exactly?

    Are you "client facing", or directly responsible for acquisition of new clients?

    If you are, then this doesn't sound like the job for you. If you are not, then why would your employer want you on social media? Usually most employers prefer non-client facing employees to not be on social media as there's often significantly more downside than upside (e.g. they say something controversial).

    Nevertheless, to fulfil the duties in my new job: What types of social media are better for marketing? Are instagram and youtube more preferable? I am thinking of starting a discord as that is the platform I am most familiar with.

    Definitely not YouTube, and definitely not Discord (unless you're trying to market to teenagers).

    Instagram potentially, but unless you're in a "general public facing" role, it's probably not the right one.

  • CrispyChrispy on 18/03/2026 - 00:01

    Wut

    What types of social media are better for marketing? Are instagram and youtube more preferable? I am thinking of starting a discord as that is the platform I am most familiar with.

    What the heck does 'better for marketing' mean?

  • joka on 18/03/2026 - 09:45

    i hope you are being paid accordingly for your new dual role

  • ramb9 on 18/03/2026 - 09:56

    Interestingly… for high up corporate gigs, you would RARELY find anyone not on LinkedIn. It's also a great tool for connecting with people once you've met at like a corporate conference etc. so people will remember you.

    So if you are planning a career in corporate and want to be some what successful it's almost essential.

    • Horacio on 18/03/2026 - 10:13
      +4

      Linkedin is mostly good for working out quickly if someone is a complete twit- if they are active on linkedin, they surely are.

    • Neurotic Legal on 18/03/2026 - 12:29

      I managed to clarify what is required and the general gist is similar to what you have mentioned; that it is mostly for networking at conferences, e.g. conferences attended to meet CPD requirements, gain insights into practice management and so on.

      I generally find that people exchange business cards and LinkedIn is rarely mentioned at all.

      Maybe there is a ritual others do after they receive people's business cards, such as searching for and connecting to people on LinkedIn. However, personally, I don't see the need to broadcast to everyone that I met with Solicitor X or Barrister Y. I don't actually see the point of it and honestly why would I connect to someone I just met at a conference when it could erroneously represent that we somehow worked together. At least with a friend at university, I could say we worked together on some group assignment or were in a study group together, but for these other people, I don't see why I would add strangers when it could lead to a misunderstanding.

      It would be so strange if someone phoned up and asked, "Oh so you know X, what can you tell about them?", and I would be stumped because I don't actually know them. I don't want to put myself in those situations where the effect is I'm going to disappoint someone. Not only that, it's likely recruiters will just waste my valuable time. I'm also not here to act as some random referee…

      Furthermore, verification on LinkedIn has recently moved to a model recently where it is now mandating verification for all senior positions, so there isn't an option for me just to recreate an account.

      Honestly, I think LinkedIn needs to go the way of the Dodo.

      For now I've come to the conclusion that LinkedIn is optional for the time being, and that contributions such as producing content for the website to draw in more clients is preferred.

    • SlickMick on 18/03/2026 - 20:28

      nah, I tried to stalk execs for a cyber course once and many are ghosts online. I don't know whether because they were around before social media, or had thier presence whitewashed for security, but I ended up going through PAs etc.

  • yabingus on 18/03/2026 - 10:34

    I'm permanently banned from LinkedIn

    • JIMB0 on 18/03/2026 - 12:37

      So is my ghost account.

  • Gunnar on 18/03/2026 - 11:23

    Depends on your industry. I work in an industry where, if you’re smart, you know that social media presence does you more harm than good

  • Dollar General on 18/03/2026 - 13:43

    I need to use LinkedIn for work purposes too.

    It’s mostly a cesspool of fake posts and people lying about everything

    It’s the worst of all the platforms

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