Your SMEs Should Be Posting on LinkedIn. I’m Serious.

I post on LinkedIn every day. I’ve done it for years.

Not because I’m trying to be an influencer. Not because someone told me I “should.” I do it because thinking in public has made me sharper. It forces me to articulate what I actually believe, not just what sounds good in a meeting.

Someone told me recently that I’m “prolific” on LinkedIn. After I LOLd, I took it as a compliment… but it’s not intentional. I’m just consistent about sharing how I think, what I’m seeing, and where I disagree with the status quo.

That habit has paid off in ways I didn’t expect.

And this isn’t just a consultant thing.

SMEs Are Way Too Quiet

Most SMEs I know are super smart, experienced, and opinionated in private. Then they go completely silent in public.

They’ll debate approach in internal meetings. They’ll have strong views on why projects fail or succeed. They’ll see shifts in how agencies are buying before anyone else does.

And none of that ever leaves the building.

Meanwhile, buyers, partners, and peers are on LinkedIn every day. Watching. Reading. Noticing who consistently has something useful to say and who never shows up.

Being quiet doesn’t make you humble. It makes you forgettable.

Why I Actually Use LinkedIn

I don’t use LinkedIn to announce things. I use it to share how I’m thinking in real time.

Sometimes I’m testing an idea. Sometimes I’m calling something out. Sometimes I’m just saying, “Here’s a pattern I’m seeing lately.”

The value isn’t the post. It’s the conversation after.

My network pushes back. Adds context. Disagrees. Shares examples I hadn’t considered. That back-and-forth has genuinely made me better at my job. Better at building my company.

That’s the part people miss. LinkedIn isn’t just broadcasting. It’s a feedback loop.

What this Does for SMEs (In Plain Terms)

When a SME shows up consistently, a few things happen without them trying very hard:

• People start associating them with certain topics.
• They get pulled into better conversations.
• Their name comes up when someone needs expertise.
  

Not because they posted a sales pitch. Because they showed how they think.

That matters in government and AEC work where trust is built long before a proposal exists.

This is Not Just About Personal Branding

Let’s be clear. I’m not telling your SMEs to become content creators.

No one needs a content calendar or a ring light.

Posting can be as simple as:

• “Here’s something we learned on a project recently.”
• “This requirement is going to cause problems and here’s why.”
• “I don’t think this approach works anymore.”

Two posts a month is fine. One thoughtful post is better than ten safe ones.

And yes, it’s okay to challenge things. That’s how people remember you.

It Helps the Firm, Not Hurts It

There’s this lingering fear that if SMEs are visible, they’re building themselves instead of the firm.

In reality, the opposite is true.

A firm with visible, thoughtful SMEs looks credible. A firm where only the logo speaks looks generic.

Buyers trust people. Seeing how your team thinks builds confidence in how they’ll perform.

The Point I’ll Leave You With

I use LinkedIn to think out loud and stay in conversation with people who challenge me. That habit has shaped my network and my business more than any single marketing tactic ever has.

Your SMEs don’t need to sell. They don’t need to posture.

They just need to show up and share how they think.

That’s how you become the person people go to when it matters.