In a recent LinkedIn post, Leslie Venetz shares a significant realization stemming from a 365-day content retrospective, highlighting a strategic imbalance in her social media efforts. Venetz admits to applying a higher degree of rigor and intentionality to her LinkedIn strategy compared to platforms like TikTok, where her approach has been more sporadic and less structured.
This self-examination was prompted by a recent content review, which led Venetz to question her long-held assumptions about platform prioritization. She notes:
“I have justified it by telling myself LinkedIn is my primary channel because it is where my inbound leads come from so TikTok can be just for fun.”
However, Venetz’s data analysis revealed a critical insight: while LinkedIn serves as a conversion point, video platforms are often the initial touchpoint where potential connections establish trust and familiarity.
Re-evaluating the Funnel: Where Relationships Truly Begin
Venetz’s retrospective highlighted that many individuals discover her content first through video, specifically on TikTok and her growing YouTube channel. These viewers then engage with her content, build trust, and subsequently seek her out on LinkedIn. This observation challenges the conventional view of LinkedIn as the sole starting point for professional relationships.
According to Venetz, the data paints a clear picture of engagement across platforms:
“In the past year, TikTok generated 3.7 million impressions to LinkedIn’s 2 million. YouTube generated 400,000 views and 824 hours of watch time – meaning the people who find me there are staying locked in.”
This disparity in reach and sustained engagement led Venetz to a pivotal conclusion about her content strategy. She argues that focusing the most effort on the conversion point (LinkedIn) while underinvesting in the trust-building phase (video) is a misstep.
The Data-Driven “AHA Moment”
The core of Venetz’s post revolves around this “AHA moment” derived from reviewing her content performance. She realized that the platform where people initially decide if they like and trust her enough to engage further is video, not necessarily LinkedIn.
As Venetz points out:
“I have been investing the most time and energy into the conversion point while underinvesting in the place where people actually decide whether they even like and trust me enough to read my LinkedIn content.”
This insight has prompted Venetz to reconsider her approach, questioning whether she needs to adopt more trending, potentially “cringe,” tactics on platforms like TikTok to maximize their effectiveness. The underlying message is a call for a more integrated and strategically balanced approach to social media content, acknowledging the crucial role of video in building initial rapport and trust before driving users to more conversion-focused platforms.
Venetz concludes by posing a question to her audience, seeking to understand their own platform priorities: “What social media channel do you spend the most time on?” This invites a broader conversation about content strategy and platform effectiveness in the digital marketing landscape.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Leslie Venetz on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on April 11, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →