This article was originally published in 2024 and was last updated June 12, 2025.
- Tension: Gen Z professionals yearn for meaningful career guidance but feel lost in digital noise.
- Noise: Social-first career advice simplifies complex growth into swipeable sound bites.
- Direct Message: Lasting career know‑how emerges when context meets credibility—short clips guide, but deeper clarity empowers.
See how we separate projection from authenticity in The Direct Message methodology.
In late 2024, LinkedIn launched “Know‑How That Sticks,” a social‑first campaign featuring short vertical videos aimed at Gen Z professionals.
Now, six months on in June 2025, the campaign offers fresh lessons—not just about content delivery, but about why trustworthy context matters in career development.
With LinkedIn’s immersive video format proving 40 % more engaging than text posts, the platform is doubling down on bite‑sized guidance grounded in real expertise.
But short‑form content can only go so far without deeper resonance, and that’s the friction at the heart of this story.
What It Is and How It Works
At its core, “Know‑How That Sticks” is a three‑part video series featuring expert creators:
- Patrick Quinton‑Smith on career discovery
- Shola West on interviews
- Heather Elkington on speaking up in meetings
These are posted in LinkedIn’s immersive video feed, full‑screen, swipeable clips designed to feel less polished and more personal, mimicking TikTok or Instagram Reels.
The campaign uses quirky animated “advice stickers” to satirize advice overload, then shows LinkedIn’s creator content as the antidote.
A playful yet strategic move: making expertise feel accessible, not preachy.
Inside LinkedIn, research confirms the need—18‑to‑25‑year‑olds report the least confidence across age groups. The campaign pairs format (short, swipeable video) with substance (trusted, expert voices).
The Deeper Tension: Beyond Career Tips
This isn’t just about learning how to speak up or ace interviews. It’s a tension between a generation that craves meaningful direction and a digital ecosystem that favors fragmented, decontextualized content.
Gen Z enters the workforce amid economic uncertainty, organizational flux, and the ever‑present echo chamber of social media.
The result? Advice that feels both necessary and overwhelming.
You know you should show confidence, but how? You need to speak up, but will you be judged?
These aren’t just career questions, they cut to identity and belonging.
As LinkedIn’s campaign underscores, career growth isn’t a checklist, but a mindset, yet modern platforms push us toward “quick fix” thinking.
That friction—between depth and immediacy—is the silent struggle at the heart of this campaign’s relevance.
What Gets in the Way
Noise #1: The Trend of Bite‑Sized YouTube‑Style Hacks
It’s tempting to position career growth as a scroll‑through checklist: “Three ways to ace any interview!” But context matters—without it, viewers get surface takeaways with no sense of application or nuance.
Noise #2: Engagement‑First Algorithms
LinkedIn’s algorithm now favors “meaningful interactions” and video. Ironically, this can push content creators into hawking sensational tips or hollow trends over substantive guidance.
Noise #3: Overwhelming Expert Overload
When everyone—coaches, creators, friends—offers advice with equal volume and varying quality, users end up tuning out. The campaign’s stickers symbolize this: a flood of “helpful” messages that actually confuse.
The Direct Message
Short clips plant seeds, but real growth takes root when insight is grounded in context and credibility.
Integrating This Insight
How do professionals—and platforms—translate this message?
1. Embed Context
When sharing a quick tip, anchor it to a situation:
- “Before going into an interview, frame your answer around X real‑world challenge.”
This ensures the clip is actionable, not ad‑jargon.
2. Celebrate Process Over Polish
LinkedIn’s campaign uses creators with imperfect kitchens, real voices, and ambient distractions. That context builds trust. Your own content? Keep edges, share failures—and the moments where insight clicked.
3. Teach Through Micro‑Narratives
Heather Elkington doesn’t just say “speak up”; she recounts advocating for a client and the ripple it had. Relatable stories anchor quick lessons.
4. Platform Design Should Reflect Depth
Swipeable content is necessary for attention—but follow‑through matters. Embed “see more” cues: one-liners that invite deeper stories, discussion threads, or LinkedIn Newsletter links. LinkedIn is already pushing newsletters and authenticity feeds—stick to that thread.
5. Align Advice with Identity
Gen Z, like every generation, negotiates between belonging and differentiation. Advice that situates career actions within identity—“As someone who values impact…”—echoes deeper identity friction, building resonance beyond the tip itself.
Conclusion
LinkedIn’s “Know‑How That Sticks” campaign does more than promote immersive videos—it signals a shift.
In a world of digital glut, meaningful content isn’t just visual-medium optimized, it’s rooted in experience, honesty, and narrative context.
The campaign reminds us: real know-how sticks when it reflects both real human situations and real human credibility.
Swipeable yes—but only when followed by meaning that endures.
By translating this into our own content, advice, or platforms, we honor not just what people want to know, but who they are becoming in the process.
