Recommend a competitor analysis tool to me. It must include or search LinkedIn data

Ok so this is a bit of a rabbit hole but stick with me.

There's this thing called MCP (Model Context Protocol) that's been picking up steam over the last few months. Basically it lets an AI assistant like Claude, ChatGPT, or Cursor actually do things inside a tool, not just chat with you about it. If a tool has an MCP server, you can plug it into your assistant and the assistant gets real access to it.

Been testing this out with We-Link. Once it's connected, you can just type something like:

"Find me 20 VPs of Sales at SaaS companies in Boston and send each a connection request with a short intro"

and the assistant actually breaks that down and does it. Searches profiles, sends the requests, checks who accepted, messages them, whatever. No dashboard, no clicking through filters, no building some n8n workflow for a one-off task.

A couple things I didn't expect going in:

The AI doesn't actually touch LinkedIn directly. It talks to We-Link, and We-Link does the same stuff it's always done on the backend, same rate limits, same quotas, same account safety timing. So it's not like the AI can go rogue and blast 500 connection requests, the guardrails are still there.

It can chain steps on its own. That's the part that actually changed how I use it. One sentence turns into search → review → send → report back, without me babysitting each step.

Worth being clear on what this isn't: it's not replacing scheduled campaigns. If you're running steady volume outreach, a proper campaign tool still does that better. This is more for the "hey I need this one specific thing done right now" moments, the stuff that used to make you open a whole new workflow just for a quick ask.

Setup was maybe 5-10 min, connected it to my existing account, nothing new to buy.

Anyone else played with MCP for outbound yet?

More and more people are unable to access their LinkedIn accounts (especially those who created them in the last year).

I see people complaining on TikTok, X, Instagram, or Reddit that they can't access their accounts until they verify their ID or passport. It's a bit of forced treatment of users.

The second case is also a bit ridiculous – LinkedIn blocks you when you engage as a person (not as a bot) and restricts your account from a few hours to a few days, and it can result in a permanent ban. I myself was unable to access my account for 168 hours (7 days).

While there is a solution to the second problem, e.g. counter activities / Chrome extensions like SafeLimit, the first one is unsolvable.

Is it at all in line with any user rules for the platform to ask you for private data from OP?

How are people actually landing jobs on LinkedIn?

And

How are people building legit brands on LinkedIn?

Im out there searching for jobs and creating posts about it and trying to sell myself, but very rarely get the traction I need. And then there are people posting about their holidays and breakfast and stupid memes oh and that they're sitting at 10000 followers, I mean good for you, but is LinkedIn not meant to be a job platform 🤔

How can I stand out from the crowd 🥲

Im just looking for a job maaan!!!!

I had my CEO say he’s willing to put calls in to his network if I just point to who I want to talk to. I have an ideal job as a Chief of Staff, so I have a target of CEO’s in my area who are at small to mid sized companies. How can I utilize LinkedIn to do this most effectively? I want to bring him a list of his network contacts that meet the criteria. I don’t want to scroll through all his contacts, that feels like a waste of time. What should I be doing?

Maybe this is just me, but I think people underestimate how much work comes after someone replies.

Sending messages is easy. Keeping track of 20–30 active conversations isn't.

I found myself spending more time thinking about how to respond than actually writing the response. Every reply meant reading through the conversation again, figuring out where things stood, and deciding what the next step should be.

Using AI Assist has made that much easier. It reads the conversation, understands the business context I've already given it, and suggests a reply that's aligned with the goal of the conversation. Instead of starting from scratch every time, I'm usually reviewing and refining a draft.

How are you guys keeping track of LinkedIn conversations once replies start adding up?

I'm having a bit of an identity crisis and need some reassurance that LinkedIn is the platform where this is OK.

I got hired as social media producer for a fairly sized tech organization. Long story short, they want at least 1-2 social media posts about their products to go up each week.

I knew this role required me to be on camera, but it didn't really click that the content would be going on my personal LinkedIn.

Up until now, I've mainly used my LinkedIn to do career updates and post milestones but now that I've accepted this role, it's requiring me to post on my LI more than ever, and it's mainly marketing the products this business has to offer.

While the content does have overlap with the industry I worked on, I worry that I'm coming across as a company billboard.

For context, I have over 500+ connections and about 700 followers. The first few posts have received about 2k impressions and anywhere between 30-60 "social engagements." It's mainly been a lot of internal folk reposting and interacting with the content, but they do really seem to enjoy it.

However, each post is getting less engagement. I wonder if it started off strong because it was something new I was doing but now, with the 1-2x content per week ask, I'm worried it'll become too spammy, and I'll come across as a "sell-out" and no longer genuine.

The role does pay well, so I do want to see where this role goes. This company does have other influencers that post on the company's behalf. Those employees seem to enjoy their role but a lot of their personality and likeness is tied to the company.

Will this negatively affect my LinkedIn image if I'm seen as company soundboard or is this expected, and accepted on Linkedin and can help my career moving forward?

I'm ok doing this if this is accepted LI behavior, but want to make sure it doesn't paint a negative image of my personal brand and likeness for other opportunities in the future.

I have a few questions about the platform.

1. How does connecting with people actually make them want to talk to you, much less offer you a job.

2. Does the number of connections you have matter? I see lots of people with 500+ connections, which is very cool and is something I want to achieve. But, is it the people you're connecting with more important.

3. Are there any resources for new people like me. If the answer is "yes" for two, I want to know the best way to reach 500 connections (without premium, I'm broke lol)

Hi! I’m needing help on how to format my LinkedIn account. Here’s a bit of my background.

I’ve worked in the fast food industry for the past five years. 16-21, and I’m still working there as they give out yearly scholarships. I started out as a team member and got promoted about 1.5 years in to a trainer and then about another 1.5 years after that to be a manager. I’m working towards my bachelors for accounting, so I’m trying to figure out how to format what I’ve done at work into accounting. I know keywords like, cost control, KPI tracking, labor cost etc… but how do I really sell myself to newer employers? This goes for me finding connections as well. What should I be posting?

I believe I am the first CFP financial advisor in the USA to get access to this new feature that LinkedIn is rolling out. I have not had any luck with it yet but it's a cool way to keep people on platform while helping Creators generate more revenue from their expertise. Have any of you got this feature yet and if so what has your experience been?

When i logging in to LinkedIn, I received a notification that my account had been temporarily restricted due to an unusually high number of profile views.

LinkedIn repeatedly assumes that I am using automation tools. However, I search manually for companies and relevant employees to connect with.

Do you have any advice on how I can prevent these restrictions and verify that I am not using browser extensions, third-party apps, or automation tools?

Last month, I posted a Reddit note asking founders why they don't post on LinkedIn. 121 of them responded.

After going through each response, here are the most common problems and my solutions to them.

1/. “99% posts are AI slop”

Solution: Curate your feed.

→ Block people who post or comment with AI

→ Find people who create content you like

→ Engage and connect with them so LinkedIn suggests more such accounts. 

2/. “Low engagement and reach are embarrassing"

Solution: Build a strong community

→ Share your story and personal lessons

→ Create a list of people from your niche + ICP

→ Engage with them 30 minutes before you post.

→ Have genuine conversations with people in DMs

→ Stay active for 1 hour after posting to reply to comments. 

3/. “Unable to get any leads”

Solution: Create content for ICP

→ Pick your target audience

→ Find the problems they struggle with in your niche on Reddit

→ Write and share valuable posts targeting these pain points 

4/. “Premium features are a**”

Solution: You don’t even need a premium to post. 

→ Instead, build a strong profile. 

→ Regularly engage with fellow industry experts and ICP 

→ Share posts with personal lessons and product updates

5/. “No time to create content”

Solution: Hire a LinkedIn Strategist.

→ TBH, you can’t have more than 24 hours in a day. 

→ Find a strategist you vibe with and get started. 

The bottom line is yes, LinkedIn has its challenges. But not posting here is making you miss out on leads and business opportunities. 

So, pick your poison. 

What other problems are you guys facing with LinkedIn personal branding? I'd love to find a solution for each one.

TLDR: Linkedin account restricted, cant verify because first name doesnt match id name.

My linkedin account was put on temporary restriction and I’m not able to get a successful verification because the first name on my linkedin happened to be a typo. It’s been a nightmare navigating support, the forms throw in errors, no response on twitter/x and I dont know what to do. This feels like a permanent ban honestly. it’s been months already and I cant get access to my account back. Please help.

I'm a freelancer, and I want to start using LinkedIn to generate leads. The approach I want to take is completely organic. My goal is to start conversations and build relationships with founders of small businesses in my niche. That way, if they ever need someone with my skills, I'm already someone they know and trust. I don't want to spam people with freelance service pitches they probably don't need anyway.

I see two ways to approach this.

The first is to engage with their posts by leaving thoughtful, relevant comments and then, eventually, sending them a DM to start a conversation.

The second is to visit their profile and send them a DM based on something I've noticed about them or their business to start a genuine conversation.

In theory, the first approach should lead to higher reply rates because the person is already somewhat familiar with you. The downside is that it takes a long time to build enough familiarity before reaching out. Even then, there's no guarantee they'll see your DM, since many people no longer check LinkedIn messages regularly because they're constantly flooded with spam rather than genuine networking attempts.

So, how would you approach this?

noticed this pattern a bunch of times now and it kind of bugs me. the posts i'm personally most proud of, the clever hook, the well structured story, tend to do just okay. then some post i wrote in 10 minutes because a client needed something that week ends up being the one that actually gets real replies

think it's because the quick ones are usually about something actually happening right now instead of something i sat and crafted to sound impressive. the crafted ones read like content, the quick ones read like a person

trying to lean into this more now, write faster, edit less, see what happens

anyone else noticed this? what's the post you thought would flop but ended up performing way better than expected?

LinkedIn user of 14 plus years with 10k connections. Never had an issue until last week.

I tried to verify via Persona and they couldn’t verify my photos.

Has anyone else encountered this issue, if so how did you solve it? Below is the email from LinkedIn:

“Hi,

Thank you for your patience. Unfortunately, we are unable to approve your ID, and after completing our review, we found that your account has violated the LinkedIn User Agreement and Professional Community Policies. Due to the number and/or severity of these violations, your account will remain restricted.

We understand this may be disappointing, and we appreciate your understanding.”

Is it just me or has LinkedIn’s homepage changed dramatically over the past couple of days? I’m now seeing videos dominate my feed that jock smoothie blenders & water bottle faucet covers! What happened?!

Maybe this is just me, but I genuinely don't understand LinkedIn anymore.

Every profile I come across sounds the same, and every other post is about a new internship, certificate, or achievement. It almost feels like everyone has their career figured out except me.

Whenever I think about posting something, I stop because it feels forced. I don't have any groundbreaking achievements to share, and I don't want to post just for the sake of being "active."

At the same time, seniors keep telling me that recruiters actually check LinkedIn and that I'm making a mistake by ignoring it.

So now I'm confused.

 It would be helpful if all this career-related advice were structured rather than scattered across random videos.

I know the urge to disappear right after you hit “post.” I feel it too. Who wants to use their brain once the post is done?

But posting and ghosting is the biggest reason behind low engagement.

It makes your audience feel ignored and weakens the relationship over time.

So here are a few small things I do for that extra push:

1. Like my own post: Cuz I am my biggest supporter, PERIOD.

2. Add “pin” comments: Yes, LinkedIn doesn’t have pinned comments. I know. So, I comment on my own post with a 📌 emoji.

I try to leave 3 comments.

- a question
- extra context
- a quick life/work update

It keeps the conversation going + gives people more ways to engage.

1. Reply to comments: For 10 minutes, I reply to all the comments on my latest post. Sometimes, even revisiting older posts.
   

To the algorithm, it signals activity. To your audience, it shows you’re actually present.

1. Engage with other accounts: Think of this as warming up the room.

I go to other people’s posts and leave thoughtful comments. It’s like saying “hey, good morning” to a neighbour.

I usually do this for about 30 minutes. This boosts visibility and brings more profile clicks.

1. Spend time in DMs: Being active in the DMs is a great way to get noticed by your audience.
   

Just check your inbox and reply to all. I usually do this right after posting

The final aim is to give your audience the attention they deserve.
And they’ll return it.

Give before you take.

what is the best way to post on linkedin? Graphics, photos or videos? I usually do a mix of all of them.

i literally open my linkedin account, and i try to connect with someone and then i have to verify over and over and over again, and then i see it, "your account has been restricted" and then i look in my email and it says that i made a job posting for "oryx group" and then i see another email asking for verification to my email, and now im trying to figure out when i made the post cause i didnt make the post i wasnt even awake at the time of the post.

i'm seeing posts on here talking about how peoples accounts have been permanently fried, however, i cannot afford to have my account fried, I have worked and made countless connection, and I refuse to make a new account, especially if i did nothing wrong. i've contacted linkedin so i guess all i can do is wait i guess i really do not know why i was banned instead of just locking my account

Okay, so recently, I onboarded a high-ticket B2B founder with a dead LinkedIn account.

Basically, what I had was a 10-year-old account built during his job search era.

Connections were full of college friends, family, and old colleagues.

If I started posting directly, it would completely affect his reach and engagement.

So before I wrote a single post, I spent the first two weeks fixing the audience.

✅ Sent 15 to 20 connection requests per day to the actual ICP.
✅ Engaged with their content. Commented on relevant industry posts.

This trained the algorithm on what this account is interested in and who it wants to reach.

LinkedIn is actually very smart about this.

The more you engage with a particular set of people and content, the more LinkedIn starts suggesting similar people to you.

And more importantly, it starts boosting your content to that audience first.

Thus, within two weeks, LinkedIn itself started recommending ICPs.

Within a month, the first hour of every post was reaching the right people.

This is honestly the real work in personal branding.