Can non-native English speakers make good LinkedIn content, or post in their own language?

About 80%

of recent LinkedIn members were signing up from outside the United States, LinkedIn said, as Reuters reported in 2023

Do you need perfect English to do well on LinkedIn?

No. LinkedIn is a global network. When it passed a billion members in 2023, LinkedIn said about 80 percent of its recent members were signing up from outside the United States, Reuters reported.

What readers want is a clear point from someone who knows the subject. A post with an unusual phrase but a real insight from your work will hold attention longer than a polished one that says nothing new.

Should you post in your own language?

Post in the language your buyers use at work. If you sell to companies in your own country, posting in your own language may reach them more directly than English would. If you sell across borders, English may be the shared working language. Some founders mix, posting in each language for the market it serves.

LinkedIn handles both. Its help page on supported languages lists 36 languages for the app, and it says content a member enters displays in the language they wrote it in. Keep each post to one language, so it reads cleanly and the right people can find it.

Does an accent on video hurt your credibility?

Less than many people fear. In a 2024 study in the Journal of Cognition, a separate group of listeners rated foreign-accented voices less favourably on social traits, but the accent did not change how true other listeners judged the speakers' statements to be. It set out to test an older finding that accented statements sound less credible, so the evidence is mixed.

Some listeners may have a bias, so make the content clear and add subtitles. They let people read along at their own pace, which makes an accent much less of a barrier for anyone watching.

How do you keep your own voice in a second language?

Talk first, then edit. Explaining an idea out loud, by voice or on camera, usually comes out clearer than writing it in a second language from scratch, because you use the words you would use with a customer. A transcript of that becomes a draft that sounds like you, which you can then tidy.

Keep the writing plain. Short sentences and everyday words are easier for every reader, native or not, and they make your expertise easier to see. Ask a colleague or a tool to check grammar, but keep the phrasing that is yours rather than letting it be smoothed into generic wording.