From finding your next hire to expanding your professional network, LinkedIn is a must-try social media platform for small business owners.
In fact, the LinkedIn platform is brimming with thought leaders, entrepreneurs, industry experts and top-notch talent. It’s no surprise that the platform has cemented itself as the go-to B2B social media network, with over 1 billion members and 67 million companies and counting.
But with so many professionals on the platform, you may wonder how you can successfully cut through the noise so that your content isn’t just visible but also generates engagement. Here, we’ll break down everything you need to know about how the LinkedIn algorithm works and our top tips for creating high-impact content.
How does the LinkedIn algorithm work?
The first thing you need to know about the LinkedIn algorithm is that it prioritizes content that is relevant to industries, provides professional advice or expertise, and upholds the quality of the platform.
If you want your posts on LinkedIn to receive greater engagement and more views, you’ll need to consider how the LinkedIn algorithm categorizes content:
- Spam vs good content: To uphold the quality of the platform, the LinkedIn algorithm filters out any posts that violate its spam or community guidelines. If the quality of your post isn’t clear enough for automatic filtering, it will be reviewed by a team of moderators to ensure it meets LinkedIn’s standards. So, what are examples of spam? These include:
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- Emoji or reaction polls that look to artificially boost engagement
- Requests for likes, reactions, and shares
- Chain letters, repetitive messages, or excessive and irrelevant comments
- Quality of engagement: The LinkedIn algorithm assesses a post’s engagement signals to determine the value of your post and its relevance to your immediate and extended networks. Unlike other platforms, likes and shares aren’t enough. Instead, LinkedIn wants to see meaningful interactions in the form of thoughtful comments and messages.
- Finding the right audience: When it comes to visibility, LinkedIn uses three ranking signals to determine the most relevant audience:
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- Identity: Those in your first-degree connections will see more of your content as the algorithm considers who you have interacted with in the past, the relevance of skills and profile location, and meaningful interactions. This is even more apparent now after changes made to the LinkedIn algorithm in June 2023.
- Content: Based on how well the content performs with other users on the platform, the LinkedIn algorithm will determine how relevant it is. This is done by looking at how often it’s been viewed, whether the content shares knowledge or professional advice, how meaningful the interactions in comments are, and which companies, people, and topics are mentioned.
- Member activity: To ensure the relevance of posts displayed in the feed, LinkedIn’s algorithm evaluates each user’s interests based on their activity. From groups, hashtags, pages, and people followed, the algorithm will analyze their interactions, comments, and liked content to show similar content to topics they have engaged with previously.
- Identity: Those in your first-degree connections will see more of your content as the algorithm considers who you have interacted with in the past, the relevance of skills and profile location, and meaningful interactions. This is even more apparent now after changes made to the LinkedIn algorithm in June 2023.
💡 Plann Tip: In early 2024, testing is underway to change LinkedIn’s suggestion post feature. To extend the life of existing content, LinkedIn’s algorithm is now going to promote relevant content to specific audiences, even if it was first posted months or even years ago. Rather than focusing on timeliness, this means the algorithm could shift to a more evergreen focus that prioritizes unique, valuable insights.
How to optimize your LinkedIn content
Follow these tips to maximize the visibility of your LinkedIn posts in the algorithm!
Tip 1. Be informative
What topics do you want to be considered a thought leader in on LinkedIn? By tapping into these areas, you’re more likely to establish your credibility as an expert. This will see your posts garner greater engagement beyond your followers and first-degree connections as more users come to value your expertise.
In this example, a journalist at The Australian Financial Review, Natasha Gillezeau provides a step-by-step guide on how she got her job, taking LinkedIn members through the application process, writing tasks, and interview rounds. Along with insightful insights into how she rebranded her social media profile and tips on how to get your foot in the door, the informative guide directly touches on skills and experience relevant to her network of fellow and aspiring journalists.
💡Plann Tip: Consider contributing to collaborative articles on LinkedIn that are aligned with your key skills and areas of expertise. You may earn yourself a ‘Top Voice’ badge, which can boost the credibility and visibility of your content on LinkedIn.
Tip 2. Use tags purposefully
Optimize your LinkedIn posts by including relevant hashtags, using keywords strategically, and tagging people and relevant companies. Whether writing a long-form article, a post, or editing your company page, using tags purposefully is an easy way to boost visibility and increase engagement.
Tip 3. Focus on appropriate content
According to reports, 52 million people actively search for jobs on LinkedIn weekly, with eight people being hired every minute. Not surprisingly, the platform is viewed primarily as one for networking, business, and connecting with others within your chosen industry.
While LinkedIn is predominately a professional social networking platform, the platform rewards content that skillfully taps into personal stories, relatable anecdotes and candid conversations.
In the example below from Allison Ditmer, the freelance writer and digital marketing strategist shares a personal anecdote to highlight the importance of embracing the journey. Closing with a poignant question to her followers, the post amassed 37 comments and more than 48 likes, sparking meaningful connections. So, while you don’t want to go overboard with selfies or post videos of your dog, personal storytelling can be used as a springboard for enhancing your personal brand.
Tip 4. Ask thoughtful questions
As illustrated above, thoughtful questions have the power to spark meaningful engagement. The trick is to ensure your questions are elevant to your audience and chosen topic, and that they facilitate meaningful interactions that encourage reflection, introspection, and pique interest.
Consider adding a call-to-action to your posts that encourages audiences to share their insights, a personal experience from their career journey, a milestone or lesson learned, or a conversation that proved informative. As well as boosting the engagement on your post, these prompts will allow you to learn more about the interests of your audience.
Tip 5. Build your network
It’s important to build your network on LinkedIn so that your content reaches a broad yet engaged audience. According to LinkedIn, pages with 150 followers are more inclined to see growth and increased visibility.
It might sound like a daunting task to those who have yet to amass a hundred followers, but there are small steps that can help you get there. Consider the following to grow your network:
- Be sure to complete your personal profile and Compage Page and keep them updated with relevant news, career opportunities and milestones, and post consistently.
- Use relevant keywords and phrases in your personal and company page’s overview so you connect with more members using keyword searches.
- Follow other relevant pages and connect with other professionals in your field, including industry experts, colleagues, and previous employers. Be sure to personalize your invitation when connecting.
- Consider joining or starting relevant LinkedIn Groups where you can share knowledge and learn from others. Use keywords to find groups related to your fields or interests.
Tip 6. Schedule posts for maximum engagement
If you aren’t familiar with the ‘Golden Hour of LinkedIn’, this refers to the crucial first hour after which your post has gone live. The algorithm will favor posts with more comments and meaningful engagement, but this isn’t going to happen if you post during a time when most of your followers are asleep.
To maximize the visibility of your posts, schedule them for a time when users are most active on the platform. Typically, this tends to be 11 am on Monday, early morning on Tuesday and Wednesday, 2 pm on Thursday, 8 pm on Friday, and early morning on Saturday and Sunday.
Tip 7. Use analytics to enhance your strategy
If you post consistently on LinkedIn, you’ll have a better understanding of what’s working well, what topics or pieces of content audiences engage with more, and what isn’t working. Using analytics tools to interpret the algorithm and see top-performing content is the best way to assess your social strategy, refining where necessary and focusing on replicating content that outperforms.
Boost your LinkedIn performance with Plann
Whether you’re struggling to show up consistently on LinkedIn with relevant and informative posts or you simply want to devote more time to growing your business, Plann’s range of features is guaranteed to help save you time with an automated strategy for LinkedIn.
From cross-posting to advanced analytics along with handpicked hashtags and AI-generated caption starters, Plann can help you maintain a consistent posting schedule while you remain focused on business growth.
Go on, and redeem your 7-day free trial of Plann Plus. If you don’t like it, keep using Plann for free!
