Do you know 80% of B2B social media leads are generated from LinkedIn?
So even if you could take a small piece of this cake (80% leads), you can be with the top 1% on LinkedIn.
But how do you grow on a platform with 850 million users? – by decoding the algorithm.
In this article, we‘ll help you decode LinkedIn algorithm, how it works, and talk about some of the new features on LinkedIn that can boost your profile growth.🚀
What is LinkedIn Algorithm?
An algorithm is the cornerstone of a social media channel. And like other social channels, LinkedIn has one.
But what’s an algorithm, and how does it work?
An algorithm is a set of rules that analyzes and sorts content based on your interests and the likelihood of engagement.
For instance, you’re a freelance copywriter who is starting on LinkedIn. You look to connect with more and more copywriters on the platform and engage with their content.
Now, imagine if you start getting blockchain-related content regularly. It will be frustrating😫, right?
That’s where the mighty algorithm swoops in.
It determines the topic, people, and content you find intriguing and promotes them on your feed.
This creates a personalised user experience and helps to build a micro-community.
But, you might think, why should you know about it🤔?
Consider an algorithm as the rules of a game. If you’ve to win, you need to know the rules first.
Understanding the algorithm is the first step to going viral on LinkedIn. Once you know how it works, you can use it in your favour.
So, let’s have a rundown of things you must know about the LinkedIn algorithm.
The 2023 LinkedIn Algorithm: All You Need to Know
LinkedIn has over 850 million users worldwide and counting. It’s a young and blooming social channel. In India itself, there are around 8.5 crores LinkedIn users, which is nearly 6% of its entire population.
Despite such enormous traffic, the algorithm works around the clock to make your feed captivating and relevant at the same time.
That’s a whopping task.
So, if you want to make it to the top, you need to join hands with the algorithm. But, if you fail to appease it, you might end up in death valley.
For that, you must be aware of the likes and dislikes of the algorithm.
Let’s get started with it.
#1. Spam Check
First off, soon as you hit publish, LinkedIn checks your post for three things:
- Spam content
- Low-quality content
- High-quality content
Here’s how LinkedIn categorizes your content into these buckets:
Spam
Spam refers to abusive, dangerous, and misinformative content. There’s no room for such posts on LinkedIn.
When someone reports your content and the algorithm finds it spammy, it’s thrown into the LinkedIn abyss.
What makes content spam🚫?
Using poor grammar, adding multiple links and hashtags like #like and #comment can be designated as spammy content.
Tagging too many people in your post and posting frequently is also a red flag. It’s recommended to tag up to five people in your post.
Moreover, you must maintain a gap of more than 3 hours between two consecutive posts.
Low-Quality Content
Low-quality posts are not spam, but they lack the best content practices.
As a result, it doesn’t bother sharing it further.
Low-quality posts use:
- low-quality images on your post
- improper hashtags
- no insights in their posts
High-Quality Content
High-quality posts are:
- Easy to read
- Has strong keywords
- Fewer hashtags
- Lesser tagged people(only tag people who will respond)
- Sparks engagement
#2. The Big Test
After assuring your content is non-spammy, LinkedIn puts it to the test in front of your followers and connections.
This results in two things.
First, your content can get a handful of likes and shares. Thus, LinkedIn will push it further to show on more and more people’s feeds.
On the other side, it might hit a roadblock that diminishes the chance of getting shared by LinkedIn.
But you can avoid that👇
Don’t post and vanish. Instead, use the first hour after you’ve hit the publish button. It’s coined as the golden hour on LinkedIn.
Here’s what you can do:
- Engage with other people’s posts
- Schedule your posts at a specific time so that people know when to expect you
- Respond to queries in your DM
Once you do that, LinkedIn delivers your content to a wider audience. But who gets to see your post depends on the ranking signals, which we will discuss now.
#3. Ranking Signals
As long as you don’t post and ghost, you’re in LinkedIn’s good grace. Your content stays and keeps showing up in other people’s feeds.
Yet, who sees it depends on three things:
Personal Connections
1st connections, see your post first. It also includes people whom you’ve worked with in the past or have most interactions with.
Relevance of Interest
The algorithm evaluates your area of interest based on
- People you follow
- Hashtags used in the post
- What groups you’re a part of
LinkedIn drives your posts to all of the feeds that share the same interests as you.
That’s why it’s recommended to use specific hashtags and be clear about the topic you want to talk about.
Probability of Engagement
Engagement probability depends on two factors:
- Previous engagement rates
- The current engagement ranking of the post
Therefore, engage with other people’s content with relevant interests like yours. The more you engage, the more people will interact with your content.
Now that you’ve known LinkedIn’s little secrets, do you think you can beat it?
No, but you can befriend it.
5 New LinkedIn Features You Must Try to Befriend the LinkedIn Algorithm in 2023
#1. The Right Time to Post
If you’re posting something at 3 A.M, no matter how good it is, it’s absurd as most of your audience is sleeping.
The best time to publish your LinkedIn content is when your potential audience is online.
As per a survey by Hubspot, the best time to publish your content on LinkedIn is between 12-9 P.M on Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday.
Having said that, there are other factors to consider:
- Time zone of your audience
- Daily habits
For that, LinkedIn allows you to schedule your posts so you can post even when you’re not online.
#2. Choose Relevant Content
You can’t expect huge shares of engagements after posting ludicrous Bollywood clips on LinkedIn. Choosing what to post is vital if you want to go viral on LinkedIn.
How to do that?
To begin with, acknowledge your audience and focus on their longings.
If you provide value to them, they will engage with your content and eventually can follow or connect with you.
So, find out the pain points of your industry and post solution-oriented content through articles, carousels, or videos.
See what sparks the most engagement.
#3. LinkedIn is Made for Long Form Content
People don’t read your posts on LinkedIn; they scan them.
You need to be precise and to the point while talking about something. Otherwise, people will bounce over your post no matter how much value you’ve given to that.
The best way to do that is to use strong hooks at the beginning of the content. It allures the reader and creates a positive impression of the author.
Moving on, remember to highlight the pain points when discussing a problem in an industry. Exaggerating pain points is an excellent way to compel the reader to read your post.
LinkedIn promotes long-form content, which shouldn’t come at the cost of readability. So, use subheadings and bullet points throughout the content.
It makes your content tidy and gritty.
While summing up, provide them with an actionable solution. That’s what people care about the most.
#4. Use Videos and Images
Lately, LinkedIn has been evolving. From a job hunt platform to building communities, it has changed a lot.
That’s why you need to develop renewed content strategies if you want to go viral on LinkedIn.
For starters, don’t rely on text format only. Use short video clips and HD images. People love that and are likely to engage with it.
LinkedIn posts with high-quality images get 2x engagement as ordinary plain texts.
On top of that, using pre-built LinkedIn templates for carousels and posts can be a game changer.
It can shoot up your engagement.
#5. Leverage LinkedIn Analytics
If you aim to go viral on LinkedIn, you need to maximize engagement on your post. And for that, you should know what’s working and what’s not.
LinkedIn Analytics is a fantastic tool for getting strategic insights about your previous posts. You can see what worked at what time and sketch out a plan accordingly.
This helps to find key improvement points that you could work on and boost your performance.
Moreover, you can analyze your profile’s performance and optimize it so that people can find you easily.
Wrapping Up
The best way to win over the LinkedIn algorithm is to consistently put high-quality content in front of relevant people.
No cheap and dirty tricks.
So, start experimenting with the posts. Analyze how other people are doing it and learn from them. Create honest engagement with people’s posts.
Be real, relevant, and reciprocal; people will offer you the same in return.
Although it might take some time, it will be worth the payoff.
