LinkedIn is a business platform. Where people tend to use social media platforms like Instagram for browsing that is mostly centred around "leisure", they tend to use LinkedIn for business, networking or "work" purposes.
This means that if you're a B2B company looking to establish a strong online presence, LinkedIn is arguably your go-to platform for the job.
However, to make this happen, you need to know how the LinkedIn algorithm works.
In this post, we will break down each part of the LinkedIn algorithm and discuss how this algorithm affects your posts, and ultimately, your social media strategy.
The LinkedIn Algorithm in a Nutshell
LinkedIn's algorithm measures dozens of factors to predict how relevant your content will be to your audience based on these three factors:
🥓 Spam 👎 Low quality
👍 High quality.
The platform then pushes your post to a small sample of your audience before deciding whether to push it to more people or stop showing it in the feed.
To maximise your chances of having your content seen by a wider audience, follow these tips:
Avoid the spam filters by using proper grammar, not using multiple links or hashtags like "follow," "comment," or "like" (this is a big no-no).
To be seen as high quality, go niche with your topics, use around 3 hashtags (one broad, one more niche, and one very niche), format your post for readability, encourage a response, and use strong keywords.
Post at a time when your followers are online, ask a question to spark engagement, interact with your post during the golden hour, follow a consistent posting schedule, and respond to anyone who engages.
Don't tag people unless you know at least one of them will respond within an hour.
Try not to go back and edit your post, or spam your followers.
Helpful Tips for Creating Content That Wins on LinkedIn 🏁
Before posting your content, take a list at the look below:
Avoid Outbound links: Like any social media platform, their main priority is keeping you and your followers ON the platform. So where possible, try to avoid linking off the platform in your content. (If you have to, leave the link in the comments instead).
It's good to share (with your thoughts) Re-sharing someone else's post is fine, but engagement usually goes to the original post. With this in mind, you should always try to add value in the "thoughts" that you add when sharing.
Make use of Creator Mode content. Currently, LinkedIn tends to favour content types like LinkedIn articles, LinkedIn Live, slides, etc. - All available with LinkedIn Creator Mode.
Photos. Keep it real man. It's crucial that you only use photos that are related to your text and support your copy. A selfie every now and then won't hurt - but if it's all you use and irrelevant to your content, your engagement will suffer.
Videos. Short and sweet does the trick. Keep them brief and get to the point quick. "Front loading" is a great tactic for video on LinkedIn.
Text still works! People tend to read text based posts more often than watching videos.
Slides FTW Slideshow posts, infographics, carousels... Whatever you want to call them, this content type is currently trending on LinkedIn.
What Types of Content to Post on LinkedIn to Maximise Engagement
If you want to establish a strong and compelling online presence, follow these tips:
Join the 1% club. Post at least once a week to rank in the top 1% of LinkedIn users posting regularly.
Network and engage with other LinkedIn users to increase interactions. You've got to give to receive.
Monitor your posts' engagement rates and adjust your strategy to optimise interactions. Be brutal and cut any content types from your strategy that do not work. Focus on recreating what does.
Use LinkedIn groups strategically to expand your reach BUT DON'T BE SPAMMY. Be strategic about this. If it's relevant to the group in question, post it in there too and engage with the group members. If not, don't.
If you have the budget, consider LinkedIn Ads for a more targeted approach.
The LinkedIn algorithm can be challenging to navigate, but if you follow these basics, you can maximise your existing content strategy in order to get the social advantage over your competition.
Are you getting the results you want from social media?
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