My social media platform of choice is LinkedIn. I have a presence on others, but that’s where most of my efforts are focused. I’ve been a member since 2005 and it’s changed a lot since then.
LinkedIn in 2005
was a sterile environment, mainly a ‘dating’ platform for companies looking for
staff and people looking for jobs. It’s massively
different today, with posts, groups – and algorithms!
Getting seen in
2026 is dependent on posting content that the algorithms like and,
consequently, present to more people.
Lately a lot of
people who have had posts go viral in the past are complaining that they’re not
getting traction any longer and creating viral content is much harder. Is this a problem for you?
That depends on
whether a viral post is your end goal – or you’re looking to connect with
people who will become either customers or advocates. Thousands of people liking your posts with
hundreds of comments is an exercise in vanity if it’s not delivering the right
connections.
What do algorithms do?
Effectively they
apply the criteria for a ‘good’ post and the LinkedIn AI follows the algorithm
prompt and then presents content that matches to the people that they’ve
calculated are the best audience.
How do you find out
what the algorithms for a good post are?
Well, you can, but
they are changing all the time and you can spend a lot of time learning
something that is out-of-date before you’ve got your head around it. If you want to get to grips with algorithms
properly, then Richard van der Blom has an Algorithm Playbook that you’ll find useful.
But understanding
the broad strokes is just as useful.
10 Top Tips for LinkedIn content
Tip 1 – ensure your
profile is clear and that what you’ve written in your About section is focused
on the kind of client you want to work with.
That’s LinkedIn AI’s starting point for reference.
Tip 2 – good
quality content wins over jazzy images.
LinkedIn’s AI likes long form content as it has more perceived value.
Tip 3 – forget
about hashtags on LinkedIn, they are no longer relevant to how content is
presented (or searched on).
Tip 4 – links kill
reach, so only include a link if there is a specific call to action – and don’t
let the link pull through a thumbnail – that just ensures nobody will see your
post.
Tip 5 – get good at
creating infographics, they work better than carousels – and are saved more.
Tip 6 – short (less
than 90 seconds) videos do well.
Tip 7 – post daily,
but remember that only one of your posts will be shown at a time, so if you
post more than once a day you may reduce the reach of each post.
Tip 8 – if you
can’t think of a post today, repost a previous post. Use the repost option, don’t copy it to a new
post. If you’re reposting older content
you get brownie points!
Tip 9 – Stay online
during the hour after your post goes live so you can respond to comments and
likes.
Tip 10 – create long form content as a newsletter rather than an article – and actively invite people to follow your newsletter.
Remember that you’re not aiming for MORE connections, just the RIGHT connections.
