LinkedIn is one of the best professional networking platforms. To keep its top ranking, LinkedIn is always making changes that improve the experience that both professionals and companies have on the platform.
This also means your interaction with LinkedIn must change over time to stay relevant. You must be ready to adjust to the algorithms that affect your feed and exposure. The methods you used a couple of years ago or are using now on LinkedIn may not be working as well as they used to.
How can you stay up-to-date with LinkedIn’s algorithm? We have the updates you need to stay current with your LinkedIn profile. These updates were also shared in a Facebook Live event recently, so if you missed that event, you can catch up on the information you need!
We will share the importance of understanding LinkedIn’s algorithms and 5 key tips on how to maximize your profile’s impact with the new LinkedIn algorithms.
The Importance of the Algorithm
The word “algorithm” can sound confusing and highly technical sometimes. It is tempting to simply ignore any algorithm information because it seems irrelevant and hard to understand. But this is far from the truth.
Algorithms affect you every day–from controlling the traffic lights you drive through to compiling the music you listen to on Spotify. On LinkedIn, the algorithms’ impact is just as large. It controls what content you see in your LinkedIn feed based on your activity and preferences. Additionally, it controls who sees the content you post.
That means if you use your LinkedIn profile in a way that the algorithms discourage, not many people will see your content. Also, you could have highly irrelevant content showing in your feed–posts that don’t relate to your network.
On the other hand, if you use LinkedIn according to the algorithms, your content will be shared with several people, and you can have relevant and interesting content in your feed. The entire LinkedIn experience is better.
So, if you want to maximize your profile’s impact and fully benefit from LinkedIn’s network, you need to understand the algorithms behind LinkedIn. We have five tips for you that will show you how LinkedIn algorithms function and how you can best use them.
1. Turning on “creator mode” is essential
Last year, LinkedIn introduced the new creator mode in profile settings. This mode gives you a place to add hashtags that indicate what topics you post the most about. It will also position your Features and Activity sections at the top of your profile—which will more prominently display your original content—and change the “Connect” button to be a “Follow” button so you can engage your network and build a following.
When you turn on “creator mode,” you are more easily discoverable because the algorithms favor that mode. This enables you to expand your network and influence! It also helps you showcase your content on your LinkedIn profile, and you can get access to exclusive creator tools.
Expanding your network is essential. The people you want to hear from are actually the people that are outside of your network because they have new opportunities to offer you. And the creator mode helps you connect with those people outside of your network. So, turn on your creator mode!
2. Don’t ask for likes or comments in your posts
You have probably seen those LinkedIn posts that ask people to like the post and comment on it—many people post content like this. However, the algorithms in LinkedIn don’t promote this type of CTA anymore. Typically, this content is exclusively trying to boost someone’s influence on the platform, and LinkedIn members find it more misleading and frustrating than anything.
If you want your posts to show up in others’ feeds, don’t ask for likes or comments. Focus instead on creating reliable, credible, and authentic content. These are the types of posts that will garner authentic engagement that will propel them further.
3. Polls have lost their reach
LinkedIn users have reported seeing too many polls in their feed. They are frustrated with this type of content, so LinkedIn is working to remediate this irritation. People on LinkedIn can expect to see fewer polls in their feed as the algorithms only show the polls that are helpful and relevant to them. They will not have to scroll past several polls from people or companies that they are unlikely to engage with.
This certainly impacts those of you who use polls to generate engagement. You will not be able to reach a large audience with your LinkedIn polls anymore. So, you might need to consider a different way to produce more engagement with your brand. You can see our article on creating serious LinkedIn growth for more information.
But, if you only want to reach the people in your network or people highly likely to engage with you, polls can still be effective measures. Just don’t overwhelm your LinkedIn followers with too many polls—they can get annoying after a while.
4. Hashtags are still very relevant
LinkedIn still uses hashtags to show the algorithms what content they should provide in your feed. Since they shape the conversations and insights you see on LinkedIn, they are a highly relevant tool you can use to control your feed.
Hashtags also provide the benefit of interesting conversations from all different industries and fields. You don’t have to hand pick a bunch of specific people or companies to follow in order to get a wide range of content in your feed when you search by hashtag. Instead, hashtags remove the limits and bring you information from all different voices with the topic or area of your interest.
Use hashtags in your feed! Use as many relevant ones as possible to maximize the industries and voices that you can hear from. This will keep your feed relevant as well as exciting with the new insights you can receive.
5. LinkedIn likes content that gets personal
Finally, if you want to get your content out to many different audiences, you can include more personal posts. LinkedIn is favoring this type of content in their algorithms, and they want those personal conversations to happen on LinkedIn.
Recently, people have been talking about more personal and even difficult subjects including the challenges of working from home, being a working parent, and being a front-line worker. The conversations even include mental-health challenges and personal well-being.
Sabry Tozin, the VP of Engineering at LinkedIn says, “We see LinkedIn as a place to have that conversation and our technology teams are finding ways to enable that.”
Open up and make more personal posts on LinkedIn. You can share a bit about your story, who you are, and what your journey has been. This will support the direction LinkedIn is going, and it can help your content reach a larger audience!
Get Up To Date with Your LinkedIn Activity!
With these 5 tips in mind, you should have a better understanding of LinkedIn’s algorithm updates and how they can affect your LinkedIn experience. Now, you are prepared to maximize the impact your profile can have and create a beneficial LinkedIn experience for both you and your followers.
