How to master the NEW LinkedIn Algorithm

Want to go viral on LinkedIn? LinkedIn's editor-in-chief has a message for you: Try that somewhere else.

"When things go viral on LinkedIn, usually that's a sign to us that we need to look into this, because that's not celebrated internally," says Daniel Roth, LinkedIn's editor-in-chief.

So what is celebrated? That answer has changed over the past several months, as LinkedIn made significant updates to the way its feed works. As a result, some content is rewarded, some now has less reach, and you're going to see a lot fewer selfies (according to Entrepreneur Magazine's editor-in-chief, Jason Feifer, who interviewed the LinkedIn Executives in charge of the algorithm).

Remember the BIG Algo Drop?

Similar to March 2020, when LinkedIn changed its content algorithm to such as extent that users experienced a massive 74% engagement drop overnight, the latest changes as of Q2/2023 usher in a new era of content marketing on the professional network and are destined to change the game for marketers and sales teams dramatically.

If you have noticed some of these changes in your LinkedIn engagement, there is good news - thanks to our friends at LinkedIn, we now have a clear picture of what you need to do in order to attract engagement from your network.

Your Profile matters more than ever

When you post something on LinkedIn, the platform isn't just evaluating the value of your post. It is now also evaluating?you?— and whether you're an authority in the thing you've posted about.

"Because we have the professional profile of record," Roth says, "it helps us be able to make sure that we are getting the right content to the right people."

Roth offers an example: He has zero background in geology, so what would happen if he posted on LinkedIn about how to be a great geologist? "That is useless, because I don't know what I'm talking about," he says.

"So if I put that up there, LinkedIn has an obligation to be like, 'Hey, this is not the highest quality content, Dan has none of the skills in this area, and we have not seen him have success with geology content in the past.'"

It's the WHAT, not the HOW

No longer are the Algo Games such as number of hashtags or the word count of your LinkedIn comments playing a major role, now it is all about the resonance of your content.

"The way I like to think about it," Roth says, "is that every piece of content has its own total addressable market. And you have to think about, well, who am I trying to reach with this thing?"

LinkedIn is thinking about that too. Its system looks at every post and basically asks:?Who is this relevant to?

"Advice to give to the creators out there is, think about what kind of knowledge you have to offer to help people," LinkedIn's director of product management, Alice Xiong says. "That is the kind of thing that will likely get you to reach the right audience as well."

Audience Research is KEY

You might think you know your target audience on LinkedIn well enough to determine which content resonates the most with them. Chances are, you don't - or you don't know their latest preferences well enough.

The NEW LinkedIn wants users to think differently. Instead of just reaching?lots?of people, they say, they want LinkedIn users to focus on reaching the?right?people.

Roth says it's helpful to think of LinkedIn as a digital version of the workplace, where there are a lot of teams with a lot of individual conversations. No single discussion is relevant to every person across every team — just as no single piece of content should be relevant to everyone across LinkedIn.

"It's very rare for someone to stand up with a megaphone and shout to the whole office and everyone's like, 'Great, I want to hear more from this person yelling at us with this megaphone,'" Roth says. "So, if stuff's not going viral in the workplace, it shouldn't be going viral on LinkedIn."

Join the LinkedIn LIVE MasterClass this Thursday

Join 832 LinkedIn Members this Thursday for a special LIVE MasterClass on "How to master the NEW LinkedIn Algorithm" and discover the following:

? Why Life on LinkedIn starts at 60!

? How LinkedIn Rates Relevancy of Your Posts

? How to use LinkedIn LINGO the right way

? Which Type of INSIGHTS works best on LinkedIn

? The SHARE > OPINE > ADVISE Formula that supports the NEW Algorithm

? When to switch on The CREATOR Mode

? Why gaming the Algorithm can land you in HOT Water

? How to stay out of LinkedIn JAIL

? Why Sharing is not NECESSARILY Caring

? Which words / graphics will get your Posts SHADOWBANNED

• Thursday, 27th July
• 18h00 SAST (GMT +2)
• Online (register at https://www.dhirubhai.net/events/7079806281049419776/about/)

What makes us credible

Over the past 365 days (4 July 2022 to 4 July 2023), we have earned more than 4.8 million content views on LinkedIn (all organic, see above) and close to 10 million views throughout the three major LinkedIn algorithm updates since 2020 (and the 100+ minor feature updates on the professional network).

Having coached more than 1,300 clients on how to use LinkedIn to attract new clients and grow your brand, Dr Nik & Yathin Soni are sharing their latest insights into the NEW LinkedIn Algorithm and how best to leverage the latest changes to stay ahead of your competitors.