The LinkedIn Dispatch #5

Happy St. Patrick's Day ??

May your green drinks be satisfying and your hangover merciful.

Welcome back to The Dispatch, your weekly digest of top-shelf LinkedIn posts.

Today's topics:

1. LinkedIn algorithm changes
2. The 2 most defensible forms of content
3. 4 reasons why LinkedIn ghostwriters don't work out

Let. Us. Roll.

— Dennis

1. LinkedIn engineers reveal latest algo changes

Via Marty Kausas

Lots of LinkedIn users noticed declining impression counts starting around Nov 2023.

I noticed it myself:

Since then, I've read a lot of speculation about algo changes, but nothing official.

That is, until I saw Marty's post last week where he summarized a recent podcast interview with two senior LinkedIn engineers who explained the inside dirt on the feed algorithm.

Marty's TLDR:

• LinkedIn is demoting content that used to do well with wide audiences
• They are prioritizing evergreen content for niche groups
• Recency plays a far smaller role in whether your posts get surfaced

What doesn't work

• Broetry: Catchy hook + concise story + founder selfie = 100Ks of impressions
• Broad, viral content
• LinkedIn is supposedly demoting this type of content.

What does work

• Content that shares expert "knowledge and advice" instead of viral content.
• Narrow, niche-specific insights and advice

My takeaway:

I think LinkedIn is taking a page from Google's EEAT playbook:

• Experience - Have you done the thing you're talking about?
• Expertise - Are you proficient at the thing you're talking about?
• Authoritativeness - Can you demonstrate subject matter expertise?
• Trustworthiness - What proof do you have of the above points?

Notice how "LinkedIn EEAT" instantly filters out platitudes and opinion-based content. I.e., content that used to perform very well on LinkedIn.

As of writing this, EEAT seems like a solid framework to apply to your LinkedIn content strategy—stay in your lane and write educational content that helps your peers and potential customers get better/solve problems.

Check out Marty's full post here, or go listen to the podcast episode here.

2. 2 types of defensible content

Via John Bonini

Defensibility is the cornerstone of good content.

When your message holds up to scrutiny, then it was more than likely written from a place of thoughtfulness, honesty, and intellectual rigor.

The 2 most defensible types of content include:

1. Original Thinking:

“Here’s how I think about and/or solve the problem".

• Share your experiences, observations, and points of view.
• Share how you think about the problem, how you’ve solved/failed to solve it in the past.
• Lessons you’ve learned, the impact of those lessons, etc.

This is a shortcut to creating content that is uniquely your own.

2. Original Research:

“Here’s how they think about and/or solve the problem"

• Share and report on the insights of others.
• This can be as simple as running an interview style podcast.
• Or curating someone else's defensible content for your audience.

This is why podcasting is such a smart content strategy: one 45-minute conversation can yield a dozen pieces of content that cover both original thinking and original research.

"Where you don't want to be," as John notes, "is somewhere in the middle. "Creating content that is not uniquely you but also not uniquely…anyone’s."

This is exactly the type of content generative AI tools excel at: high-confidence but low substance. And zero defensibility.

3. 4 reasons why ghostwriters don't work out

Via Dennis Buckley

LinkedIn ghostwriting is a trendy gig. But not all ghostwriters are created equal.

I spoke with the CEO of a YC-backed fintech recently, and he graciously shared his experience working with ghostwriters.

"It's been extremely hit or miss," he said.

"I've tested 4, but none of them worked out.."

Based on our conversation, here are 4 reasons why ghostwriters don't work out:

1. Voice mismatch

• Ghostwriters struggle to nail the client's voice/tone
• This makes content feels impersonal or off-brand, which dilutes the authenticity of the message.
• Making content less engaging to the audience

2. Lack of industry insight

• Writers aren't thought leaders.
• They lack deep industry knowledge and can't always write convincingly on topics.
• Making content bland and ineffective

3. Inconsistent content quality

• Not all ghostwriters are equal.
• Some deliver exceptional content quality, but struggle to consistently maintain a high bar.
• Making trust and engagement temperamental

4. Poor alignment of goals

• Mismatch between strategies is a common pain point
• Whether it's the content style, tone, or topic, poor writer-client alignment is a blocker
• Making it unlikely that the client reaches their goals

What's the solution?

Understand that writers ≠ experts. You as the subject are the expert.

If you're asking someone to ghostwrite for your personal LinkedIn profile, then it's in your interest as a founder or CEO (and the writer's) to collaborate; provide the writer with stories, industry insights, experiences, and perspectives they can use to write on your behalf.

These details enable the writer to capture your voice and point of view in the content, which makes it authentic and defensible.

//FIN//

About Dennis Buckley

After 8 years of working in startups, I struck out on my own to build a new life doing the work I love. I started Founders Ink, my founder-led content marketing agency, to help growth-oriented founders and CEOs:

• Get attention
• Develop audience
• Build industry authority
• Attract new customers

I previously ghostwrote for a New York Times bestseller, led content marketing teams at both bootstrapped and venture-backed startups, and taught founders and operators how to grow companies at Demand Curve.

How I can help you become a thought leader in your industry:

• Newsletter: Sign up for The LinkedIn Dispatch
• Follow me Dennis Buckley for tips on how to acquire customers with organic content funnels
• Need content help? I built a ghostwriting agency for ambitious founders.
• Want to chat? Schedule a call. Every week, I set aside time to talk to other founders and operators about their media strategy — at any stage — for free. Go ahead, you won't be sold anything on these calls.

See you next week.

— Dennis