Navigating LinkedIn’s new content algorithms for Employee Advocacy in Talent Marketing

When I first joined LinkedIn in 2013 it was exciting times. You know who you are. The memories. LinkedIn began with a vision to empower professionals by providing a platform to showcase their skills, experiences and aspirations at a global scale. However, it was the collective power of its own employees (including moi) that played a pivotal role in driving LinkedIn's early growth and adoption. Employee Advocacy, as a concept, has been around for decades, but LinkedIn's unique approach to leveraging its internal workforce for brand promotion proved to be a game-changer. From encouraging employees to actively participate in building their own personal brands to fostering an environment that values transparency and authenticity, LinkedIn's approach to employee advocacy set an inspiring example for organisations around the globe.

However, ten years on, the ripple effect has had some rather noisy pitfalls as well as successes.

The Evolution of LinkedIn’s Content Algorithms

Originally, the platform used a chronological feed, however because of the sheer volume of content this changed in 2016 with its’ first algorithmic feed based on likes, comments and shares to encourage meaningful interactions. Whilst the pandemic can take some responsibility, the lines between professional and social became seriously blurred.

The use of emojis and pre-populated responses made it easy to provide an on-the-fly response, without meaning or insight, perpetuating trending content that didn't adhere to the guidelines of providing actual value and better suited to other social channels. In June of this year, LinkedIn finally responded to the barrage of complaints and changed it’s algorithms in order to drive 80% less complaints about content on the platform ??.

New LinkedIn Content Algorithms

The new shift marks a strong emphasis on personalisation, aiming to deliver highly relevant content based on interests, connections and engagement history.

1.????Content relevance. By analysing members past interactions, post engagement and interests, LinkedIn is learning from behaviours to align more closely with interest and aspiration.

2.????Diversity in content. The updated algorithms encourage the sharing of various content types – images, video, articles etc. to allow users to creatively express themselves whilst keeping members engaged.

3.????Engagement weighting. ?The new system focuses on a broader range of interactions including saves, share, direct messages resulting from a post – all of which signify valuable content.

4.????Contrary to popular belief around video, LinkedIn has noticed a growing trend around longer more insightful posts that add value and demonstrate expertise. These tend to generate meaningful discussion from relevant networks and communities.

Tangible tips to navigate the new LinkedIn Algorithms:

?1.????Authenticity. Be genuine in posts, sharing authentic insights and expertise. Focus on creating content that resonates with your target audience and encourages conversation.

2.????Diversify your content. Incorporate a mix of content to see what garners the most engagement. You can use the same topic or people etc, just try different formats!

3.????Don’t post and ghost. Actively respond to comments as it signals that your content is sparking engagement and can improve visibility. Barbara Giorgilli recommended in our EMEA Campfire event last week to respond within the first 90 minutes if you can.

4.????Thought Leadership. Share value-driven content that showcases your people’s expertise. Encourage them to become a thought leader in their industry by providing insights that inspire conversation.

5.????Consistency. As a brand manager, use your people’s content to stay on the radar – consistency helps LinkedIn’s algorithm understand relevance and encourages your followers and their networks to engage more frequently.

6.????Thoughtful advocacy. Don’t just hit repost advises Hannah King ?- actually comment on why you are resharing

7.????Encourage conversation. Leave an open-ended question for your employees or your external network to engage with suggests Spencer Hurley to show value and extend reach.

Basically. Stop asking your people to share their morning coffee next to their laptop having taken the kids to school/walked the dog/run a marathon and making everyone else feel like a failure, and start actually sharing information and insight that adds value.

LinkedIn’s new content algorithms represent a major leap forward in delivering personalised and engaging content to users. I will be hosting our EMEA Campfire on this topic in a couple of weeks so will share 'smore' thoughts.

How are you going to encourage authentic employee advocacy in your organisation? What are your top tips?