What You Need To Know About LinkedIn's Recent Algorithm Change
If you’ve been on LinkedIn recently (especially as a writer), you may have noticed the platform is behaving differently.
Yesterday, many creators I know reported seeing their impression counts plummet from thousands of views to less than 50. Some were in a full-on panic about it.
Those extremely low post counts were a LinkedIn bug.
But, LinkedIn did change something. I initially noticed something might be up when an industry-specific post I wrote got 20 likes but 6,700 views (usually I get about 100X-200X views per like, not 335X).
The article here from Entrepreneur.com summarizes the changes (thanks to my friend Ross C. who shared this with me last night).
Here’s the TL;DR from the article:
Two big changes
1. If you post on LinkedIn, it is more likely that your followers will see your post.
2. Posts that share "knowledge and advice" are now prioritized throughout the platform.
How LinkedIn Identifies 'Knowledge and Advice'
1. The post speaks to a distinct audience.
2. The author is writing in their core subject area.
3. The post has "meaningful comments."
4. The post has a perspective.
My Quick POV on the changes
I’ll write more on this in a future article, but here’s are some quick takes:
Platform leverage - LinkedIn has unique insight into who you are as a professional. Where you’ve worked, who you know, how much experience you have within a given field. What they’re saying is that they have a POV on whether you’re credible within a certain topic, and they want to start using that knowledge to promote content from credible people in a specific field. This is simultaneously refreshing and terrifying. More on this later.
Content feed - I expect to see more interesting industry-specific content in my content feed, something that was a rare sight before the algorithm change. It’s too early to tell whether this will materialize as I don’t see enough financial services & fintech writers to fill my feed.
Winners and losers - I expect creators posting empty platitudes with selfies to struggle with the new model, and creators dialed into a specific topic within their field/specialty with a niche audience to flourish. I’d like to think I’m in the second category here, so I’m excited to see what the changes will do to my post reach and ability to drum up audiences interested in what I’m writing about.
What have you noticed about the new algorithm? Reply to this email and let me know!
I hope you have a great Fourth of July weekend.
-Carlos