For the last year or so it has become increasingly difficult to understand the workings of the most useful social media platform for professional services personnel, LinkedIn. Somedays, thousands of interactions and engagements. The next, nearly none. It can be very frustrating when trying to build your visibility and credibility with your audience.
Fortunately, I recently came across a new Algorithm Research report by Richard van der Blom from the Netherlands who has painstakingly put together a hugely comprehensive and useful list of findings, some of which I am highlighting here and sharing below in no particular order of importance. Richard has very kindly given me permission to share some of his findings.
#hashtags matter. Less than 3 reduces reach by 40%, more than 5 reduces reach by 20%.
Consider ‘dwell time’. The “see more” button after the 3rd line in your post is a key call to action so make sure people need to hit it. This is much more important than getting a like. Using polls and posting documents have also seen a huge increase and gain much more reach than a straight post with a photograph.
You need to maximise your LinkedIn Social Selling Index rating. I fortunately score 86/100 which puts me in the top 1% on the platform. Anyone scoring over 75 gets 25% more reach. The rating is all based on your profile and how often and in which ways you engage with the platform. If you are unsure how to influence this, I suggest you google it and watch the video available.
For those of you wishing to be seen as ‘Thought Leaders’ and establish authority in a certain field, I would recommend switching to Creator Mode. You can build your community of followers five times more quickly whilst likely to attract less straight forward connections.
Multiple picture posts gain 150% more reach. Worst performing posts have either one (-50%) or no (-70%) external link.
Posts that are edited within an hour get -25% less reach. If you are first to comment on your own post it reduces reach by 15%. Be warned as I often see external links placed in the first comment section.
LinkedIn prefers square formatted videos. Native uploads or those hosted on Vimeo perform better than those hosted externally on YouTube. 45-60 seconds length is ideal. Video is the most commonly shared type of content.
IMPORTANT. Your content is initially shared in your feed to a small test group in your network. How they engage within the first two hours of publishing is key to the algorithm sharing to more people. Therefore, it is critical your network is made up of the right profile of contacts. When is the last time you had a cull?
IMPORTANT. Best days for posting are Tuesdays, Thursdays and interestingly Saturdays when 60% of members check in but tend to not share content. Best time of day is mornings between 8am-10am local time.
IMPORTANT. Do not post multiple pieces of content within 24 hours as the platform will divide your reach across the multiple posts. The more you post the more you dilute your message.
Ideal number of characters in a post is between 1200 and 3000 with 1470 the optimal number.
Comments with less than 5 words get -15% reach versus others. Remember, a comment is 4 times more powerful than a like and 7 times more if given with the first two hours.
When sharing a post, add 150 words of description and add 3 new hashtags for best results.
Do not publish links to paid subscription/gated paywall content. The algorithm and your readership will punish you.
LinkedIn allows you to see only between 8% and 15% of your network’s content in your feed. If you want to see specific people you need to visit their profile, engage their content or send a message within the last 8 days.
60% of traffic is on a mobile device. The algorithm works separately on each device you use. I personally access the platform mainly on desktop but also on laptop, tablet and phone. Each algorithm will work independently on each device.
The full report runs to 44 pages and includes many more hints and tips (including Company Pages) not included here in my brief summary and is available via Richard’s profile page. I encourage you to engage!
Understanding the algorithm is only one aspect of mastering the platform and using it to your advantage. If you need more assistance as to how to start and use relationships on LinkedIn to grow your professional practice then do get in touch via the Contact page.