Social media algorithms are one of life’s great levellers. It doesn’t matter how many followers you have, or how much media coverage you generate. If you post on feed-based platforms, the algorithms rule OK.
LinkedIn has traditionally offered the best returns when facing off against those organic algorithms – but the free reach it once promised is on the wane. According to the comprehensive research conducted and published by independent consultant Richard van der Blom, reach (as in the number of people who see your post on LinkedIn) has dropped by nearly 50% in the past 12 months.
In our own research, we see a similar decline in the numbers for the top thirty most engaged FTSE 100 CEOs on LinkedIn. In May last year, the average engagements (likes, comments and shares) per post for this group were 927. Fast forward twelve months, and that number has dropped to 654 engagements per post.
Platforms like LinkedIn regularly update their algorithms, and these updates affect performance differently. Recently LinkedIn has been warding off users from overusing generative AI in posts and copy – as a result it’s been rewarding more “meaningful engagement”, in the form of longer comments.
It’s also heavily prioritising video, which may explain why some of the CEOs in our sample set saw their numbers affected. Of the 738 posts in our sample, only 17% were videos. Nearly half of all the posts were images, which tend to perform better than text-only posts, but don’t get the same kind of boost that video does at the moment.
But these fluctuations in performance shouldn’t leave any LinkedIn users disheartened – whether they’re a CEO or not. Algorithms and platform trends change regularly.
The crucial factor for success is to have a clear strategy in place, with distinctive content pillars to build posts around. You can then augment these foundations with our magnificent seven tried and tested recommendations:
- Consistency beats frequency on LinkedIn. Set a realistic target of posts per month, and stick to it religiously. It’s better to post once a month, every month, than sharing updates in infrequent bursts.
- The opening sentence of a LinkedIn post is critical; aim to hook your reader in with a question, bold statement or piece of clever wordplay.
- Keep it succinct – 700 to 900 characters across 12 to 16 sentences. Keep it simple and accessible. Avoid technical jargon or dense writing.
- LinkedIn is more mobile than ever (approx. 72% of users according to Richard van der Blom) – ensure your posts and assets consider the small screen. Easy to read text, portrait-oriented documents and videos are all crucial.
- We already mentioned the importance of video – native video uploaded to LinkedIn drives the most reach. Aim for short videos (30-60 seconds) shot in vertical (i.e. TikTok-style) format.
- After you post, nurture your network by interacting with around five to ten posts (i.e. like, comment or share). Avoid using AI-generated comments, however – these are easily spotted and can harm your reach.
- Receiving comments is the single biggest way to boost your performance. Aim to engage with any comments you receive within the first hour, either by liking or replying.
Follow our tips, and keep up with the LinkedIn trends, and you can rest assured that you’re doing everything to help your posts succeed.
Read more Insights & News