Unlocking LinkedIn's Algorithm: How To Get More From Your Time There

A person holding mobile phone with the LinkedIn logo on the screen

I spent two hours reviewing a 125-slide report about the LinkedIn algorithm, so you do not have to.

That is the kind of gal I am.

So, were those two hours worth it?

It is absolutely for anyone interested in how LinkedIn works and how to increase their visibility through content creation.

Now, some of you are asking why I should care. You are never going to post content.

That is fair.

But if you are making an effort to react to posts, wouldn't you like to know if that is effective?

Well, I have the answers, so read on.

Who Put This Together?

So, first, I need to give the teams that put this together their due. Just Connecting Hub and Authored Up teamed together for this report. Their principals are Richard Van Der Blum and Ivana Todorovic. They analyzed 1.5 million posts from 34,000 individual profiles. Now that is something! So, this is some of the most comprehensive information about how the LinkedIn algorithm works.

Helpful Information For All LinkedIn Users

Also, this report has valuable information for users of LinkedIn who want to understand better how to get more out of their experience.

• How To Make Your Feed Better

Many people complain about their LinkedIn feed and how it is full of irrelevant posts. Here is how the algorithm decides what you should see.

1. When you add a new connection, you are likelier to see posts from that connection. If you like the content, engage with it. It tells the algorithm to continue showing it from this creator.

2. If you engage with a content creator, the algorithm gets a signal to give you more from that creator.

3. Length of time is considered a signal of interest. Spend time reading a post or viewing a video, and you will likely see more from that creator.

4. If you engage with a creator daily, you will likely see more from that creator, even if you have multiple LinkedIn sessions daily.

5. Sending a DM tells the algorithm you would be interested in seeing that person's posts.

6. Saving a post is another indicator of interest.

So, to curate your feed, you should do the following.

1. If you do not like videos, do not engage with videos. Your engagement tells LinkedIn to give you more of that type of content.

2. Visiting a profile is a signal to show you that person's content.

3. Engaging with content via comments prompts the algorithm to give you more of that person's content. That is why commenting on a post irritating you is not helpful. You are telling the algorithm to provide you with more from that person.

• Likes don't help the creator as much as you think.

Social media has trained us to react to posts, but on LinkedIn, beyond the first 40-50 likes, your liking has no impact on the reach of that post.

• LinkedIn really wants you to comment.

A comment has 15 times more impact on the reach of a post and 12 times for the commentor. But beware of using AI for your comments. The report found AI-generated comments led to 4.2 less response from the author. For those of us on LinkedIn a lot, we can spot AI comments easily.

Here are some suggestions on how to comment

What resonated with you, or what did you learn?

Summarization of the post

Ask questions

Share your emotions

Tag others that might want to see it

Celebrate what you read or viewed

Don't agree? Offer your take (politely)

Have additional resources? Link to them

• Reposts without additional comments by you help the poster moreR. It is seen as an extension of their post. Repost with Thoughts is looked at as a new post by you. The original poster gets 12x less reach than Instant Reposting.

• Don't want to post? Then Collaborative Articles might be of interest to you.

• These are publicly indexed, which provides an SEO benefit

• Feed visibility by others

• More profile views

• A chance to earn a badge

Remember, though, that you are giving LinkedIn your intellectual property. They are likely collecting this information and will monetize it at some point. You may not care, but it is something to be aware of if you want to participate.

Important Information For Content Creators

For content creators or aspiring to do this on LinkedIn, here is some vital information from the report.

• How people use LinkedIn

• Mobile engagement is 65%

• Average session time is 1.39 minutes

• Monthly engagement is 19 minutes

• Average posts viewed per session is 14

• Desktop/Laptop engagement is 35%

• Average session time is 3.02 minutes

• Monthly engagement is 24 minutes

• Average posts viewed per session is 11

Make sure your content is mobile-optimized!

• Most popular post types

• Text with a single image (48%)

• Ideal length 900-1,200 characters

• Stock photos do not do as well for engagement

• Great for storytelling or infographics

• Text-only posts (16%)

• Have a good hook and call to action

• Sweet spot is 1,800-2,100 characters

• Good for storytelling and how to take action

• Video (8.2%)

• 1-2 minutes is best

• Vertical format works best

• Add thumbnails

• Document or carousel posts (8.1%)

• The ideal slide number is 12

• Accompanying post should be less than 500 characters

• 25-50 words per slide is ideal

• Articles (4%)

• 34% of these incorporated a newsletter

• Word count 800-1200 works best

• Short paragraphs and clear headlines

• Articles including video or summarizing trends and developments performed better

• LinkedIn Polls (1.2%)

• Have three options

• Make performance is one-week duration

• Include hyperlinks, pictures, or tags

• Preferred post type to maximize reach

• Text Only

• Personal Storytelling

• Text Plus Image

• Personal Storytelling

• Industry-Related Content

• Event Content

• Document Posts

• Thought Leadership

• Video

• Event Content

• Thought Leadership

• Preferred posting times

• Text Plus Image

• Mon-Fri, 8 am-10:30 am

• Text-Only Posts

• Mon-Fri (storytelling also on weekends), 8 am-11 am

• Document Posts

• Weekdays, but especially on Tuesdays and Thursdays

• Polls

• If work-related, weekdays, 8:00 am-11 am

• How LinkedIn distributes posts

• First to those who have clicked on the post notification bell on a profile

• Second, to those who regularly interact with your posts

• Third, to new connections or followers

• Fourth, to active followers on the platform

• Fifth, to active connection on the platform

There is so much more to this report. If you want to read the whole thing, you can access it here.

Shelley Piedmont is a Career Coach who focuses on understanding your unique skills, interests, and aspirations and provides personalized coaching to guide you toward roles where you can truly thrive. Whether you are stuck as to what your next career move should be or need help with resumes, LinkedIn profiles, or interview preparation, Shelley is here to help you. Please set up an exploratory call to find out how she can help you reach your career goals.