LinkedIn Algorithm in 2024

Richard Bliss, CEO and President of BlissPoint Consulting, in collaboration with the consulting firm Just Connecting, released the "4th Annual Algorithms Research." This study looks into the functioning of LinkedIn's algorithm, focusing on the key factors influencing a publication's visibility on the platform. By analyzing over 200 accounts and approximately 9,500 posts from 30 different countries, this article aims to present their findings and empower you to enhance your LinkedIn strategy to get better outcomes.

First of All, What’s an Algorithm?

Algorithms encompass the programming rules that determine when and to whom a post or a piece of content should be displayed. This implies that, in addition to being engaging for your audience, a post must adhere to specific rules to yield the best results. For brands and content creators, understanding the algorithms of the social network they operate on is crucial. The challenging thing is that many aspects of these algorithms are either undisclosed to the public or subject to constant changes, so creators have to stay consistently updated.

What's the Best Posting Schedule and Frequency?

Although posting several times a day causes your total reach to increase, according to the Bliss study, posting less than 18 hours after the last post is negative for both, causing the average reach per post to drop.

As for the best posting time, it varies by day of the week. For example, on Tuesdays and Thursdays it is best to post between 8:00 AM and 11:00 AM, while on Fridays and Sundays it is best to post between 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM. On Mondays and Saturdays the best time is between 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM. And on Wednesdays the best time is between 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM.

How to Boost a Post on LinkedIn

The study identified certain actions that contribute to the enhanced positioning of posts on the social network. These are the following:

• Do not use more than 10 hashtags. In addition, it was found that the creation of new hashtags or personal hashtags could favor a post.
• Do not use more than 10 emojis in the same post and that there are no more than 4 in the same line.
• Reply to someone else's comment within 12 hours.
• Enable the "Anyone" option in the "who can comment on your post" and "who can see your post" settings.
• Comment on your own post after 24 hours.
• Encourage your followers to turn on the bell, as the algorithm receives the signal that that account is interested in your posts.
• Encourage followers to save your post, as this way the social network will prioritize your content in their feed. It also helps if you encourage them to share and republish it.

What Doesn't LinkedIn's Algorithm Do?

It's not only important to know what to do, but also what not to do. Many times we do things on social media thinking that they will positively affect our reach, when the opposite is true. This can be quite a frustrating and discouraging experience when it comes to carrying out a marketing strategy.

In order to propel your content, keep in mind that it's not advisable to edit a post within the first 10 minutes after publication, as this can lead to a potential 40% reduction in reach. Additionally, it's not recommended for the text of a post to be translated and appear below in another language.

As for the content itself, avoid:

• Writing less than four lines of text.
• Using more than three different fonts.
• Leaving a blank line after each space of text.

Regarding blank spaces, it is not advisable to have one or two in a row. Even if you use them as a resource to make the “see more” appear, your content will be negatively affected.

Finally, it doesn't help if you are the first to comment on your own post, as this can reduce the reach by up to 20%.

While some of this may seem trivial at first, it is important to know that all algorithms have reasons for the way they behave. They aim to ensure that the social network offers users content that interests them, because they want people to spend as much time as possible on their platform.

What Formats Work Best?

From smallest to largest, these are the formats that work best:

• Text and multiple images.
• Carousels.
• Polls.
• Posts with documents.
  
  

In contrast, these are the ones that provide the worst reach to your account:

• Articles (not counting newsletters).
• Adding more than one link to the post.
• Newsletters.
• Celebrations.
• Adding external links.
• Videos.

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LinkedIn Algorithm: New Additions

While conducting the study, it became clear that the LinkedIn algorithm had undergone some changes and updates. But, because they were so new, the team did not have enough time to analyze them in depth. They did, however, wanted to mention them in the report so that interested readers could take them into account in their strategies. Here are the key takeaways:

• LinkedIn is giving more reach to accounts that are very active (and have a lot of followers) than to those that are less active or have just joined the social network.
• Shorter posts tend to outperform longer ones, and slides have experienced a decline in reach.
• Time spent on the platform is a factor that seems to have lost importance compared to past years.