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.
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.
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.
The study identified certain actions that contribute to the enhanced positioning of posts on the social network. These are the following:
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:
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.
From smallest to largest, these are the formats that work best:
In contrast, these are the ones that provide the worst reach to your account:
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: