Considered the most trusted social network among professionals, LinkedIn has become a powerful tool for those looking to expand their network and drive business opportunities. And unlike other social networks, the unique LinkedIn algorithm offers a significant opportunity to create meaningful influence for clients organically.
This is a dream scenario for us social media professionals who are constantly fighting against the pay-to-play nature of most social platforms.
There’s a huge opportunity in 2023 to utilize the LinkedIn algorithm for clients, if we just understand how to use LinkedIn effectively.
So I brought on LinkedIn expert Joshua B. Lee, the ‘Dopamine Dealer of LinkedIn‘, to our Connect Group live training to give us a timely update on the LinkedIn algorithm and share what we need to know about managing LinkedIn for clients (and for ourselves!).
Josh broke down how the LinkedIn algorithm works, ways we can capitalize on this, and the dos and don’ts to an effective LinkedIn strategy for clients.
Here are some key takeaways from our training with Josh that will change the way you use LinkedIn.
The Human Algorithm
Let’s start off by talking about the one algorithm that doesn’t change: the human algorithm.
The human algorithm doesn’t change, it’s a constant that slowly evolves over time. If you understand how to use it, it will stand the test time of time and work on any platform.
As Josh reminded us, there is truly no B2B or B2C in marketing, it’s only H2H (human to human).
Every company is run by a human being, and most marketers tend to lose that human aspect when it comes to their marketing strategies. When we keep in mind that we’re talking to another human being, that’s where the magic happens, when we’re able to build relationships, create advocates and make an impact.
It’s all about the human connection and the key is to build advocates first, then clients. In a digital social media world, relationships are the only way to build long-term business and clients.
If we focus on how to really educate, inspire, and draw someone into our network rather than just trying to sell to them, that’s when significant connections are made.
The true power lies in someone choosing to work with you on their own, rather than being sold on your product or service, and LinkedIn is a powerful tool that can help establish the connections that ultimately drive conversions.
Why LinkedIn?
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of the LinkedIn algorithm, let’s talk about why we should be utilizing LinkedIn for our clients.
LinkedIn is the largest global community of business professionals making purchase decisions.
Yes, you read that right. The largest community of professionals making purchase decisions is on LinkedIn.
Did you know that:
- 4 out of 5 people on LinkedIn drive business decisions
- 61 million LinkedIn users in the US are senior level influencers
- 40 million LinkedIn users in the US are in decision-making positions
- 33% of decision-makers use LinkedIn to make research purposes
Not only that, but LinkedIn is the place for organic reach online.
We all know that most social networks these days are pay-to-play. On LinkedIn, the ability to stand out and make an impact with organic social media marketing is still possible.
Take a look at these stats in regard to organic content on LinkedIn:
- 96% of B2B content marketers use LinkedIn for organic social marketing (compared to only 82% for Twitter and Facebook)
- There are currently 9 billion content impressions weekly, but only about 3 million people are actually sharing posts (less than 1% of users)
- There are 7x more impressions per follower and 11x more clicks per follower for complete and active LinkedIn pages
Plus, LinkedIn is phenomenal for SEO. Your profile, articles, and posts on LinkedIn show up in Google searches with a 100/100 domain authority. This means Google favors LinkedIn and your discoverability on LinkedIn is very high compared to other platforms.
If you were unsure about the value of LinkedIn before, there should be no doubt now that implementing a LinkedIn strategy for clients can have a major impact.
The LinkedIn Algorithm
Now let’s jump into the LinkedIn algorithm.
The core of LinkedIn’s algorithm is based on the Social Selling Index Score (SSI score).
The SSI score is unique to LinkedIn and measures how effectively you use LinkedIn in four different categories:
- Establishing your professional brand
- Finding the right people
- Engaging with insights
- Building relationships
This score is what sets the LinkedIn algorithm apart from other platforms and why it’s not a pay-to-play platform. None of the 4 elements listed here have to do with ad spend. If we want to get a client into the algorithm and onto people’s feeds, organic strategy is the way to go.
With this scoring system, LinkedIn prioritizes accounts that are engaging their network and driving conversations. The higher your SSI score, the more visibility LinkedIn grants you in the algorithm. Users with an SSI score of 70 or above see an additional 25% higher reach compared to the average user.
You can find your SSI score right here.
How to Increase Your LinkedIn SSI Score
The biggest thing that LinkedIn wants is interaction with its network, and it rewards those who are interacting in a meaningful way with higher SSI scores.
One way you can improve this score for clients is in your content publishing strategy.
Successful content publishing on LinkedIn isn’t just about clicking “post”. After you publish a post, there are a couple of actions that can really make or break how you show up on the platform.
You want to nurture your posts and one way to do that is by considering the engagement phases.
LinkedIn now has two engagement phases:
- Fast growth in the first 8 hours of a post is based on the engagement received in the first 90 minutes after publishing.
- Consistent growth over multiple days is based on the engagement received between the first 90 minutes and about 8 hours after publishing.
Capitalize on these engagement phases by staying active and responding to comments on your posts. Opening up conversations with your network will drive organic engagement on your posts. Leaving new, insightful comments on your post and adding additional value within the comment section can attract new engagement on LinkedIn posts even days later.
Another key tip to consider on LinkedIn is: Don’t overshare. Share one post per day max. When you share more than one post a day, this negatively impacts the visibility of all posts shared that day (this includes reposts).
This is because LinkedIn wants to share the content of more individual users, not just content from a couple of “heavy posting” users. The goal is quality engagement, not mass content.
Join the Connect Community
If you want more strategic tips for increasing your visibility in the LinkedIn algorithm, Josh gave us an entire list of LinkedIn dos and don’ts in our live training. You can access the entire replay of the training in our Connect Group.
Connect is our private members-only thriving community of social media pros where you can stay sharp with “What’s Working Right Now” in Social Media.
Group perks include a supportive community where every question is answered, live weekly training and Q&A sessions, and access to our library of 270+ past video trainings.
