LinkedIn is a platform that’s primarily business focused. Over a billion people use this platform to network, find jobs, make sales or strengthen professional relationships. Businesses can leverage LinkedIn to build awareness of their brand. While most social media platforms reach a peak and then stop growing, LinkedIn continues to grow. This makes it an essential platform for marketers and business owners to leverage.
Before the pandemic, LinkedIn was mostly focused on corporate content. During the pandemic, people began to be more comfortable sharing personal stories rather than posting corporate messages that were dry or uninspiring. Much of the content on LinkedIn is backed up by research and statistics, which makes it a platform that people consider a trustworthy source of information.
Most Common LinkedIn Mistakes
There are some common mistakes that people make on LinkedIn that may limit the reach of their posts. One of these mistakes is posting the same content on LinkedIn that you post on other platforms. LinkedIn uses a unique algorithm, and posts are prioritized based on quality of interaction. The algorithm identifies posts that make users stop scrolling and stop to read or interact.
Another common mistake is posting content that sounds like it was written by a robot. People want to know they’re interacting with a human and they’re more likely to engage with human experience rather than corporate speak. The content you post needs to be creative and genuine. Focus on building brand awareness.
LinkedIn’s Algorithm
Despite having over a billion users, less than one percent of LinkedIn users publish something at least once a month. Only about five percent of users create content at least once every three months. Some users almost never post anything, but they do engage with content posted by others. But the majority of LinkedIn users are silent. They don’t post or comment. They just scroll through the feed but rarely interact.
Because of the fact that so many users are silent, the algorithm developed by LinkedIn considers factors like dwell time, signs of negative engagement, calls to action and internal and external links. LinkedIn is designed to increase dwell time by only showing the first few lines of a post so that a reader who’s interested has to click to see more. Longer posts increase dwell time.
LinkedIn’s algorithm also considers how much of the closest members of your network engage with a post in the first 60 to 90 minutes. It looks for signs of negative engagement such as stopping a video without watching it or unfollowing you. Linking to content on sites outside of LinkedIn can limit your reach. If you want to share a link, you can do that in the comments. Asking for shares and likes is viewed negatively by LinkedIn and may cause your content to be downgraded. Instead, encourage your readers to answer questions and engage with your post.
Thought leadership and personal stories do well on LinkedIn. Share user generated content and posts from employees. For expert help improving your results on LinkedIn or other social media platforms, reach out to Softline Solutions.
