Transcription
Most people are freaking out about the LinkedIn algorithm. In today's episode, I'm going to teach you how you can make it work for you, not against you.
Good day, everyone. It's Coach Michelle J. Raymond, your trusted guide for building your brand and your business on LinkedIn. When you log on to LinkedIn at the moment, you might be picking up the same vibe shift that I have, and that is it's a bit doom and gloom. And I'm typically a glass half full kind of person, but I'm pretty sensitive also as an empath to the feelings and things that are going on. And it feels a bit yuck if I'm being honest. I really haven't enjoyed my time on LinkedIn over the last probably 6 weeks or so. I'm finding myself wanting to spend less and less time on there, which is really unusual for somebody that has been up and down on the roller coaster called LinkedIn for the last 10 years, but it just doesn't feel like it's fun anymore.
But rather than sit there and wallow in it or avoid it, I have decided that it's time for a vibe shift and I'm going to be the catalyst for it. It's time for me to use my superpower, which is I am Little Miss Sunshine. And fun fact, I actually got approached by somebody one day that asked me to come and work for them in their office just to lift the mood of the place. So, I know I'm fully qualified for this job.
In the episode, we are going to cover what actually happened to the LinkedIn algorithm and how it significantly changed since June. Like fundamentally, it doesn't work the same as it did before. And no, I'm not talking about changing priorities. I'm talking about a fundamental shift in the technology behind it. And that's what's driving what we're seeing now. And shout out to Christopher Penn. He released a 70-page report investigating into all of this stuff and I'm going to cut that down for you into a few minutes, but I will put the links to his details in the show notes so you can go and read it for yourself if you want to nerd out on LinkedIn like I do.
Once we understand how it's fundamentally changed, then we're going to have a look at what can you actually do to take things back into your control. You are not powerless in this situation. It is absolutely the opposite to that. In fact, more now than ever, you have the power to control LinkedIn. It doesn't feel like it right now, but I promise you it's true. And at the end of the episode, I'm going to give you the growth strategies that you can use to train the LinkedIn algorithm to work for you.
Let's talk about the LinkedIn algorithm, old versus new. Now, my brain thinks in words, not pictures, but I'm going to give it a crack to give you an analogy, which I hope makes sense and translates. The way that the algorithm has changed, if we go to the algorithm pre-June 2025, is that if you think about it like an old-school map, shout out to any of you Gen X's or older who remember what it was like to sit in your car, flick through the street directory, find the place that you wanted to go, trace it with your fingers, figure out what the fastest way was, and get from point A to point B. Now, over time, you developed the shortcuts and you figured out the best ways to go to avoid traffic. Maybe there's fewer lights and that was the way that we did things. And the LinkedIn algorithm, the old one, was similar to that. It was looking for basic signals from you like what content you were liking, what content you were commenting on, who you were connecting with, these types of things. But it only updated every now and then and it was pretty generic across the platform and certainly not customized and personalized for you or what's going on on the platform today.
And if we fast forward to now, what's it like? Well, it's like having the GPS in your car. You set the direction that you want to go. It will get you there based on the changes to what's going on out in the environment. So, as you know, if you miss a turn, your GPS will re-correct that route. If it's looking at traffic conditions, if there's a buildup during peak hour, an accident somewhere, it will redirect you. You want to avoid tolls or paper tolls, it will find you the fastest route. And it's adapting to your driving and what you do and your choices immediately. There is nothing funnier than the judgment from a GPS telling you that you've missed your turn. Like honestly, it gets pretty aggressive, right? But it does make me laugh, but it always gets you there without fail. And so, if you think about the LinkedIn algorithm right now, it is adjusting to your every action that you take on the platform and setting you up with a personalized experience. So, how it works for me versus how it works for you can be different based on what actions you're doing. And we're going to talk about the types of actions that make a difference. Because when you are proactive on LinkedIn right now, you are actively giving it data to change those directions and really give you a customized experience. So you can get this thing to give you exactly what you want. Sound good?
So let's talk about that next. What's the difference between being proactive and passive on LinkedIn? Most people fall under the passive category. And a day on LinkedIn looks like this for them. Log in, scroll for a bit, take a look around, maybe deal with some notifications, feel like they've caught up on things, disappear again. So, you're not giving the algorithm much information to adjust your experience on.
Those that are being proactive are taking a lot more steps than this. Someone like me, I log on to LinkedIn, step one. Of course, I scroll just like everybody else. But there are a lot more activities that we can dial in. So, there is of course the old-school liking and commenting or if I'm saving posts or reposting them. It's looking at every action around what I'm taking on the search bar, who I'm connecting with, what have I updated on my LinkedIn profile. Am I clear around what I do, who I do it for? Does my content always speak to the same audience or am I chopping and changing and, you know, really confusing the algorithm that it doesn't know where to go. The more that you're proactive and the more that you're taking active steps on the platform, the more that the algorithm can amplify those results. So, it will make sure your content gets connected with the right people even more so than if you're just putting the right keywords and just writing a well-structured, grammatically correct post. Like we're giving it more stronger signals so that it knows, ah, that's what you want, that's what you're trying to achieve.
Let's have a look at this from practical perspectives. If we go to your LinkedIn profile, there are so many areas that you can let the LinkedIn algorithm know what it is that you do, who it is that you do it for, what makes you different. And that could be things like updating your tagline on your company page or your headline on your LinkedIn profile. It works the same across pages and profiles. You can spend some time updating that. Make sure it reflects exactly where you're at right now. Not where you were 6 months ago, not where you want to be, but what is it that you want to get out of LinkedIn right now? Move down into your featured section. Update that. When was the last time you spent some time updating your featured section? Give it the current info that is relevant to you right now. Move down into the about section. Is it a bit undercooked? Does it really represent you or is it underelling your skills? For those of you who are sitting there cringing at the thought of having to update all of this, well, shout out reminder. Don't forget that I will rewrite LinkedIn profiles for people. It's one of the services that we offer at B2B Growth Co.
But as we move down your LinkedIn profile, you have your work experience section. Now, most people don't put enough information in here. It is very light on in information and that information that's missing is information that could be helping the LinkedIn algorithm to make sure that you're having a better experience on the platform. So spend some time, go back and fill that in. Even if you're someone that's not actively looking for work, it is important. Every single piece of your profile is important. Your skills section. When was the last time that you updated that? I want you to have at least 50 skills on your profile. If you're a company page admin, we're doing exactly the same thing on our pages. Are all of the details correct? Have you updated your about section? Is the tagline right? Is there missing information? Have you done your featured section? It is time to give these things a freshen up. Give the system new data that it can adjust to. If you spend a little bit of time refreshing your page and refreshing your profile, you are sending out a whole batch of new data to the LinkedIn algorithm to adjust on the spot and start giving you a better experience. Keep in mind, it is only learning right now, right? It's back at the very beginning. There is brand new technology. This will only get better over time. But it will only get better if you're being proactive.
What else can you do? Well, when it comes to posting, we need to be really clear around our target audience. What makes you different? Sharing some opinions, maybe some emotions, but keeping it trustworthy and on track, right? Again, the more that you call out those audiences, the more that you're engaging with content that is written specifically for them, the easier it is for this new algorithm to match you with the right audience. When people have no strategy on LinkedIn and they just write whatever pops into their mind, I get it. It's easy. And some of you are on LinkedIn for fun. You're not trying to grow a business. So, those people, I get it. You can do whatever you want because you're probably getting paid by somebody else and that outcome is not, you know, tied back to what you earn. For people like me who run my business based off of LinkedIn, then we have to be more strategic. And if you don't know what actions you should be taking, then find out about my growth masterclass because that is exactly where I give you the framework so that you can find the right people, connect with them, nurture the relationships, know what type of content you've got to be posting and the habits which are proactive which will help the LinkedIn algorithm discover more about you.
Commenting is of course something that's extremely proactive that you can take into your hands. And ever notice when you comment on somebody else's post that all of a sudden they're commenting on yours? Of course, because you've signaled to the algorithm, this person's important to me and vice versa. And that law of reciprocity kicks in. We feel obligated to support their content. And it becomes this like vicious circle. You support them, they support you. And having like 20 or so of those key people, I think, is crucial in building a really amazing active community and it signals to other people as well as the algorithm. This is who you are. This is who you're surrounded by and it's that halo effect. So there are lots of activities that I have just shared at a very high level that you can train the LinkedIn algorithm to work for you.
If I was to wrap up today's episode very quickly and simply, it would be to say the LinkedIn algorithm is not your enemy. So don't treat it like it is. Do not throw your hands in the air and walk away and give up because you think it's all too hard because that's what you read on somebody else's post. It is time for you to take control, be proactive, and show exactly what you want to the LinkedIn algorithm by taking the actions we've discussed in this episode so that you have a better experience on LinkedIn. This really isn't a one-and-done event. You have to keep doing these activities and feeding the beast ongoing on LinkedIn so it stays up to date because you change, the world changes, your business goals change and it needs to make sure that it's got the most current data that it's working off. But that, my friends, comes back to you. So, are you going to be one of those people that sits back and moans about your performance on LinkedIn? Or are you going to test this out, take it for a spin, and let me know what the results are? Let me know if all of a sudden your experience of LinkedIn changes. You start seeing the people you want to hear from. You get comments from those that are in your target audience and you're getting the right kind of people reach out and want to connect with you. If that's the case, connect with me on LinkedIn if we're not already. I hope that we are. And let me know that this worked. Until next week. Cheers.
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