What LinkedIn's Content Ranking Changes Mean For You

LinkedIn's latest shake-up to the content algorithm that drives its newsfeed is bold but not unexpected. On its face, it seems like a big deal — LinkedIn is rapidly making inroads into becoming a content platform as much as a recruitment engine — but at its core, it doesn't change how you'll present your business to new customers.

LinkedIn's newsfeed changes are designed to promote what it calls "high-quality content" from companies and brands. This is an important distinction because LinkedIn has been working hard over the last year or so to become a destination for people looking to consume information about the companies they use and trust.

If you're not paying attention, this can seem like another Facebook-style algorithm update with no real impact on your business — but that couldn't be further from the truth. The changes are going to affect all businesses on LinkedIn, and they're going to have an impact on how you share updates and interact with customers online.

So what exactly have they done? We’re glad you asked…

Users Are In The Driver’s Seat When It Comes To Control Over Feed Content

LinkedIn now offers users the ability to reduce or limit their exposure to content they aren’t interested in. Sick of reading about working from home content? All you need to do is click “I don’t want to see this” on both individual posts plus you’ll now have an option to silence content from specific authors who get under your skin- winning!

Fed up with LinkedIn becoming a political playground? LinkedIn is currently testing reducing themes, such as politics, in the United States, but there are whispers this could be expanded across the world.

Goodbye Irrelevant Content

Feel like you’re seeing totally irrelevant content on your feed? Well, this will now be a thing of the past with the algorithm changes now offering more specific and personalised activity from your network. It’s all about putting posts of value in front of users; if it’s not useful, it ain't going to be seen.

Moving forward, you can expect to see MORE:

• Content related to your individual interests
• Constructive conversations that stick to community guidelines
• A chance for genuine engagement across the platform

And you’ll see LESS:

• ‘Jill Smith commented on Jack Jones’ post’... ahh, who cares? You can say adios to irrelevant updates from people outside your network
• Vote 1 to see less political content (if you want that, of course!)
• Click-bait posts that are drafted to cause a stir
• Polls from people outside your network.

 While this may seem like a small difference, it can have a big impact on how businesses use LinkedIn for marketing and recruiting. The old model encouraged companies to create “growth hacks” that attracted large audiences but did not produce high engagement rates. Now, businesses will have to focus on creating quality content that drives engagement and attracts an audience.

How To Make LinkedIn’s Algorithm Change Work For Your Business

Content is good, and good content is gold.

It’s time you start looking at how you and your business add value to the lives of your network on LinkedIn. This doesn’t mean you’ll start giving away your goods/services for free, but it should mean that you’re dedicating time to offering something useful. Trying to talk to everyone means you’ll probably talk to no one, so avoid writing vague and generic content, and instead get specific. 

Listicles are a great way to offer value to readers without worrying about giving away your bread and butter. Think of five things your customers need to know about engaging your business and get ready to see your engagement grow.

Keep learning, 

Kobi Simmat.