Are you fed up of scrolling through your LinkedIn feed and finding cat videos, motivational quotes, or apocryphal odes to business excellence that make you want to vomit?
Don’t worry – the social network has got you covered. LinkedIn has announced changes to its algorithm to prioritise better conversations in users’ feeds.
The company uses the maxim of ‘people you know, talking about things you care about’ as its framework. Consequently, as the company explains, it tries to filter through the garbage and onto the good stuff.
LinkedIn prioritises users by filtering through direct interactions, direct connections, such as co-workers, and information on profiles to gauge interests and common experiences. The ‘talking about’ section rewards conversations which are ‘authentic’ and have ‘constructive back and forth’, while common groups, hashtags, and pages are also considered.
Naturally, it takes two to tango, and LinkedIn also took the opportunity to advise users on best practice for its platform. “Despite the rumours, the algorithm doesn’t favour any particular format,” the company noted. Use no more than three hashtags and mention no more than five other users in a post if you don’t want to be seen as a spammer. Yet the key is: be yourself.
“Authenticity is key,” wrote Pete Davies, consumer product at LinkedIn in a post announcing the changes. “All the tips work out better when members talk about things they truly care about, in a way that’s natural for them. Genuine conversation around real experiences spark better and deeper conversation. Better conversation, in turn, leads to stronger community and connection.”
In March, LinkedIn issued a report which explored how marketers could influence customer decisions across the buying process. The study argued that while more people were involved in the tech buying process, the purchase timeline was shortening. Marketers therefore needed to assert themselves more quickly, from knowing their buying audience, to engaging and communicating in ‘enlightened buyer’ communities.
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