Earlier last month, social selling experts and LinkedIn trainers, Just Connecting published their fourth annual algorithm research report about the granddaddy of professional social networks, LinkedIn, and it’s got people talking.

A lot…

In a time where LinkedIn has shaken up the way they rank posts and help (or hinder) engagement, it’s great to have this set of research that truly lifts the lid on how to get the most out of LinkedIn and get your content seen.

The report itself is heavy and includes 57 tips and observations. Still, to help you, we’re going to share the highlights from this report with actionable tips and tricks you can adopt to enhance your reach and engagement.

1. Nurture your posts

You take time to formulate winning content and create an engaging post. But once posted, don’t forget about it. Stick around and engage with those commenting or liking your posts. LinkedIn prefers you to respond to comments within the hour.

2. Engage with your network

Each week, set a target to engage with at least three posts from your network. If you do, the reach of your posts should grow by at least 20%. It’s kind of a quit-pro-quo kind of approach.

3. Consider the length of your posts

According to the research by Just Connecting, the ideal length of your posts should be between 200 and 350 words. Any posts longer or shorter than this might not get the reach you desire.

4. Use tags wisely

A tag is when you add a “@” in front of the name of an individual or company to mention them in a post. Adding tags is a great way to encourage engagement, as that person or company page admin will receive a notification that someone is talking about them, and they are encouraged to either react or comment on the post. However, if the person or company you have tagged does not engage with your post, LinkedIn will not promote the post, and the growth will slow.

5. The thing about ‘hashtags

Hashtags help with discovery. LinkedIn users often search for posts with their preferred hashtags, as they are keen to comment or engage with content on a topic. It allows those not connected with you to see your content and potentially connect with you or follow your page.

You should aim for between three and ten hashtags in any post, no more and no less.

6. Aim to post consistently

Following the research on more than 9,500 posts from 200 members, Just Connecting noticed how important it was to post consistently. Their idea was that twice a week would be best.

If you fail to post consistently for one month, then your subsequent posts won’t get as much reach as they would have if you had posted consistently. They said the next four to five posts would likely get 30% less space. So with that in mind, get into the commitment of posting content regularly on your profile.

7. The art of commenting

Avoid being the first person to comment when commenting on your posts, as this will slow down the reach. What’s more, consider the length of your comments too. Comments with fewer than twelve words will achieve half the impact of comments that include more than twelve words. 

As you would expect, the greater the number of comments on your post, the higher the reach. Just Connecting has calculated that every word will increase the post's reach by 4% in your network and 3% in the network of the person that commented.

8. Who knew the power of the selfie?

Did you know that a simple selfie can triple your engagement score and enhance your reach by more than 2.5 times? So if you’re feeling brave, why not try out a post with a selfie in it and analyse your score?

9. LinkedIn is influencing your feed

LinkedIn wants to make your time on the platform as enjoyable as possible; that’s why they strive to deliver relevant, engaging content on your feed. LinkedIn keeps a close eye on what you engage with and will aim to provide similar content in your future news feeds.

When you connect with someone new, Linkedin knows this and will always post that new connection’s content for the next two weeks at the top of your feed. 

What’s more, if you react to a post by liking, loving or clapping, it will also share more of that person’s content in future feeds. 

10. Stay connected with your faves with comments and shares

If you comment on someone’s post, you are 70% more likely to see the author’s next post. This rate grows to 80% if you share someone else’s post. So if you are keen to remain in touch and connected with certain people in your network, commenting on their posts or sharing them is a surefire way to avoid missing out on future content. 

Like what you’ve read?

Jo Buchanan, the author of this blog, is the Founder and Director of TwitTwooYou Limited, a business growth strategic consultancy centred on getting brands noticed. TwitTwooYou offers smart services to help businesses grow and achieve their aspirations and goals. Want to get your brand noticed? Get in touch for a free, no-obligation chat.