Having a strong presence on LinkedIn is critical for business success in today’s digital landscape. However, many users find themselves struggling to gain traction and engagement on the platform. If your LinkedIn posts are flopping, don’t despair. With some tweaking and strategy, you can turn things around.
Reviewing LinkedIn’s Algorithm
The first step to troubleshooting is understanding how LinkedIn’s feed algorithm works. The algorithm curates content based on:
- Relevance – How relevant the post is to your connections’ interests
- Engagement – How much engagement similar posts typically receive
- Your activity – How often you engage with the platform
So if your posts are falling flat, it likely means they aren’t hitting the mark with one or more of these factors. But with some adjustments, you can create content tailored for success.
Crafting Captivating Content
Boring, generic posts won’t catch anyone’s eye in the LinkedIn feed. To stand out, you need to create captivating, valuable content. Here are some tips:
- Focus on your audience – Create content specifically tailored to your ideal customers and connections.
- Provide value – Offer insights, advice, breaking news, etc. Give readers something they can’t get elsewhere.
- Utilize multimedia – Include relevant images, videos, presentations, etc. to make posts more visually engaging.
- Use an attention-grabbing headline – You have just a split second to capture interest in the feed.
- Share company news and offers – Followers care about your brand. Share exciting announcements, deals, etc.
- Vary your post type – Mix up long-form posts, quick tips, questions, polls, etc. to add variety.
Taking the time to craft quality content significantly improves your chances of success.
Optimizing for Your Audience
One of the biggest factors in the LinkedIn algorithm is relevance. So optimizing your posts for your target audience is critical. Here are some ways to refine your approach:
- Analyze follower demographics – Pay attention to their titles, industries, interests, etc. to understand their needs.
- Ask for feedback on content ideas – This gives direct insight into what your audience wants to see.
- Study competitors’ top posts – What content resonates most with your shared audience?
- A/B test different post types and topics – Try a variety and see what performs best.
- Ask questions and encourage engagement – This shows you what posts inspire your audience to interact.
Taking the time to really understand your followers’ preferences will allow you to create content tailored specifically for them.
Posting Best Practices
In addition to your actual content, how and when you post can impact performance. Here are some best practices:
- Post consistently – Posting daily or several times per week helps the algorithm surface your content.
- Vary posting times – Test different times of day and days of the week to see what resonates best.
- Re-share evergreen content – Surface your best older posts that are still relevant.
- Follow hashtags – Jump on trending conversations in your industry.
- Tag relevant profiles – This expands your reach to engaged audiences.
- Use keywords – Incorporate relevant keywords naturally to help with search visibility.
- Include a strong call-to-action – Give your audience direction on engaging further.
Following best practices improves both the quality and visibility of your posts.
Driving Engagement
Remember, LinkedIn’s algorithm also considers post engagement. So it’s not enough to just publish posts – you need to take steps to drive likes, comments, and shares. Tactics include:
- Asking questions
- Running polls and quizzes
- Sharing thought-provoking perspectives
- Following up on previous popular posts
- Rewarding engagement with discounts, giveaways, etc.
- Personally engaging with commenters
- Sharing and liking others’ content
The more you can inspire your audience to interact, the more exposure you’ll gain with the algorithm.
Analyzing Metrics
To determine what’s working, you need to actively analyze your post metrics. Some key numbers to review include:
- Impressions
- Clicks
- Engagement rate
- Comments
- Shares
- Follows from non-connections
Compare metrics across different posts to identify your best performing content. You can then use these insights to shape future posting strategies.
Troubleshooting Specific Issues
Beyond overall performance, also look for any patterns or anomalies that could indicate specific issues sabotaging your posts. Common problems include:
Using banned keywords
LinkedIn prohibits certain keywords often associated with spam or inappropriate content. If you unknowingly include these, your posts may be automatically suppressed without you realizing.
Posting too frequently
While consistent posting is good, too much can actually penalize your reach. Try spacing out posts more if you share multiple times per day.
Sharing irrelevant or repetitive content
Off-topic or recycled content quickly causes followers to lose interest. Always share fresh, tailored content.
Using clickbait or misleading headlines
While eye-catching headlines are good, “tricking” readers erodes trust. Make sure headlines accurately reflect content.
Participating in engagement pods
“Trading” likes, comments or shares to boost metrics can get you flagged for spam-like behavior.
Addressing any specific issues you uncover can get your posts back on track.
Verifying Your Account
LinkedIn prioritizes showing content from verified accounts above unverified ones. So if your views are very low, getting verified can give you a boost. You can request a verified badge when you:
- Have an authentic, active account
- Represent a real organization, brand or entity
- Have a public presence outside of LinkedIn
The verification process includes confirming your identity and legitimacy.
Using LinkedIn’s Posting Tools
LinkedIn provides several tools to help optimize and analyze your posts. Using these can give you an added edge:
- LinkedIn Post Inspector – Provides feedback on post optimization.
- LinkedIn Text Analytics – Assesses post readability and complexity.
- LinkedIn Page Analytics – Tracks visitor demographics and engagement.
- LinkedIn Audience Network – Lets you target promotions to specific audiences.
Take advantage of LinkedIn’s built-in resources to maximize your reach and results.
Promoting High-Performing Posts
Once you have some proven top-performing posts, you can give them an added boost through paid promotion. Options include:
- LinkedIn Sponsored Content – Turns posts into native ads.
- Sponsored InMail – Delivers your post directly to recipients via InMail.
- Matched Audiences – Retargets your ads to people who engaged with the post.
Promoted posts let you take already successful content and amplify it to the perfect audiences.
Reevaluating Your Goals
If despite your best efforts your posts still aren’t gaining traction, it may be time to revisit your goals. Consider whether LinkedIn is the right platform for what you want to accomplish or if you need to adjust objectives. Track metrics over time to determine if you’re making headway. With persistence and savvy strategy, you can achieve LinkedIn posting success.
Conclusion
Here is a summary of the key tips covered:
- Study LinkedIn’s algorithm and craft content tailored for relevance and engagement
- Optimize posts for your target audience based on demographics and interests
- Follow best practices like consistent posting, varied content formats, keywords, etc.
- Drive engagement through likes, shares, polls, questions, etc.
- Analyze post metrics to identify high-performing strategies
- Troubleshoot issues like banned words, high frequency posting, etc.
- Consider getting verified and using LinkedIn’s posting tools
- Promote top posts and reevaluate goals if needed
With strategic posting tailored for the platform, you can get your LinkedIn content soaring. Stay persistent and keep fine-tuning your approach based on data. This will ultimately unlock greater visibility, engagement, and results.