7 Quick Tips for Growing your LinkedIn Following

If you’re trying to grow your LinkedIn following, there are some important algorithm changes that you should pay attention to – it’s a radical change that happened late last year.

If you work from a posting strategy, make sure this is part of it – I’m definitely using it to make some updates. Here’s the highlights:

Profile-Content Alignment: 360Brew analyzes a user’s profile (headline, About section, experience) to determine their area of expertise. If a user posts content that is different from their stated expertise, the algorithm limits its distribution.

Quality over Quantity: The system de-prioritizes “hacks” like engagement pods, clickbait, and, for many, high-frequency posting. Instead, it favors in-depth content that generates, for example, “saves” (which have 5x more impact on reach than likes) and meaningful, long-form comments.

Focus on Consistency: The AI looks at long-term patterns, favoring users who consistently post within their defined, narrow niche.

Semantic Understanding: The AI “reads” posts, profiles, and comments to determine their true meaning, relevance, and quality, acting as a human-like evaluator.

“Lost in Distance” Effect: The first 1-2 sentences of a post are prioritized heavily, as the model places the highest importance on the beginning of the text.

Reduced Overall Reach: Many users have reported a drop in impressions (roughly 47% lower year-over-year) as the algorithm becomes more selective, aiming to show higher-quality, more relevant content to smaller, more targeted audiences rather than maximizing for viral, broad-reach, but shallow, content.

Impact on Visuals and Links: While visual content still matters, 360Brew prioritizes content that enhances understanding over simple, high-engagement, “bait” imagery. External links may be penalized, as the platform seeks to keep users engaged on-site.

Also, if you haven’t used the SAVE feature on LinkedIn yet, you can hit the 3 buttons in the top right and save a post so you can easily reference it in a shared folder later. If part of your marketing strategy is showing up on LinkedIn, this algorithm shift is an important one to know.