LinkedIn isn’t just a professional networking site—it’s a powerful platform for content marketing, thought leadership, and brand growth. But if you want your posts to reach the right audience, understanding LinkedIn’s algorithm is crucial. Like Facebook and Instagram, engagement plays a significant role in how your content is distributed. The more you interact with others, the more LinkedIn will reward you by increasing the visibility of your posts.
 
Here’s a breakdown of what you need to know about the LinkedIn algorithm and actionable steps to improve your content strategy.
 
1. Engagement Is Key—Give and You Shall Receive
Just like other social platforms, LinkedIn favors posts that drive meaningful interactions. The algorithm prioritizes content that sparks conversation, and your business page activity level directly influences how widely your posts are distributed. That means your business page should be commenting on other people’s posts, responding to comments on your own, and being an active participant in discussions can boost your visibility.
What You Can Do:

• Engage with industry peers, prospects, and thought leaders. Spend time commenting on relevant posts in your niche before and after you publish your own content.
• Avoid being the first comment on your own post. Let organic engagement happen first before adding additional context or clarifications in the comments. This helps boost initial reach naturally.
• Comment on others’ posts before you publish. Engaging with others right before posting your own content can increase the likelihood that they’ll return the favor, boosting your post’s visibility.
• Encourage thoughtful, in-depth comments. Posts with meaningful discussions tend to perform better. Ask open-ended questions, respond thoughtfully, tag relevant people, and keep the conversation going.

 
2. Dwell Time Matters—Keep People Engaged Longer
"Dwell time" refers to the amount of time users spend on your post. The longer they stay, the better LinkedIn perceives your content. Well-structured, thought-provoking posts that keep people reading will perform better in the algorithm.
What You Can Do:

• Hook your audience with a compelling first sentence. Start with a bold statement, an intriguing question, or a surprising fact to encourage users to keep reading.
• Format for readability. Break up long paragraphs, use bullet points, and incorporate bold text or emojis to highlight key points. This makes your content more skimmable and keeps users engaged.
• Encourage interaction with open-ended questions. Posts that prompt responses tend to keep people on the page longer. Try asking:

"Have you tried this LinkedIn strategy? What worked for you?"
"What’s your biggest challenge with LinkedIn engagement?"
 
3. Post Consistently to Stay in the Algorithm’s Favor
Posting frequency plays a role in keeping your profile visible. LinkedIn rewards active users, so maintaining a regular posting schedule will help keep you top-of-mind with your network.
What You Can Do:

• Aim for at least two-three posts per week. This keeps your content circulating in the feed and improves overall engagement.
• At a minimum, post once per week. If you can’t commit to multiple posts, at least aim for consistency. A single post per week is better than sporadic bursts of activity.

 
4. Personal Stories and Insights Drive Engagement
Unlike other platforms, LinkedIn thrives on authenticity. People engage more with personal experiences, reflections, and behind-the-scenes content than they do with generic corporate updates.
What You Can Do:

• Share personal lessons, career milestones, and industry insights. These types of posts resonate more and generate higher engagement.
• Tell a story. Whether it’s a challenge you overcame, a career pivot, or an unexpected lesson learned, storytelling helps create an emotional connection with your audience.

 
5. Employee Advocacy and Leveraging Personal Profiles. While LinkedIn business pages have value, personal profiles can see greater organic reach. The LinkedIn algorithm prioritizes content from individuals over brands, making employee advocacy a powerful strategy to expand your company’s visibility. Engagement from employees and those you tag in post is important.  Also, the sooner they like, share, or comment on a post after it is posted is key.  Their likes, shares, and comments, especially within the first few hours of posting, can greatly amplify a post’s visibility.
 
What You Can Do:

• Encourage employees to share company updates. Rather than relying solely on your LinkedIn business page, get team members involved in commenting and sharing content. Their personal networks can significantly expand the reach of your posts.
• Mix company news with personal insights. If you’re sharing a company announcement, pair it with a personal reflection or take away to make it more relatable.

 
Final Thoughts
Success on LinkedIn isn’t just about what you post—it’s about how you engage. By actively participating in conversations, structuring your content for maximum readability, and sharing authentic experiences, you can work with the LinkedIn algorithm instead of against it.

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Kellie Emrich, DBA
Marketing Professor and Consultant
 

Social media platforms are constantly evolving, and keeping up with algorithm changes is essential for maximizing reach and engagement. The way content is prioritized shifts frequently, making it important to stay updated. Through my research and ongoing work, I track algorithm trends across some of the major platforms—Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Below, I break down what I see in 2025 and how you can adapt your strategy for better results knowing these trends

Facebook Algorithm
Facebook’s algorithm continues to prioritize meaningful engagement and community-building. Here are some key changes and insights:

1. Facebook is emphasizing deeper interactions, such as longer comments and diverse reactions (not just "likes"). Posts that spark authentic conversations are very valuable.   
What You Can Do

• Instead of just sharing updates, ask your audience for their opinions. Example: “We just launched a new product! What’s one feature you wish every product like this had?” instead of “We just launched a new product”
• Share personal or customer stories and ask followers to share their own experiences.
• Industry-relevant but friendly debates encourage longer responses. Example: “AI is changing marketing fast—some love it, others worry about losing the ‘human touch.’ Where do you stand?”

 
2. While business pages are still relevant, content shared by individuals (especially employees) get more visibility than business pages.   
What You Can Do

• Share your business content from your personal profile and encourage employees to do the same.
• Encourage employees and advocates to share your content from their personal profiles as well as like and comment.
• Create and actively manage a Facebook Group centered around your brand’s niche.

 
3. Facebook is showing users more posts from accounts they don’t follow if the content aligns with their interests. This means discoverability has increased—your content can reach beyond your current followers if it's engaging.
What You Can Do

• Use Relevant Keywords & Hashtags – Facebook now integrates hashtags and AI-driven discovery, so include industry-relevant keywords and branded hashtags. Example: Instead of “Check out our new eco-friendly water bottle!” Try “Looking for a sustainable way to stay hydrated? Our eco-friendly water bottle is here! #SustainableLiving #EcoFriendly”

• Post Educational tips, industry insights, how-to guides
• Post behind-the-scenes videos, storytelling, success stories, and personal experiences. Provoke emotions in your posts
• Posting about industry trends or current events increases the chance of Facebook recommending your content.

 
4. It’s no longer enough to just post content. You need to engage in comments, reply quickly, and be part of the conversation.
What You Can Do

• Reply to comments and start conversations to boost visibility.
• Posting when your audience is most active increases visibility. Experiment with different posting times and track engagement patterns.
• Facebook now integrates recommended hashtags, so use them wisely.

5. Video Content – Short-form and long-form video still perform well—invest in quality video storytelling.
What You Can Do

• Use Facebook Reels 

Instagram Algorithm
1. Instagram also prioritizes consistent content that receives likes, comments, shares, and saves. Posts that spark meaningful interactions are shown to more users.
What You Can Do

• Encourage engagement by asking open-ended questions in captions and using interactive elements like polls and quizzes in Stories.
• Keep your captions and calls to action genuine and valuable to encourage organic engagement
• Reply to comments and DMs within three hours to boost visibility in the algorithm.
• Instagram rewards regular posting. Aim for daily, every other day, or at least twice a week for consistent visibility.

 
2. Unlike Facebook, Instagram still emphasizes new content meaning the newest posts appear first when users log in.
What You Can Do

• Post when your audience is most active to maximize reach.

 
3. Instagram populates feeds based on user interests and followed hashtags. If someone interacts frequently with content related to a certain topic, similar posts (even from accounts they don’t follow) will appear in their feed.
What You Can Do

• Experiment with different hashtags and analyze which ones attract the most engagement.
• Captions should spark discussion, storytelling, or insight. Ask open-ended questions to drive more comments.

 
4. Unlike Facebook, Instagram does not prioritize personal content over business posts. However, posts with higher engagement naturally perform better, so creating engaging content is key.
What You Can Do

• Focus on authentic, value-driven posts rather than promotional content

 
5. Short-form video content remains Instagram’s most favored format. High-performing Reels are pushed into the Explore page and non-followers’ feeds, increasing reach dramatically.
​What You Can Do

• Use trending sounds, captions, and effects to boost engagement on Reels.
• Short-form video remains king! Use trending audio, captions, and interactive stickers to make your content stand out.