The LinkedIn Algorithm in 2024 with Richard van der Blom

LinkedIn is not the same platform it was a year ago. So if you’re still using strategies from 2023, you’re probably playing a losing game. 

That’s the blunt reality Richard van der Blom, a recognized authority on all things LinkedIn algorithm, brings to light.

Having spent years analyzing and researching LinkedIn’s shifts and trends, Richard’s insights are essential for anyone (or company) looking to stay relevant on the platform. 

We were lucky enough to get Richard to sit down with our very own Laura Erdem (who has grown her own LinkedIn audience from 3,000 to 28,0000) to discuss the observed changes in the LinkedIn algorithm over the last 12 months as well as to get some pragmatic advice for adapting our strategies. 

This blog post unpacks the conversation to bring you all the highlights 👇

Contents:

• Crafting a winning content strategy

• How to set up an employee advocacy programme

• Converting engagement to business outcomes for Sales

• Measuring your LinkedIn activities with the right KPIs

• The LinkedIn Algorithm in 2024

• Looking ahead: LinkedIn and AI

You can find the full conversation here →

Crafting a winning content strategy on LinkedIn

One thing is absolutely clear to Richard, the success of your LinkedIn strategy hinges on it being 100% LinkedIn-focused. Too often businesses implement a “social strategy” that they apply across all platforms.

“They have what I call an ‘all sizes fit all’ content strategy... content that is suitable for Instagram, Facebook, X, might not be the best content following for LinkedIn.”

Beyond this, creating impactful content on LinkedIn requires:

• Understanding your objective (company and personal profiles differ!)

  
  If you’re working with your company profile you need to focus primarily on brand awareness, direct lead generation should be a secondary goal. Richard’s research shows that people simply don’t engage with company profiles at the same level.
  
  So direct lead gen should be primarily driven by personal profiles - and even then should be about creating value and building a relationship first, we cover more on that in ‘Converting engagement to business outcomes for Sales’ below..

• Content differentiation and relevancy

  
  With growing numbers of people becoming active on LinkedIn (more on this below), standing out should be at the centre of your content strategy.
  
  For Richard, this means two things in particular: 1) tailoring your content to fit LinkedIn, distinguishing it from what you might post on other social platforms, and 2) ensuring your content is relevant to your audience.
  
  “It’s not just about broadcasting your message; it’s about crafting content that resonates with your LinkedIn audience.”

You can read about our own success at Dreamdata with relevant memes on LinkedIn in this post → 

How to set up an employee advocacy programme

One of the central pillars for succeeding with your content strategy on LinkedIn is employee advocacy (also known as social selling). For Richard, employee advocacy plays the pivotal role in amplifying a company’s presence on LinkedIn. 

Here’s what he had to say about what you need to set up a successful LinkedIn employee advocacy programme:

• Know the four tiers of employee advocates

  
  Richard tells us to identify and categorize your employees (and their LinkedIn contribution) into one of these four categories.

1. Thought Leaders: These are typically executives, directors, or individuals who have already established a significant footprint on LinkedIn. They create their content and may have their channels, such as LinkedIn newsletters or YouTube channels. Thought leaders are instrumental in growing their communities and setting the tone for the company’s presence on LinkedIn.
   
   

2. Active Ambassadors: These employees are engaged with the company’s content and also publish their LinkedIn posts. They might not have the seniority or the reach of thought leaders but play a crucial role in amplifying the company’s voice through their activity.
   
   

3. Engagement Advocates: Engagement advocates are employees who might not create their content but are willing to engage with the company’s posts through likes, shares, and comments. This tier includes employees who support the company’s messaging and help increase its reach, even though they are not content creators themselves.
   
   

4. Potential Promoters: These are employees who are not yet convinced of the value or may not fully understand how to use LinkedIn effectively. They represent a group that, with the right encouragement and training, could move up the ladder to become engagement advocates or even active ambassadors.

Some fall outside these tiers, usually individuals who are not on LinkedIn or even anti-LinkedIn or social media in general - i.e. ‘the 20%’ in the next point below.

• Adopt the 30-50-20 Rule

  
  When setting up your programme, concentrate efforts on nurturing the 30% of employees who are natural brand ambassadors (think category 1 and 2 above), as they are key to influencing the rest and bolstering your brand’s visibility and engagement, support the persuadable middle 50% (your category 3 and 4s), and don’t stress over the resistant 20%.

• Provide tools and training

  
  Equip employees with the necessary tools and training to share their insights and stories on LinkedIn, moving towards a culture of content creation. Richard has plenty of advice on his profile for how you can train people up, check it out →

• Recognize and reward

  
  Finally, acknowledge active participants to foster a sense of ownership and contribution towards the company’s LinkedIn success. At Dreamdata we set a goal for total team impressions and promised a team dinner if achieved.

  
  You can read about our own experience with employee advocacy/ social selling here →

  We are currently running our second programme and have now also included individual awards, such as ‘best improved’ and ‘most engagement’, watch this space to see the results!

Converting engagement to business outcomes for Sales

To succeed as a Sales rep on LinkedIn, you need to follow a nuanced approach to building relationships and converting engagement into genuine business outcomes. “It's about adding value first”, Richard tells us. It is not about harassing people with impersonal cold messaging.

Richard advises, to follow a multi-step process for connecting and engaging with potential leads that focuses on trust and credibility before pitching your services or products.

This should involve genuine engagement with and commenting on the target’s posts, personalized connection requests, followed by valuable content sharing. Only then can you have a chance at driving tangible sales results. 

Measuring your LinkedIn activities with the right KPIs

Richard also turned to the hot topic of measuring success. A topic which we at Dreamdata are especially interested in and help B2B companies solve as a key LinkedIn partner.

The main objective here should be to shift focus from vanity metrics like reach and engagement to conversion rates and real business outcomes.

• Conversion over vanity metrics

  
  “Focus on the outcomes that matter. It's not about how many people you reach, but how many you can move to act,” emphasizes Richard.

  
  Dreamdata enables you to connect LinkedIn engagement to pipeline and revenue, check out how.

• Engagement quality

  
  Value the interactions that bring you closer to your professional and business goals. “Quality trumps quantity every time. Engaging with the right people is more valuable than any number of likes,” Richard points out. 

• Profile engagement trends

  
  According to Richard, “who engages with your profile tells you if you're on the right track. It's a direct reflection of your content's relevance”.

• Network quality

  
  Track how your network is growing. The focus should be on building a network that is not only large but also relevant and engaged.

“Growing your network with intention is crucial. Seek connections that align with your goals” Richard advises. 

The LinkedIn Algorithm in 2024

Now, without further ado (and there’s been a lot of ado), here are the 5 main algorithm changes according to the evidence gathered by Richard:

1. Reach and Engagement is down, conversions are up

   
   LinkedIn is tweaking the algorithm to prioritize more relevant reach over sheer volume, aiming to ensure content reaches the most appropriate audience rather than just maximizing exposure and virality.

2. More content in feed

   
   There’s a noticeable increase in the amount of promoted posts and ads in user feeds, making it more challenging for organic content to stand out - and therefore more important than ever to make your content relatable.

3. Increase in user activity

   
   More users are publishing content at least once a week compared to the previous year, indicating a shift towards more active content creation among LinkedIn users.

4. Decrease in passive users.

   
   The proportion of users who only consume content without engaging (liking, commenting, or sharing) or creating their own content is decreasing, suggesting a move towards a more engaged user base.

5. Increase in Live and Audio events engagement

   
   Engagement and participation in LinkedIn Live and audio events have significantly increased, reflecting a growing focus on real-time interaction and content consumption.

Above all else, this means quality over quantity. 

We need to place a greater focus on quality than ever. This means producing content that is relevant and valuable to your target audience to ensure it reaches the right people, even if overall reach decreases.

Which brings us to the final highlight of the conversation.

Looking ahead: LinkedIn and AI

There’s no escaping AI now. Whether in the form of large language models like ChatGPT, LinkedIn’s own AI function, - which is in Richard has been part of beta testing for - or comment bots, AI and automation are here to stay.

But for now, it’s a double-edged sword and Richard advises caution. He gives us the following tips:

• AI is a tool to augment not replace quality content and creativity

  
  “AI should be used as a tool to augment our capabilities, not replace them”. He suggests that AI should be thoughtfully applied to your content strategy.

  
  It should serve to enhance creativity and efficiency rather than replace it all, so you maintain the personal touch that reflects your authentic voice.

• Automation and bots are hugely risky

  
  “Automation might seem like a shortcut, but it can dilute the genuine connections that are the heart of LinkedIn”. Avoid over-reliance on automation for engagement and outreach, as personal connections drive LinkedIn success.

Richard leaves us with a final thought on what the future holds.

“LinkedIn has the potential to lead the way in responsible AI use, fostering an environment where technology empowers users rather than alienating them,” Richard suggests optimistically.

He envisions a future where AI supports users in creating more impactful, personalized content while preserving the essence of human connection. And finally, that LinkedIn as a growth channel is very much here to stay, and its potential is only going to bigger.