How should B2B brands respond to the latest LinkedIn changes?

Earlier this year, LinkedIn made two major changes that impact how companies reach their target audiences on LinkedIn.

1. A change to the LinkedIn algorithm puts more emphasis on content relevancy.
2. Link preview thumbnails on organic posts is limited to 360 x 640 pixels.

What do these updates mean, and how should companies refresh their LinkedIn strategies in light of these changes?

Post relevancy

LinkedIn will prioritize putting posts in users’ newsfeeds that are most relevant to them, deprioritizing recency and timeliness of content (learn more about embracing LinkedIn as a hub for B2B engagement here). This means that some posts may continue to be shown in newsfeeds months after publishing, if they resonate with viewers. Relevancy is determined based on users’ interests, skills and engagement with other content. According to LinkedIn, this shift is to recognize “knowledge and advice” instead of virality.

To take advantage of this shift in the algorithm, companies must do four things:

1. Prioritize the quality of content, keeping posts informational and educational versus promotional.
2. Test out a variety of content formats, including long-form posts, articles and videos to see what your audience finds most useful and engaging.
3. Write content for a specific audience. Use keywords aligned with LinkedIn skills and interests to signal the target audience for your post.
4. Weave more evergreen content into your content calendar, as posts can continue to show up in newsfeeds well past their post date.

Link previews

In an effort to keep users on the platform, LinkedIn no longer allows company pages to upload full-width preview images to hyperlinks. While LinkedIn still allows company pages to select the image link, it will only show up as a small thumbnail. This change is to encourage companies to post more native content on the platform, as well as sponsor content (as boosted posts will still feature a full-width link preview image).

This means that companies, when posting content that links off the platform, must choose between publishing an (unlinked) single-image post with the link in the post copy or comments section, or publish the link with a small preview image.

So, which option is better?

Ultimately, it depends on the goal of each post. If awareness and impressions are the goal, companies should create an engaging graphic and post a single-image post, linking to the end destination in comments or post copy. In this case, be sure to include a CTA on the graphic that encourages viewer to visit the link in the comments or post. And remember, LinkedIn prefers zero-click content, so adding a link to the post copy could decrease impressions. As long as there isn’t concern of the hyperlink getting lost in comments, that’s the ideal place to maximize reach.

If a company’s goal for a post is website traffic, they should choose the small thumbnail preview, which gives viewers a larger clickable area to reach the end destination. Though, companies must remember that if they boost the post, the image will be converted to a full-width graphic. So, the design of the image must be readable as a small thumbnail while still visually engaging as a larger graphic.

Given this LinkedIn update, companies should also consider if their content can be published natively on LinkedIn. Can the blog post be a LinkedIn article or long-form post? Can your webinar recording be spliced into a few engaging videos posted directly on LinkedIn? When posting natively on the platform, be sure your sales and marketing teams implement a coordinated effort to monitor engagement on the content and facilitate conversations with viewers that express interest in the topic.

Social media algorithms are constantly changing. Be sure to follow The Agency at Sikich for the latest updates and insights and connect with our author here.