2024: The LinkedIn Crisis - How to Make Organic Content Effective
This time last year LinkedIn was THE place to be for all things personal branding, leads, engagement.
With a clear direction in mind and consistent actions, it was fairly easy to gain momentum and start getting noticed.
Sadly that’s not the case anymore.
The Current LinkedIn Landscape
In a report by Swipe Insight, they dug deeper into some of the results they found in their Annual Algorithm Report; LinkedIn metrics are declining across the board.
Impressions: down to 30-40%
Follower Growth: down to 35-45%
Engagement: down to 70-80%
Impact of Top Voice (Collaborative Articles) on reach: none
With those stats it’s easy to be discouraged from the platform entirely.
Especially if it was working for you before and suddenly, it’s demanding the same time and effort for a fraction of the results.
But what’s caused this change? It’s not happened overnight by any means (even if it feels that way)
What has caused the drop in reach?
But it has to be said that AI has a huge part to play in it. The platform has become flooded with AI posts, comments, messages - you name it, it’s been created using artificial intelligence. It doesn’t help that LinkedIn actually rewards this content too, likely to encourage use of the platform’s own AI tools which they’ve undoubtedly spent a lot of money creating.
But Swipe Insight claims that actually, AI posts only account for 6% of the content we’re seeing.
What’s truly dominating our feeds is sponsored content and ads, taking up a whopping 50% of our feeds.
It seems the only way to get ahead is to pay your way onto people’s feeds. It feels like a real shame given that LinkedIn saw such a boom in recent years thanks to its attractive algorithm that meant with the right strategy and focus, you could find yourself in front of your dream clients.
But what if you don’t want to spend money on Ads?
In my own survey, 81% of the freelancers I asked said that PPC was the marketing tool that would prioritise the least. It’s expensive and unless you’re a whizz or have the budget to outsource it, it can be like money down the drain when done wrong. It’s no wonder freelancers are largely steering clear of sponsored content as part of their strategies
How does LinkedIn compare to other platforms?
In terms of for us freelancers, it’s a mixed bag. Instagram draws the most engagement at 1.40% overall, however, LinkedIn isn’t too far behind at 1.21%.
So even with this sudden downturn in reach, it looks like LinkedIn is still up there as one of the most worthwhile platforms for lead generation and visibility.
What can you do to make Organic Content on LinkedIn work for you?
Well, on the whole it’s time for a rethink. What worked a year ago isn’t the case anymore so repeating the same style and format of posts expecting the same results is, to put it bluntly, a fools game.
Here are the formats you can use and my best advice on how to make them the most effective for lead generation:
Carousels
For a hot minute there, carousels were the big ticket item, sure to lure in engagement and clicks but Swipe Insight found that the reach from them is down by as much as 50%.
That’s not to say that you shouldn’t use them at all, but if you’re going to, do it wisely.
Make the front page clear - why should they read through your pages? What’s the benefit for them if they do? Avoid misleading, click-baity style titles. You want it direct, to the point and honest to keep them engaged throughout.
Keep each page short and snappy with each one making the reader keen to read onto the next.
Use strong branding to make it stand out on your feed and keep you top of mind.
Make it stimulating. It’s no secret we’re scrolling more than ever before, it takes something unique to stop us in our tracks. Last week I chucked John Krasinski on one of mine and he definitely caught people’s attention.
That’s not to say go too wild and start peacocking your audience. Make sure it’s authentic and in-line with your branding.
Text + Image Post
Seems to be the least impacted by the recent changes with reach down between 30 and 40%.
It’s no secret that selfies were again, the go-to for creators on LinkedIn but it did at one point (and maybe still now) verge on the slightly ridiculous. Attaching a selfie to each and every post, regardless of relevancy. This oversaturation has resulted in Text + image posts that specifically include a selfie result in up to 50% less reach.
With that in mind try:
Single image graphics with relevant information linked to the content of your post
Prioritising the use of selfies where relevant e.g. when sharing more about yourself/your story
Mixing up your content - if every post is a selfie post, your audience may start to lose trust with you and seek more stimulating content elsewhere, regardless of how well it’s written.
Video
Surprisingly, video has taken the worst hit, even with LinkedIn’s new Reels/TikTok style feed. Reach is down as much as 75-85% - that’s pretty shocking when you think about it!
But it does beg the question, will this change soon? Is this a temporary setback while the LinkedIn Gods figure out their new feature? Maybe.
I’d still encourage video content as part of your strategy but experiment with it.
Make videos vertical to complement the new viewing format.
Make your opening line for the video really attention grabbing.
Utilise captions to make it viewable even on mute.
Try out different video lengths and find out what works best for your audience.
To summarise:
Experimentation is key no matter what’s happening with the algorithm. We’ve seen in the last year how quickly ‘hacks’ can fall out of favour and stop attracting the same numbers as before.
Trends like using selfies and carousels will come and go. The best thing you can do for your social media strategy is to have absolute confident in your messaging. Having a laser focused vision on who your target audience is and what they need to hear from you will keep you gaining momentum, even when platforms like LinkedIn make it feel near impossible.
Good luck out there folks.
Eve x