This social network wants to tackle the “engagement hackers”. On LinkedIn more and more users play with algorithms to make the buzz and maximize the performance of their content. If this practice is obviously not forbidden, it seems to annoy internally. That’s why LinkedIn plans to change its algorithms.
The end of easy buzz on LinkedIn?
The platform is in great shape: the number of users continues to grow and LinkedIn even reports record levels of engagement growth. Yet, as always, where there is more opportunity for attention, there is also from “growth hackers”. LinkedIn uses this term to refer to users who play with algorithms. On social networks, brands are in the race for engagement and performance. So it’s not surprising to see these kinds of practices becoming commonplace. Most social network managers have engagement goals integrated with their performance indicators.
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Unsurprisingly, more exposure can only help increase brand attention potential, which will ideally also increase conversions. That’s understandable, but according to LinkedIn, “after a while, when everyone is doing the same thing, it can become a bit much”. This is why the has decided to update its algorithms in order to limit certain publications that users are fed up with. According to Linda Leung, product manager at LinkedIn, “we’ve spotted a number of posts that specifically ask or encourage the community to engage with content via likes or reactions, posted with the sole intention of boosting reach on the platform.”.
Fewer polls in the stream
These posts are exactly the same as those handled by Facebook a few years ago. On LinkedIn, reactions are used to poll communities. Of course, when an issue is of interest, the engagement is huge. These posts are precisely what LinkedIn is targeting. If you plan a post like this, be aware that your engagement will now be penalized. Linda Leung states that “we found that there were too many surveys in the feed. We are taking steps to be smarter and only show you the ones that are useful and relevant.”. In practical terms, this means fewer surveys from people you don’t know and more surveys from people in your network with whom you are more likely to engage.
In another change to the algorithm, in the U.S., users of the platform are now able to opt out of political content. LinkedIn says this feature could be expanded to other parts of the world in the coming months. For most users, political posts have no place on LinkedIn. One final change is being made to reduce the number of notifications. You won’t see as many updates from your network soon. These changes should be quite well received by the community. The polls have been really polluting the feed for some time. You will certainly see some changes in the next few weeks.
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