Episode 196
How To Make The LinkedIn Algorithm Work For You (Not Against You)
The LinkedIn algorithm has changed. But instead of fighting it, you can make it work for you. In this episode, Michelle J Raymond breaks down what’s different about the new LinkedIn algorithm, why it matters for B2B professionals, and how to train it through proactive actions like updating your profile, posting with purpose, commenting strategically, and building relationships via DMs.
If you’ve been feeling like LinkedIn isn’t fun anymore or that the algorithm is against you, this episode will give you back control — and the confidence to turn LinkedIn into your best growth engine
Key moments in this episode -
00:00 Navigating the LinkedIn Algorithm
01:53 Understanding the LinkedIn Algorithm Changes
04:23 Old vs. New LinkedIn Algorithm
07:48 Proactive vs. Passive LinkedIn Usage
09:42 Optimising Your LinkedIn Profile
12:31 Effective LinkedIn Posting Strategies
15:17 Taking Control of Your LinkedIn Experience
📌 The Unofficial LinkedIn Algorithm Report by Christopher Penn
Today's episode is sponsored by Metricool. Make sure to register for a FREE Metricool account today. Use Code MICHELLE30 to try any Premium Plan FREE for 30 days.
CONNECT WITH MICHELLE J RAYMOND
Transcript
Most people are freaking out about the LinkedIn algorithm.
Speaker:In today's episode, I'm gonna teach you how you can make it
Speaker:work for you, not against you.
Speaker:G'Day everyone.
Speaker:It's Coach Michelle J Raymond, your trusted guide for building your
Speaker:brand and your business on LinkedIn.
Speaker:When you log onto LinkedIn at the moment, you might be picking up the same vibe
Speaker:shift that I have, and that is, it's a bit doom and gloom, and I'm typically
Speaker:a glass half full kind of person.
Speaker:But I'm pretty sensitive also as an empath to the feelings and things
Speaker:that are going on, and it feels a bit yuck if I'm being honest.
Speaker:I really haven't enjoyed my time on LinkedIn over the
Speaker:last probably six weeks or so.
Speaker:I'm finding myself wanting to spend less and less time on there, which is really
Speaker:unusual for somebody that has been up and down on the rollercoaster, called
Speaker:LinkedIn for the last 10 years, but it just doesn't feel like it's fun anymore.
Speaker:Rather than sit there and wallow in it or avoid it, I have decided
Speaker:that it's time for a vibe shift and I'm gonna be the catalyst for it.
Speaker:It's time for me to use my superpower, which is I am little Miss Sunshine.
Speaker:And fun fact, I actually got approached by somebody one day that asked me to
Speaker:come and work for them in their office just to lift the mood of the place.
Speaker:So I know I'm fully qualified for this job.
Speaker:In the episode, we are going to cover.
Speaker:What actually happened to the LinkedIn algorithm and how it's
Speaker:significantly changed since June.
Speaker:Like fundamentally, it doesn't work the same as it did before, and no, I'm
Speaker:not talking about changing priorities.
Speaker:I'm talking about a fundamental shift.
Speaker:The technology behind it, and that's what's driving what we are seeing now.
Speaker:And shout out to Christopher Penn. He released a 70 Page report investigating
Speaker:into all of this stuff, and I'm gonna cut that down for you into a few minutes.
Speaker:But I will put the links to his details in the show notes so you
Speaker:can go and read it for yourself.
Speaker:If you wanna nerd out on LinkedIn like I do.
Speaker:Once we understand how it's fundamentally changed, then we're gonna have a
Speaker:look at what can you actually do to take things back into your control?
Speaker:You are not powerless in this situation.
Speaker:It is absolutely the opposite to that.
Speaker:In fact, more now than ever have the power to control LinkedIn.
Speaker:It doesn't feel like it right now, but I promise you it's true.
Speaker:And at the end of the episode, I'm gonna give you the growth strategies
Speaker:that you can use to train the LinkedIn algorithm to work for you.
Speaker:So if that sounds good, we're gonna have a quick word about our
Speaker:podcast sponsors Metricool, and we'll dive straight into this.
Speaker:Let's talk about the LinkedIn algorithm, old versus new.
Speaker:Now, my brain thinks in words, not pictures, but I'm gonna give it a
Speaker:crack to give you an analogy, which I hope makes sense and translates.
Speaker:The way that the algorithm has changed, if we go to the algorithm
Speaker:pre June, 2025, is that if you think about it like an old school map.
Speaker:Shout out to any of you, Gen Xs or older who remember what it was like to sit
Speaker:in your car, flick through the street directory, find the place that you wanted
Speaker:to go, trace it with your fingers, figure out what the fastest way was, and get
Speaker:from point A to point B. Now, over time, you develop the shortcuts and you figured
Speaker:out the best ways to go to avoid traffic.
Speaker:Maybe there's fewer lights.
Speaker:And that was the way that we did things.
Speaker:And the LinkedIn algorithm, the old one was similar to that.
Speaker:It was looking for basic signals from you, like what content you
Speaker:were liking, what content you were commenting on, who you were,
Speaker:connecting with these types of things.
Speaker:But it only updated.
Speaker:Every now and then, and it was pretty generic across the platform and certainly
Speaker:not customised and personalised for you or what's going on on the platform today.
Speaker:If we fast forward to now, what's it like?
Speaker:Well, it's like having the GPS in your car.
Speaker:You set the direction that you want to go.
Speaker:It will get you there based on the changes to what's going on out in the environment.
Speaker:So as you know, if you miss a turn, your GPS will recorrect that route.
Speaker:If it's looking at traffic conditions, if there's a buildup during peak hour, an
Speaker:accident somewhere, it will redirect you.
Speaker:You wanna avoid tolls or pay for tolls, it will find you the fastest route and
Speaker:it's adapting to your driving and what you do and your choices, immediately.
Speaker:There's nothing funnier than the judgement from a GPS telling you
Speaker:that you've missed your turn.
Speaker:Like honestly, it gets pretty aggressive, right?
Speaker:But it does make me laugh.
Speaker:But it always gets you there, without fail.
Speaker:And so if you think about the LinkedIn algorithm right now, it
Speaker:is adjusting to your every action that you take on the platform.
Speaker:And setting you up with a personalized experience.
Speaker:So how it works for me versus how it works for you can be different
Speaker:based on what actions you are doing.
Speaker:And we're gonna talk about the types of actions that make a difference.
Speaker:Because when you are proactive on LinkedIn, right now, you
Speaker:are actively giving it data.
Speaker:To change those directions and really give you a customised experience.
Speaker:So you can get this thing to give you exactly what you want.
Speaker:Sound good?
Speaker:So let's talk about that next.
Speaker:What's the difference between being proactive and passive on LinkedIn?
Speaker:Most people fall under the passive category and a day on
Speaker:LinkedIn Looks like this for them.
Speaker:Log in, scroll for a bit, take a look around, maybe deal with some
Speaker:notifications, feel like they've caught up on things, disappear again.
Speaker:So you're not giving the algorithm much information to adjust your experience on.
Speaker:Those that are being proactive are taking a lot more steps than this.
Speaker:Someone like me, I log onto LinkedIn, step one.
Speaker:Of course, I scroll just like everybody else, but there are a lot
Speaker:more activities that we can dial in.
Speaker:So there is of course, the old school liking and commenting, or if
Speaker:I'm saving posts or reposting them.
Speaker:It's looking at every action around what I'm taking on the search bar,
Speaker:who I'm connecting with, what have I updated on my LinkedIn profile?
Speaker:Am I clear around what I do, who I do it for?
Speaker:Does my content always speak to the same audience or am I chopping and changing and
Speaker:you know, really confusing the algorithm that it doesn't know where to go.
Speaker:The more that you are proactive and the more that you are taking active steps
Speaker:on the platform, the more that the algorithm can amplify those results.
Speaker:So it will make sure your content gets connected with the right people, even
Speaker:more so than if you are just putting the right keywords and just writing a well
Speaker:structured, grammatically correct post.
Speaker:Like we're giving it more stronger signals so that it knows, ah,
Speaker:that's what you want, that's what you're trying to achieve.
Speaker:Let's have a look at this from practical perspectives.
Speaker:If we go to your LinkedIn Profile, there are so many areas that you can
Speaker:let the LinkedIn algorithm know what it is that you do, who it is that you
Speaker:do it for, what makes you different.
Speaker:And that could be things like updating your tagline on your company Page or
Speaker:your headline on your LinkedIn profile.
Speaker:It works the same across Pages and Profiles.
Speaker:You can spend some time updating that.
Speaker:Make sure it reflects exactly where you're at right now, not where you
Speaker:were six months ago, not where you want to be, but what is it that you
Speaker:wanna get out of LinkedIn right now?
Speaker:Move down into your featured section.
Speaker:Update that.
Speaker:When was the last time you spent some time updating your Featured section?
Speaker:Give it the current info that is relevant to you right now.
Speaker:Move down into the About section.
Speaker:Is it a bit undercooked?
Speaker:Does it really represent you or is it underselling your skills?
Speaker:For those of you who are sitting there cringing at the thought of having to
Speaker:update all of this, well shout out reminder don't forget that I will
Speaker:rewrite LinkedIn profiles for people.
Speaker:It's one of the services that we offer at B2B Growth Co.
Speaker:As we move down your LinkedIn Profile, you have your Work Experience section.
Speaker:Now, most people don't put enough information in here.
Speaker:It is very light on in information, and that information that's missing
Speaker:is information that could be helping a LinkedIn algorithm to
Speaker:make sure that you are having a better experience on the platform.
Speaker:So spend some time go back and fill that in, even if you're someone
Speaker:that's not actively looking for work.
Speaker:It is important.
Speaker:Every single piece of your Profile is important.
Speaker:Your skill section.
Speaker:When was the last time that you updated that?
Speaker:I want you to have at least 50 skills on your profile.
Speaker:If you're a Company Page admin, we're doing exactly the same thing on our Pages.
Speaker:Are all of the details correct?
Speaker:Have you updated your About section is the tagline, right?
Speaker:Is there missing information?
Speaker:Have you done your featured section?
Speaker:It is time to give these things a freshen up.
Speaker:Give the system new data that it can adjust to.
Speaker:If you spend a little bit of time refreshing your Page and refreshing
Speaker:your Profile, you are sending out a whole batch of new data to the LinkedIn
Speaker:algorithm to adjust on the spot and start giving you a better experience.
Speaker:Keep in mind, it is only learning right now, right?
Speaker:It's back at the very beginning.
Speaker:There is brand new technology.
Speaker:This will only get better over time.
Speaker:But it will only get better if you are being proactive.
Speaker:What else can you do?
Speaker:Well, when it comes to posting, we need to be really clear around our target
Speaker:audience, what makes you different?
Speaker:Sharing some opinions, maybe some emotions, but keeping it
Speaker:trustworthy and on track, right?
Speaker:Again, the more that you call out those audiences, the more that you're
Speaker:engaging with content that is written specifically for them, the easier
Speaker:it is for this new algorithm to match you with the right audience.
Speaker:When people have no strategy on LinkedIn and they just write whatever pops into
Speaker:their mind, I get it, it's easy and some of you are on LinkedIn for fun.
Speaker:You're not trying to grow a business.
Speaker:So those people, I get it, you can do whatever you want because you are
Speaker:probably getting paid by somebody else, and that outcome is not, you
Speaker:know, tied back to what you earn.
Speaker:For people like me who run my business based off of LinkedIn,
Speaker:then we have to be more strategic.
Speaker:And if you don't know what actions you should be taking, then find out
Speaker:about my G.R.O.W.T.H Masterclass, because that is exactly where I give
Speaker:you the framework so that you can find the right people, connect with
Speaker:them, nurture the relationships, know what type of content you've gotta
Speaker:be posting, and the habits which are proactive, which will help the LinkedIn
Speaker:algorithm discover more about you.
Speaker:Commenting is of course, something that's extremely proactive that you can
Speaker:take into your hands and ever notice when you comment on somebody else's
Speaker:post that all of a sudden they're commenting on yours, of course, because
Speaker:you've signaled to the algorithm, this person's important to me and vice versa,
Speaker:and that law of reciprocity kicks in.
Speaker:We feel obligated to support their content and it becomes this like vicious circle.
Speaker:You support them, they support you.
Speaker:And having like 20 or so of those key people I think is crucial in building
Speaker:a really amazing active community.
Speaker:And it signals to other people as well as the algorithm.
Speaker:This is who you are, this is who you're surrounded by, and it's that halo effect.
Speaker:So there are lots of activities that I have just shared at a very
Speaker:high level that you can train the LinkedIn algorithm to work for you.
Speaker:If I was to wrap up today's episode very quickly and simply, it would be to
Speaker:say the LinkedIn algorithm is not your enemy, so don't treat it like it is.
Speaker:Do not throw your hands in the air and walk away and give up because you
Speaker:think it's all too hard, because that's what you read on somebody else's post.
Speaker:It is time for you to take control, be proactive and show exactly what
Speaker:you want to the LinkedIn algorithm by taking the actions we've discussed
Speaker:in this episode so that you have a better experience on LinkedIn.
Speaker:This really isn't a one and done event.
Speaker:You have to keep doing these activities and feeding the beast ongoing on
Speaker:LinkedIn so it stays up to date because you change, the world change, your
Speaker:business goals change, and it needs to make sure that it's got the most
Speaker:current data that it's working off.
Speaker:That my friends comes back to you.
Speaker:So are you gonna be one of those people that sits back and moans
Speaker:about your performance on LinkedIn, or are you gonna test this out?
Speaker:Take it for a spin and let me know what the results are.
Speaker:Let me know if all of a sudden your experience of LinkedIn changes, you
Speaker:start seeing the people you want to hear from, you get comments from those
Speaker:that are in your target audience, and you're getting the right kind of people
Speaker:reach out and wanna connect with you.
Speaker:If that's the case, connect with me on LinkedIn if we're not already.
Speaker:I hope that we are and let me know that this worked Until next week.
Speaker:Cheers.
