Episode 211
360Brew Explained. Why Reach No Longer Matters on LinkedIn
What is 360Brew? Is it a brand-new LinkedIn algorithm? Does it change your reach? Should B2B marketers change their content strategy?
Michelle J Raymond explains in plain English what 360Brew actually is, how it works behind the scenes, and what really matters for growth on LinkedIn in 2026.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- What 360Brew really is (and what it isn’t)
- How LinkedIn evaluates content signals today
- Whether 360Brew changes reach or visibility
- What 360Brew means for B2B marketers and Company Pages
- Why strategy, relevance, and consistency still beat hacks
Key moments in this episode -
00:00 Introduction to LinkedIn's 360Brew
03:06 Understanding 360Brew: What It Is and Why It Matters
06:15 How 360Brew Works: A Deep Dive
07:49 Impact of 360Brew on Reach and Visibility
11:26 360Brew for B2B Marketers: Key Insights
15:06 Company Pages and 360Brew: Best Practices
18:00 Employee Advocacy in the Age of 360Brew
20:05 Posting Strategies and Formats on LinkedIn
21:47 Rapid Myth Busting and Final Thoughts
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. https://metricool.com/michellejraymond/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=influencer&utm_campaign=20260203_michelle-raymond_feb-analytics-strategy_en&utm_content=audio&utm_term=q1
CONNECT WITH MICHELLE J RAYMOND
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#LinkedIn #B2BMarketing #LinkedInAlgorithm
Transcript
You might have heard people panicking about LinkedIn's new 360Brew.
Speaker:In today's episode, I'm gonna save you a stack of wasted time, tell you what
Speaker:it is, why it matters, and how you can use it for growth for your business.
Speaker:G'Day
Speaker:everyone.
Speaker:It's Michelle J Raymond here, and I know listeners that you love
Speaker:episodes, anything to do with all things, the LinkedIn algorithm.
Speaker:I know whenever I record these episodes, they take off more than any other kind
Speaker:and whether I like it or not, whether I wish you should focus on somewhere
Speaker:else instead of just the algorithm.
Speaker:Here we are this week to talk about 360Brew.
Speaker:I have pretty much put together a quick fire round of questions and answers to
Speaker:give you everything that you need to know and most importantly, how you can use
Speaker:this to grow your business on LinkedIn.
Speaker:'cause let's face it.
Speaker:What's the point in knowing all of this stuff if it's not helping you or
Speaker:your business get closer to your goals?
Speaker:That, for me, is the only reason that I'm giving in and doing
Speaker:this episode on this topic.
Speaker:And to be honest, there is so much chatter and noise on the platform.
Speaker:I get a little bit irritated because at the end of the day, is this really
Speaker:going to make a huge difference for you?
Speaker:I don't think so.
Speaker:But if you're still curious and want the answers, who am I to resist?
Speaker:So let's go into that right after this quick word from our
Speaker:podcast sponsors, Metricool.
Speaker:Over the last few episodes I've gone into looking at strategy holistically
Speaker:for B2B marketers on LinkedIn.
Speaker:I've looked at it from a Company Page perspective.
Speaker:I've also looked at the power of two Company Pages and
Speaker:employees working together.
Speaker:So understanding how 360Brew becomes a part of this and what
Speaker:you need to pay attention to, I guess makes the next logical step.
Speaker:But what is this thing that we're talking about 360Brew,
Speaker:is it the latest coffee order?
Speaker:No, of course it's not.
Speaker:Bad joke.
Speaker:I should probably edit that one out.
Speaker:Uh, but ultimately what we're looking at is a large language model that sits
Speaker:behind the scenes in combination with all of LinkedIn's other algorithms,
Speaker:like there's not just one algorithm.
Speaker:Last time I did some research there's about 14 or 15 different ones.
Speaker:But where the large language model that sits in behind things comes into
Speaker:play is 360Brew is helping to evaluate all of the data and information that
Speaker:comes through, and this is built on something like 150 billion parts.
Speaker:For those of you who like big numbers, that sounds really impressive.
Speaker:So that also says to me that there is no one on the face of this planet
Speaker:that really knows exactly how this works, because the beauty of 360Brew
Speaker:is it really is working to tailor your personal experience on LinkedIn.
Speaker:So how I experience it, versus how you experience it,
Speaker:they're going to be different.
Speaker:So think about it, if the algorithm before just looked at individual signals.
Speaker:360Brew looks at everything together.
Speaker:What do I mean by everything?
Speaker:It could be who you are connecting with.
Speaker:It could be the details that you have in your profile.
Speaker:It's the content that you are putting out there.
Speaker:It's the comments that you are making.
Speaker:There is no one thing that 360Brew looks at in isolation.
Speaker:And I think that's the key point that you need to understand with this.
Speaker:Every little action you take helps to train 360Brew in what you do and
Speaker:don't like, what you wanna be known for, what your brand stands for,
Speaker:who you want to communicate with.
Speaker:I'm very confident that there are some people out there that have probably come
Speaker:to the same conclusion as what I did a few weeks ago and said, hang on a minute, this
Speaker:just really sounds like we are getting back to the marketing fundamentals.
Speaker:If you are someone that's come to that conclusion, I
Speaker:think you're absolutely right.
Speaker:I think that what this is trying to do is move people away from the
Speaker:game called get most impressions.
Speaker:They're the people that normally play in engagement pods or trying to game
Speaker:the system or hacks, and you know that this podcast is a hack free zone.
Speaker:So when I think about this going back to fundamentals, it really
Speaker:does light me up and I'm excited for the future of LinkedIn again.
Speaker:I certainly wasn't mid last year when I couldn't figure out
Speaker:where this was all moving to.
Speaker:But at the start of 2026, I'm excited about this.
Speaker:At a high level, how does 360Brew actually work?
Speaker:Well, essentially what you could look at it and think is it is
Speaker:aggregating all of your behaviours.
Speaker:So your engagement quality, the effort that you're putting into things, your
Speaker:consistency and context is really the most important piece of this puzzle.
Speaker:So taking random actions here, there, and everywhere.
Speaker:Or no actions at all, is something that is going to effectively cause your
Speaker:results on LinkedIn to slow down or not be aligned or not happen at all.
Speaker:So the upside for me is when I look at this, the good part is you can
Speaker:make 360Brew really work for you.
Speaker:And I love that it also reduces the power of those people that
Speaker:are trying to game the system.
Speaker:All of those spammy and manipulative things and moving away from just being
Speaker:so focused on impression count per post.
Speaker:And I love that it also is trying to do a much better job at connecting the right
Speaker:communities and bringing them together.
Speaker:And as well, showing your content to the people who would be most interested.
Speaker:Now, that number might not be as big as what it was, 12 months, two years,
Speaker:three years ago, or in my case 10 years ago in the glory days of LinkedIn.
Speaker:But ultimately, if it's connecting more of my good content with the right people,
Speaker:then I can get on board with that.
Speaker:Now, if you're wondering, does 360Brew change your reach or visibility.
Speaker:The answer is no, not directly.
Speaker:Although the timing of some things is a little curious.
Speaker:For me, mid last year is when things dropped.
Speaker:You know, the numbers that I could historically rely on.
Speaker:Seem to almost drop by about 30, 40, sometimes 50%.
Speaker:If you felt the same thing, the good news for you is it's
Speaker:not just you, it's everybody.
Speaker:And that applies to the really big creators on LinkedIn as well.
Speaker:What has changed is that we have moved, as I've shared before on the podcast
Speaker:to a relevance model instead of reach.
Speaker:So again, trying to make sure that your content is hitting the right audience
Speaker:instead of a much larger audience.
Speaker:That's okay if people already know you and you've built that audience.
Speaker:But if you're starting out today and your team is starting out today, I
Speaker:think it makes things a little bit trickier for you because you are
Speaker:essentially starting from scratch and it's going to be tricky for your team
Speaker:to take a look around and say how did Michelle get nearly 30,000 connections
Speaker:and followers, for instance, when you are limited to what you can do today.
Speaker:Different time, different place, but ultimately, when we are looking
Speaker:at what keeps 360Brew happy, it's interpreting signals from you.
Speaker:Good content will still win.
Speaker:Poor content is still gonna struggle.
Speaker:It is not going to be the fault of 360Brew.
Speaker:If your reach drops, normally it's a strategy issue and not a 360Brew issue.
Speaker:Now, not always the case, and this does pretty much change the
Speaker:second I record things, so take everything with a grain of salt.
Speaker:What you can do to really help with reach and visibility is to make
Speaker:sure that every action you take is really focused on audience fit.
Speaker:Not making panic tweaks.
Speaker:So go back and do the work define your ideal client profile, and
Speaker:every action you take should be in service of them and trying to build
Speaker:up your credibility in that space.
Speaker:And if you are not doing the work to define that upfront, you'll
Speaker:be confused, 360Brew is confused and therefore the people that
Speaker:your content is shown to, they're probably gonna be confused as well.
Speaker:And that's when reach and visibility drop off.
Speaker:Let's move on to the next question.
Speaker:Is 360Brew replacing the old LinkedIn algorithm?
Speaker:Short answer, no, it's not.
Speaker:It's more of an evolution, not a replacement, and this is going to
Speaker:continue to keep learning as time goes on.
Speaker:I like to look at 360Brew as we know it right here, right now
Speaker:as I'm recording this podcast in the start of February, 2026.
Speaker:I think this is the worst it will ever be, and as it learns, just like
Speaker:we've seen with other large language models like ChatGPT we'll see that
Speaker:it actually gets better with time.
Speaker:So I love that.
Speaker:Why is it happening now?
Speaker:Well, we've got new tools and technology available.
Speaker:We know LinkedIn and Microsoft are heavily invested into the world of
Speaker:AI and I think this is just part of LinkedIn as a platform the maturity.
Speaker:If you are a marketer, a B2B marketer that's listening to the podcast,
Speaker:shout out, nice to have you here.
Speaker:But what does 360Brew mean for B2B marketers specifically?
Speaker:I think the thing that you need to be mindful of is that relevance
Speaker:beats volume more than ever.
Speaker:So if you are comparing your numbers to previous years,
Speaker:you are gonna end up in tears.
Speaker:It is time to start looking at things in a different way.
Speaker:Now, LinkedIn's supporting you with this and I'm super excited to share
Speaker:that one of the latest releases that's coming out for LinkedIn and
Speaker:is being rolled out to everyone over time, is changes to post analytics.
Speaker:So now we're not just gonna be able to trace things like the impressions
Speaker:and engagement, things like reposts, saves, who clicked on your link
Speaker:in the post so we can finally agree to put the link in the post.
Speaker:But ultimately when you are looking at that, we've got new metrics.
Speaker:Did your content generate new followers, whether it's for your profile or
Speaker:yay for Company Pages as well.
Speaker:So lots of different metrics have become important.
Speaker:Clear positioning has never been more important.
Speaker:And marketers, this is on you.
Speaker:This is time to go back and refine is your business really honed in on
Speaker:that target audience, or you're trying to really be everything to everyone.
Speaker:That is the number one mistake that I find in the audits and strategy sessions
Speaker:that I'm doing with clients at the moment.
Speaker:Of course, your product can be sold to everyone and you want to sell it to
Speaker:as many people as possible, but that's not how marketing works, and that's
Speaker:why we see too many competitors within any industry look and sound exactly
Speaker:the same, and that's why your content's not memorable, doesn't stand out, and
Speaker:you're missing out on opportunities.
Speaker:The people that are consuming content, whether it's out on your Company Page or
Speaker:whether it's done via employee profiles.
Speaker:Either way, I want you to think about is this content useful to
Speaker:the people that are reading it.
Speaker:And that measure is really important and as I would call that typically are you
Speaker:doing things in service of your audience.
Speaker:Because that type of content, instead of broadcasting content normally means
Speaker:that it will increase the likelihood of somebody saving your content or
Speaker:reposting and sharing it with others.
Speaker:Nobody is really going to repost or share things that you are just
Speaker:talking about your own business and what's important to you.
Speaker:Find a way to switch it up to make it in service of your audience.
Speaker:That consistency, whether it's the consistency of the actions
Speaker:that you are taking on the Page or on profiles, consistency is what
Speaker:builds signal strength on 360Brew.
Speaker:And the more that you can be consistent, the more that it is going
Speaker:to serve you instead of hinder you.
Speaker:And this trust that we're building is really compounding
Speaker:your visibility as well.
Speaker:So consistency builds signal strength.
Speaker:Then trust is compounded by that visibility.
Speaker:So lots of great ways that 360Brew is here to help you B2B marketers.
Speaker:Moving on to our next question.
Speaker:Does 360Brew affect Company Pages differently?
Speaker:Good news is, no it doesn't.
Speaker:The same logic still applies.
Speaker:And Pages I think will just benefit from ensuring that they're consistent
Speaker:both in actions and messaging, and also that you do the work to build
Speaker:your authority in your industry.
Speaker:Now, I don't think this is even related to 360Brew.
Speaker:I think this is just good fundamentals of marketing that people managing
Speaker:Company Pages should be across.
Speaker:Pages need to be topically relevant to your industry and really lead the way.
Speaker:Now, that doesn't always mean that you have to have hardcore professional
Speaker:thought leadership in every single post.
Speaker:No.
Speaker:Sometimes it could be that your Page is building a community,
Speaker:really powerful when your Page is out there supporting other people.
Speaker:There are some Pages that are doing this really well right now.
Speaker:beehiiv is one of them.
Speaker:One of the email marketing platforms that's growing beyond that.
Speaker:But it's been really amazing for me to watch them recently and the
Speaker:types of comments that they're leaving on posts out and about.
Speaker:It really is great to see, and the content that they're putting out there.
Speaker:Every time your Page interacts out in LinkedIn land with other members, you are
Speaker:signaling to 360Brew what your Page wants to be known about, what kinds of people
Speaker:you want to interact with and nothing bad can come from having that happen.
Speaker:And I talk about that with my clients Page advocacy is what I call it.
Speaker:And 360Brew is really gonna reward this activity.
Speaker:Having your employees interact with your Page posts, again
Speaker:signals to 360Brew who should be connected to this type of content?
Speaker:And really by working together, your Page is the backbone and scaled with
Speaker:your employee advocacy, this is just gonna supercharge the results that
Speaker:360Brew is trying to give to you.
Speaker:I honestly believe it is there to service so that we enjoy things better.
Speaker:So a Page led strategy becomes even more valuable, not less valuable.
Speaker:Hello?
Speaker:Power of Two then what it did before 360Brew was invented.
Speaker:Next question.
Speaker:Does employee advocacy still matter under 360Brew?
Speaker:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker:And maybe even, possibly more if that's even possible.
Speaker:Human signals really strengthen credibility and the reach quality and how
Speaker:you strategically build your community.
Speaker:IE think about whose connection request will I accept or reject?
Speaker:Who will I strategically connect with?
Speaker:Who is it that makes up my ideal client profile in different communities?
Speaker:Am I targeting particular geographies?
Speaker:And I think the more discerning we are with building our community now,
Speaker:the more that that will be rewarded.
Speaker:Trusted networks around employees really give strong signals to 360Brew.
Speaker:And again, this is aggregating all the signals that we are giving
Speaker:it and trying to come up with the best solution possible for you.
Speaker:360Brew wants you to have a great experience on LinkedIn.
Speaker:This isn't about trying to force your employees to share
Speaker:as much as they possibly can.
Speaker:Absolutely not.
Speaker:It is about being authentic, and this is why I think we need to
Speaker:have a talk about just getting employees to repost company content.
Speaker:I believe it's better than nothing.
Speaker:But I think there's a long way to go and a bigger opportunity if we can empower
Speaker:our employees to have their own voice in their own unique style so that 360Brew
Speaker:can actually make sure that it delivers.
Speaker:That alignment and authenticity beats volume.
Speaker:So this isn't about trying to do more and more and more like the likes
Speaker:of Gary Vee would have you believe?
Speaker:No, that's not the answer in this case.
Speaker:Consistency?
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:Volume no.
Speaker:That leads me to the next question that I wanna answer for you.
Speaker:Should your posting frequency or formats change on LinkedIn?
Speaker:I wholeheartedly believe no is the correct answer on this one.
Speaker:You should never have been chasing a particular format, and
Speaker:I understand if we rewind the clock, we've had the year of polls.
Speaker:If we go back to like 2021, we've had the year of carousels, or I
Speaker:think that was 22, 23, but right now things are pretty evenly spread.
Speaker:As much as LinkedIn would like us to believe that video
Speaker:is the be all and end all.
Speaker:No, it is not the solution because you are trying then to game the system, which it
Speaker:is not designed for you to do, and you've forgotten about your target audience.
Speaker:Think about it.
Speaker:What kind of format works best for them, for your content to
Speaker:be in service of that audience?
Speaker:The same goes.
Speaker:There's no magic volume.
Speaker:You don't have to post every day.
Speaker:You don't have to post 10 times a day.
Speaker:You don't have to post here, there, and everywhere.
Speaker:This is definitely a quality over quantity.
Speaker:Staying on topic and consistency is definitely going to give you
Speaker:better results than intensity.
Speaker:So quality better than quantity.
Speaker:Alignment beats volume.
Speaker:If in doubt, always go strategy before tactics?
Speaker:Strategy should be leading this conversation and not
Speaker:anything to do with 360Brew.
Speaker:Let's wrap up today's episode.
Speaker:I'm gonna do some rapid myth busting and answer the last few
Speaker:questions as quick as possible.
Speaker:Number one, can you game or optimise for 360Brew?
Speaker:Simple answer.
Speaker:No.
Speaker:There are no shortcuts.
Speaker:You can't manipulate these big holistic systems.
Speaker:Strategy wins and hacks.
Speaker:No deal.
Speaker:Number two, does viral content perform better with 360Brew?
Speaker:No.
Speaker:Viral doesn't equal valuable, and reach without relevance doesn't convert.
Speaker:So B2B buyers care about usefulness and not hype.
Speaker:Number three, does AI content get penalised?
Speaker:AI itself isn't the actual problem.
Speaker:Low quality, generic content is so always come back to your human insights.
Speaker:Let's go to the next question.
Speaker:Is engagement still important?
Speaker:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker:But it's all about meaningful engagement.
Speaker:Getting comments from the right people is even more important.
Speaker:Thinking about whether they're saving the post reposting and sharing with the
Speaker:audience is a far stronger signal than just a like and chasing after impressions.
Speaker:So empty engagement doesn't build the signal strength.
Speaker:Listeners, I have answered nearly every question that I could possibly
Speaker:think of when it comes to 360Brew and the questions that you might have.
Speaker:And at the end of this episode, let's always come back to
Speaker:strategy beats tactics.
Speaker:Do not focus on 360Brew.
Speaker:Go back and focus how can your business and your employees show up
Speaker:in service of your ideal audience?
Speaker:Take actions to grow that particular audience, to support that audience and to
Speaker:show up with content in service of them to help them get closer to their goals.
Speaker:If you do that, you will never have to worry about being confused
Speaker:by what is or isn't 360Brew.
Speaker:Just think it's there to reward marketing fundamentals, which haven't changed,
Speaker:no matter what platform you're on, no matter what algorithm is around,
Speaker:and they are never going to change.
Speaker:So until next week, cheers.
