LinkedIn is harder than it was.
Follower growth is down. Impressions are down. Reach feels inconsistent.
Charlie Hills recently shared data showing follower growth down 59% and impressions down 50-65%, while engagement is actually up 12%, referencing Richard van der Blom’s Algorithm Insights analysing 1.8M+ posts.
So no, LinkedIn isn’t broken. It’s refining.
And if you adapt, it’s still one of the most powerful B2B platforms available.
In the first two months of this year alone, I’ve had three separate people reach out for a conversation about potential future work. Not from ads. Not from cold outreach. From consistent posting, clear positioning and meaningful engagement.
That’s not vanity metrics.
That’s pipeline.
Here’s what’s actually working in 2026. 👇
1. Expertise over virality: first-hand experience wins
The biggest shift? LinkedIn now rewards depth over drama.
Forbes recently reported on LinkedIn’s internal evolution, including what marketers are calling the “360 Brew” update – a system that distributes your content more precisely to your ideal audience if your profile and posts align clearly.
If your content topic doesn’t match your stated expertise, distribution drops.
So stay in your lane.
Richard van der Blom’s research shows long-form educational posts outperform short punchy updates. Dwell time is now a ranking factor. If someone clicks “See more” and reads, LinkedIn interprets that as value – the same goes for clicking to see more of your photos, which is why posts with more than four photos work too.
My best-performing posts aren’t trends. They’re reflections from client work, campaign learnings, or honest takes on agency life.
Personal stories plus practical lessons consistently outperform generic advice.
And more importantly – it builds trust.
2. Topic-based distribution: interests over networks
LinkedIn in 2026 is not primarily a “network” platform – it’s an interest platform.
LinkedIn reads your headline, About section and experience to verify your authority before distributing your content.
If your profile says “Social Media Strategist” but you post about crypto, politics and productivity hacks, the algorithm questions your authority, and distribution shrinks.
When I post consistently about:
- Behaviour-led marketing
- Social media strategy
- Agency life and leadership
The engagement comes from the right people – marketers, founders, charity leaders, agency owners.
Not random reach.
Relevant reach and meaningful engagement.
3. Niche focus: pick 2-3 topics and go deep
LinkedIn is categorising you constantly. If you’re too broad, you become noise.
The posts that win in 2026:
- Long-form educational breakdowns
- Personal story plus lesson formats
- Carousels with actionable steps
This is also where “saves” come in.
Shares and comments are still some of the most valuable engagements but saves have become one of the strongest ranking signals. A bookmark tells LinkedIn your content has lasting value.
So ask yourself: Would someone want to reference this later?
Framework posts, checklists and practical breakdowns earn saves because they are useful beyond a single scroll.
4. High-value formats: native docs, long-form text and human visuals
Video isn’t automatically king.
Some data suggests document carousels outperform video because they increase dwell time. But carousel completion rate now matters too. If people abandon your slides halfway through, it can hurt performance.
So:
- Keep carousels to 8-10 slides maximum
- Make every slide earn its place
- Cut anything decorative
High-performing formats in 2026:
- Document or carousel posts with strong retention
- Long-form text posts
- Text plus authentic images
A thoughtful, formatted, text-only story can outperform a highly produced video because it feels human.
One of my best-performing posts in the last 365 days was a slightly longer form text-only post about AI and social media, which I wrote in a scannable and human way (I think). I also asked a question and gave a real opinion, which got people talking, leading to 15k impressions.
5. SEO over Hashtags: yes, hashtags are mostly dead
Multiple creators experimenting in 2025-2026 report no meaningful impact from hashtags, and we’ve seen it too.
The algorithm scans the actual text of your post using interest graphs. Hashtag stuffing doesn’t help.
LinkedIn behaves more like a search engine now.
That means:
- Use clear, searchable language
- Include topic phrases naturally
- Align your post themes with your profile positioning
Instead of hashtag blocks at the bottom, write full, natural sentences that include the keywords your audience would actually search for.
6. External links are less penalised – but lead with value
The old rule was never put links in the post.
The updated reality is links are fine if the post delivers value first.
Chris Donnelly’s article via Forbes, confirmed you no longer need to hide links in comments. Put them at the end of the post after you’ve delivered substance.
Posts that deliver insight and then include a relevant link perform far better than thin posts that push traffic immediately.
Lead with thinking. End with direction.
7. Consistency beats timing
There is no golden hour.
Consistency matters more than timing.
It’s not about tricking the algorithm. It’s about training your audience.
I tend to post consistently on weekday mornings. Not because it’s magic – but because my audience expects it. Over time, that builds predictable engagement patterns.
Interestingly, I see small engagement in the morning but it builds over the day, then explodes (with the really great posts) in the evening.
Random posting damages momentum. Predictability compounds it.
8. Try not to edit
This one came from Mo Kanjilal’s experimentation.
Editing immediately after posting appears to affect reach velocity.
We tested it too, and we agree.
If you spot a typo:
- Wait at least 10-15 minutes
- Ideally an hour
- Or just don’t worry about it!
It’s not about perfection. It’s about preserving early momentum. And anyway, a typo shows you’re human in a world of AI slop!
The metric that actually matters
In January and February alone, three people reached out to me about potential future work directly referencing my LinkedIn presence.
Some had never liked a post.
Some had never commented.
Some were lurkers.
And when the timing was right, they reached out.
Reach is nice, and engagement is useful, but relevance drives revenue.
The bottom line for 2026
LinkedIn is not trying to trick you. It is trying to filter for quality.
✅ The 2026 shifts reward:
- Clear expertise
- Profile and content alignment
- Savable content
- Dwell time
- Conversation depth
- Consistency
❌ What it suppresses:
- Artificial engagement
- Engagement pods
- Back-to-back posting
- Generic AI-sounding content
- Scattergun topics
The opportunity on LinkedIn is still enormous.
In many ways, it’s better than ever. The noise is being filtered out, and genuine expertise is rising to the top.
The people who share real insight, stay consistent, engage thoughtfully and build trust over time are the ones seeing meaningful results – not just reach, but real conversations and commercial impact.
If you’d like help making LinkedIn work for you and your team, get in touch about LinkedIn training or strategy support. We’d love to help.
James is a strategic and analytical thinker with a creative flair and love for the psychology of social media. He's been working in marketing and communications since 2012 and specialised in social media when launching Social Firefly in 2018. He's an ever struggling piano player, a fair weather sea kayaker and a travel lover.