by Kathy Bernard
LinkedIn is in flux! Since it launched its 360Brew algorithm ranking system, it’s behaving less like a traditional social network and more like a place to learn from experts. This means its newsfeed now rewards content that educates, explains, analyzes and, most importantly, aligns with you or your company’s expertise.
For small businesses, this is good news. You don’t have to post daily or chase trends. Instead, you need to publish useful, experience-backed content that demonstrates how your company solves problems for its customers. Think “how I fixed X,” “what we learned from Y,” or “the strategy we use to achieve Z,” supported by visuals.
The system values content that people spend time reading. It also rewards posts that garner thoughtful comments, or that people save and share. Long-form posts (about 1,250–3,000 characters) with short, mobile-friendly paragraphs and engaging visuals perform well.
Equally important is having a tight topic lane. When your posts consistently focus on a defined niche—for example, commercial lending or benefits compliance—LinkedIn can match your content to people who care about such topics, even if they don’t follow you yet.
How to adjust your content this month:
1. Pick a niche and develop concepts about 5 to 7 recurring customer problems.
2. Draft story-driven posts showing how you solved each problem, step by step.
3. Ask colleagues and clients to add thoughtful comments to your posts to continue the discussion.
Do such content consistently, and LinkedIn will help your organization find the right prospects.
Kathy Bernard (kathy@wiseru.com), CEO of WiserU.com, is a St. Louis-based LinkedIn consultant/trainer who equips businesses to maximize LinkedIn for sales, marketing, or fundraising.