We all want more reach, don't we?

Hey everyone!

It’s me, Dana - your LinkedIn data fellow, who tries to share valuable LinkedIn insights with you.

The reason I’m going into this again is because I’ve been getting an increasing number of this one particular question from fellow creators:

“Dana, have you noticed the reach has been down lately?”

Here’s the thing:

1. We know very little about the algorithm but we know some things

2. Impressions aren’t that important as a measure of success

3. Impressions are important as a measure of distribution

4. High impressions do make things easier

What we know for sure is that reach has been significantly lower since September ‘23 last year—pretty much for all creators.

And changes like this will keep happening. This is outside of our control.

So, what we can do about it is focus on the areas that are under our control.

1. Start tracking impressions in combination with other metrics

Honestly, low impressions compared with good engagement tells you something: you’re reaching only 1 part of your audience, and your post is likely good, but you’re not reaching the maximum number of people in your network.

Low impressions with low engagement tells you something else: you need to work on your strategy (think relevance) AND your network.

Another excellent metric to track is the number of incoming connection requests after a post - this definitely tells you you’re onto something.

2. Optimize your network

I’ve mentioned the word network quite a few times already. Why?

Every social media algorithm distributes your content by the ratio of active connections to inactive connections. How many of your connections react to your post when it comes out affects how much the algorithm will push it.

More active connections = more reach.

This is no news, folks. The idea seemed ludicrous when I first heard it, but ever since, I’ve talked to a ton of social media marketers active on various platforms and they all confirm this is the case on X, Instagram and yes, LinkedIn.

There’s one further aspect that goes beyond reach:

If your ICP is in the US, why is half your network from India and Pakistan? This could easily lead to the phenomenon of “barking at the wrong tree”.

Asian connections reacting will lead to your content being distributed to more Asian connections (because we all have a high number of connections from our own location), and less to US connections. There goes the exposure to the ICP that you’re dying to have in your comment section.

The same goes to people’s occupations. For example, I know for a fact that IT specialists will never buy from me. I was shocked to discover they make up ~17% of my network.

Crafting a strategic plan for your network’s constitution is entirely under your control. Pruning dead and irrelevant connections is a must if you want to optimize your LinkedIn performance. I’ve done it myself: you can read about my experience here.

P.S. If I wasted your time with this newsletter, please unsubscribe. And then tell me on LinkedIn why you did. I want to improve.