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- Getting Out of LinkedIn Jail
I am sharing 3 things with you today:
1: Getting out of LinkedIn jail
2: Pictures VS selfies
3: Getting opportunities on LinkedIn
Let’s get into it.
Getting Out of LinkedIn Jail
When people say that they’re in a LinkedIn jail, do you ever wonder what they mean. Well, I do.
If you are going to be human, you can’t avoid getting into LinkedIn jail at some point.
To understand what the LinkedIn jail is, you have to understand how the algorithm throttles your posts. Now, this is based on my perspective as a user who has experimented a lot.
When you make a post on LinkedIn, the algorithm first looks through the post to see if there are elements to de-prioritize in it. This is where the shadowban thing comes in.
Yes, there are certain words or phrases that the LinkedIn algorithm does not look favorably on. This week, I found out one of them.
The phrase, “in the comments” is one you should avoid at all costs in your LinkedIn post.
Of course, this comes from the trend of people saying, “link in the comments”. Now, if the post is relevant and you are putting the source of your claim in the comments, the post will not be shadowbanned.
However, if the link in the comment is a CTA and not a source to backup a claim you have already made, the post will very likely be shadowbanned.
This is the first way to get into LinkedIn jail. Now, that is just the post. It really has nothing to do with your account generally. However, LinkedIn algorithm uses the previous performance of your posts to judge the next ones.
This means if you make a couple of “shadowbanned” posts in a row, when you start making good posts, it will still perform poorly. That is until you hit a brilliant idea that sends your post viral.
If your posts have been underperforming for the past few weeks, consider refreshing your mind with the viral content framework and the types of LinkedIn posts that works best.
That is the first way to get into LinkedIn jail. But it is not the most common way.
The most common way is what I call mood swings. And that is often caused my LinkedIn users themselves. It has very little to do with the algorithm. Sometimes it is unavoidable. Other times, it is completely avoidable.
In case you don’t know, LinkedIn uses previous data to distribute your posts. Meaning that people who interacted with your recent posts are going to be first to see your newer posts.
This is why it is good to make posts around the same time every day. You always want to post when the most engaging segment of your audience is (most likely) online.
Of course, you can’t get this perfectly. But being predictable helps the LinkedIn algorithm to understand you. So, the main reason why people get into LinkedIn jail is that they deviated from their core niche.
Do not deviate from your core niche. No matter how tempting it may be. I don’t recommend jumping on trending topics except it is in your niche.
But we are human. We will deviate. The urge is always there. So, the key is not to deviate too often.
If you make 5 posts in a row and all of them are in different niches, LinkedIn won’t understand you anymore. Your posts will start going to the wrong audience first. And when they don’t interact as they should, LinkedIn will just assume the post is poor and stop throttling it.
I try not to deviate at all. But when I do, I make sure that my next 5 posts are in my core niche. Even a slight deviation is a deviation. A related topic to your core niche is a deviation.
Therefore, when your mood swings and you deviate from your core niche, you have given the algorithm an excuse to put you in “LinkedIn jail”.
The way to get back is to make multiple posts in your core niche around the times you usually make them. It takes an average of 1-3 weeks to get out of LinkedIn jails like these. Sometimes, you come out in 24 hours or a few days.
Always remember that LinkedIn is not social media. Instead, it is interest media. Your followers belong to LinkedIn, not you.
Pictures VS Selfies
I am not a big user of selfies. I find it cringe sometimes. But I won’t deny that it is a great strategy, especially for good-looking females.
But I experimented with pictures – pictures of things and places talked about in the post. And I noticed a few things…
If it looks like an ad, and by that, I mean if the post (and the picture attached) looks like what someone could make as a sponsored or promoted post, the algorithm will shadowban it. (LinkedIn wants you to pay to have traction on those).
If it deviates from your niche, well, you now know what happens in that case.
Every picture has data information within it. And this includes where it was taken. The alt text also matters. And also, a picture you took yourself will perform better than a picture you downloaded online. The algorithm will know if the picture is just something you downloaded online or created with AI.
But the ultimate rule here is the picture/post relevance. Is the picture relevant to the post and the post relevant to the picture? If the answer is yes, go ahead.
The next question is – is the post promotional? Meaning, does it speak exclusively of something people have to pay for? If the answer is no, it should perform well.
Selfies work because it can’t be promotional. And it is automatically relevant to the post because you are the one saying something. It is very rare that the post and selfie don’t match in relevance.
Now you know how it works, and hence you can use it for effectively.
Getting Opportunities
A number of things happen when you go viral. You get a lot of followers. You get a lot more connection requests. You get DMs. You get tons of comments. You get a ton of hateful comments too.
But all of these does not guarantee you get opportunities. In fact, you might not. The posts that get you opportunities are probably the ones with 5 likes.
You should refresh your mind with the reach VS conversion discussion.
Opportunities come from DMs. You would need to have conversations. And they don’t have to originate from your post.
As of writing, I am collaborating with someone on a project. And that came from me writing a comment on her post. She replied my comment gracefully. Then, I sent a DM. She responded well. We booked a call to discuss further. And on the call, she invited me to collaborate on what she was building.
That’s the way it works!
Opportunities begin from commenting. And not necessarily commenting on your own posts. Always remember that.
Share this with a friend or colleague who uses LinkedIn.