If you’ve noticed your LinkedIn posts getting fewer views, comments and shares lately, you’re not imagining it. Organic reach on the platform has been declining, and many small business owners are finding that content that used to perform well is now barely making a dent.
What’s happening and what can you do about it?
What’s changing on LinkedIn
LinkedIn has been shifting its focus towards paid, and the algorithm is increasingly prioritising sponsored content and posts from accounts that invest in LinkedIn’s advertising. This means organic posts from Company Pages and personal profiles are getting pushed down in the feed.
It’s déjà vu if you’ve been on social media long enough. Facebook did it, then Instagram followed, and now LinkedIn is taking the same path. The platform needs to monetise, and the easiest way to do that is to make businesses pay for visibility.
But LinkedIn is still one of the most valuable platforms for business networking and B2B marketing; the key is adapting your strategy rather than jumping ship.
Smart ways to keep using LinkedIn effectively
1. Don’t rely solely on posting to the feed
Posting to your LinkedIn feed and hoping for engagement isn’t enough now. You need to be more strategic and use multiple features the platform offers.
LinkedIn Newsletters remain a powerful tool because they send notifications directly to subscribers. When someone subscribes to your newsletter, they’re opting in to hear from you regularly and this bypasses the algorithm entirely. Start a newsletter if you haven’t already, and use it to share your hot takes, case studies and industry insights.
LinkedIn Articles also get their own URL and can be found through search engines, giving them longevity beyond a standard post. They’re perfect for longer-form content where you can really demonstrate your expertise.
2. Use direct messages strategically
The DM function on LinkedIn is underused by most businesses. When someone engages with your content, or you have a genuine reason to connect, send them a personal message. Not a sales pitch or a generic template, but an actual conversation starter.
LinkedIn engagement might be dropping in the feed, but your ability to have direct conversations hasn’t changed, and this one-to-one connection is where real relationships are formed.
3. Meet people beyond LinkedIn
LinkedIn should be the starting point or support for your professional relationships, not the entirety of them. You can use the platform to identify potential clients, partners and collaborators, then move those relationships off-platform.
Invite people to coffee meetings, video calls or industry events. Get their email address and add them to your mailing list. Connect with them on other platforms where appropriate. The goal is to build a relationship that exists independently of LinkedIn’s algorithm.
4. Focus on quality over quantity
With engagement dropping, the temptation might be to post more often, but resist it. Instead, focus on creating genuinely valuable content that makes people stop scrolling. This might mean posting less frequently but putting more thought into each piece.
Video content continues to outperform static posts and stand out in a sea of AI-generated posts. Behind-the-scenes content, quick tips and insights about your industry all tend to generate more engagement than promotional posts or generic business advice.
5. Engage before you post
Here’s an algorithm hack strategy that still works: spend 15 minutes engaging with other people’s content before you post your own. Comment thoughtfully on posts from your connections, clients and industry peers. This warms up the algorithm and increases the chances that your own post will be shown to those people.
6. Diversify your channels
Consider where else your audience spends time and build a presence there too, so as not to have all your eggs in one basket. Instagram and TikTok might seem like strange choices for B2B businesses, but they could be where decision-makers in your industry are spending most of their time. The content style is different, but there’s an opportunity to show personality and build brand awareness in ways LinkedIn doesn’t allow.
More importantly, focus on channels you own, like your email list, which is the most valuable marketing asset you can build because you control it completely. No algorithm changes can affect your ability to reach subscribers.
Build your email list religiously with every piece of content you create on LinkedIn, having a path back to your website or newsletter signup. This is your insurance policy against any platform’s changing priorities.
What’s likely coming in 2026
We can expect LinkedIn to push paid advertising even harder in 2026. LinkedIn Premium and Sales Navigator might become essential tools rather than nice-to-haves for businesses serious about using the platform.
We’re also likely to see more emphasis on LinkedIn’s events feature, live video and other interactive formats that keep users on the platform longer. These will likely get algorithmic priority over standard text and image posts.
How to stay visible without breaking the bank
If you can’t or don’t want to invest in paid LinkedIn advertising, here are some quick tips:
- Employee advocacy works. Encourage this, make it easy, but never force it.
- Consistency matters more than frequency. Posting twice a week consistently will serve you better than posting daily for a month and then disappearing. The algorithm rewards accounts that show up regularly.
- Tag relevant people and companies when appropriate. This increases the chances they’ll engage with your post, which signals to LinkedIn that it’s valuable content worth showing to others.
- Create content that encourages saves and shares, not just likes. These actions carry more weight with the algorithm because they indicate the content has lasting value.
- Use all available content formats. Mix standard posts with polls, carousels, videos and documents. This variety keeps your content feeling fresh and leverages whatever format LinkedIn is currently prioritising.
- The platform is changing, but the fundamentals of business networking haven’t. Be helpful, be consistent, be human, and build relationships that matter.
LinkedIn engagement might be declining, but the platform remains valuable for business networking and brand building. The key is to adapt your approach rather than doing more of what’s stopped working. Use LinkedIn as one part of a broader strategy that includes direct outreach, email marketing and presence on other platforms.
Don’t let falling engagement numbers discourage you from showing up. The businesses that maintain their presence and adapt their strategy will be the ones still benefiting from LinkedIn when others have given up.
