The New LinkedIn: How Reach Actually Works now

You’re using LinkedIn wrong

Not because you’re not smart… you are. 

It’s because you’re using yesterday’s LinkedIn. 

The platform is changing fast. The feed has changed, and the rules for reach have changed with it. 

This episode shows you what’s different now, and how to adapt without turning into a “content person.”

Listen For

3:29 What happens when you hit publish on LinkedIn?
7:21 What makes a post perform well—and why does so much content flop?
10:23 Should leaders be posting at all, and if so, how?
14:49 Why did Alicia double down on LinkedIn as a career focus?
20:42 Why are professionals afraid of being visible on LinkedIn?

Guest: Alicia Teltz, The Hype Department

LinkedIn | Website

Doug

Substack | Website | LinkedIn

Farzana

Substack | Website | LinkedIn

Are you a brand with a podcast that needs support? Book a meeting with Doug Downs to talk about it.

Apply to be a guest on the podcast

Connect with us

LinkedIn | X | Instagram | You Tube | Facebook | Threads | Bluesky | Pinterest

Request a transcript of this episode

Chapters

• 3:29 What happens when you hit publish on LinkedIn?
• 7:21 What makes a post perform well—and why does so much content flop?
• 10:23 Should leaders be posting at all, and if so, how?
• 14:49 Why did Alicia double down on LinkedIn as a career focus?
• 20:42 Why are professionals afraid of being visible on LinkedIn?

Transcript

Emily Page (00:01):
Back then getting heard wasn’t about talent alone. It was about understanding who controlled the signal. And today, LinkedIn works the same way. If you don’t know what the platform is rewarding now your great ideas can disappear.

Doug Downs (00:26):
Once upon a time as a musical act, you didn’t get heard because you were good. You got heard because someone powerful said you were good. A radio DJ, the gatekeeper, the person with the keys to the airwaves. In the 1950s, guys like Alan Freed didn’t just play music, they made stars. One song on the right night could change a career, not because the artist had the best voice, but because the DJ had the biggest reach and then came a different kind of power. Not taste, not relationships, not charm, signals, requests, replays, calls to the station, what people stuck around for, what they skipped, what they loved enough to share. And slowly the spotlight moved. It stopped being about who you knew and it became about what held attention. That same shift is happening again right now because LinkedIn isn’t a networking site anymore. Not really.

(01:28):
It’s turning into a feed, a distribution engine, a place where the algorithm decides what deserves oxygen. So if you’ve been treating LinkedIn like a digital resume or a place to post proud of my team once a month, you’re playing the wrong game. Time to talk about what happens when you hit publish, how LinkedIn sorts your content, what most professionals get wrong, how personal brands actually grow, how leaders can show up without sounding like a press release today on Stories and Strategies. You don’t need a better business card. You need to learn how to work the room and maybe how to think like a DJ and drop the needle on the record. My name is Doug Downs.

Farzana Baduel (02:30):
And my name is Farzana Baduel. And our guest this week is Alicia Teltz joining us from around the corner in London. Hi Alicia.

Hello. Thank you for having me. And how are things in your part of London?

Alicia Teltz (02:44):
Very rainy because I’m in London, but other than this, I love London. I just came back from a skiing holiday. I wish there was some snow here in London, but that’s not what we are having.

Doug Downs (02:56):
We got lots. Alicia, we’ll send it to you.

Farzana Baduel (02:58):
Thank you. Now Alicia, you are a former LinkedIn global client executive who has advised major organisations on how to use LinkedIn to attract talent, win clients and build trust. Now you bring 15 years of B2B tech experience across SAP, Mastercard, Gartner, and LinkedIn. Now Alicia, you also help leaders cut through LinkedIn guru noise and help them use the platform strategically.

Doug Downs (03:29):
So Alicia, when I hit publish on LinkedIn, and I do that every day by the way, what happens behind the scenes? How does LinkedIn’s algorithm take my post and sort it into different algorithmic buckets and what are most of us doing wrong that is quietly killing our reach?

Alicia Teltz (03:48):
That is such a big question, but I do

Doug Downs (03:50):
Try to in 30 seconds.

Alicia Teltz (03:52):
Break it down. First of all, exactly as Farzana said, I’m a LinkedIn guru, but I try to cut through the noise of LinkedIn gurus because I’ve worked at LinkedIn. So what I see as my job is there are so many people out there saying this is what you need to do for the algorithm and this is how the algorithm performs, et cetera. But actually nobody knows how the algorithm works, not even LinkedIn employees. When I was at LinkedIn, trust me, I tried to find out everything that I could and I couldn’t. So right now whenever I say something about the algorithm, I will only confirm what I know to be true and what came from LinkedIn. Whenever there’s anything that we are not sure about but assume, I will say so. So just as a heads up.

And then in order to answer your question, LinkedIn in your feed, the content that is shown is categorised into connected and unconnected content.

(04:45):
So that means you see content that either comes straight from someone you’re connected with in your network or from someone that you’re not connected with but LinkedIn thinks it is relevant to you and your persona and your interests and therefore it is shown to you. Furthermore, each piece of content will go into one of three buckets. The first one is a helpful insight, which is very broad and basically all general LinkedIn posts. Then there is a bucket that is career milestones. This could be an educational milestone, a change in your career, a change in job, a project launch, anything in that regard. And I’ll get onto that in a second. And the third one is hiring. So when you upload a job on LinkedIn, you get the option to post about it. This post will be a job description or if you put a normal post together and talk about having an open position, LinkedIn will understand the context of that post and put it into that bracket.

(05:43):
That is important to understand because the algorithm performs differently for each of those buckets. For example, with the job one, that will definitely be pushed by LinkedIn because LinkedIn is an 18 billion global software company. They have different revenue streams and their biggest revenue stream is talent software. So when you post on LinkedIn about having a job available and you’re looking for candidates, that indirectly helps LinkedIn sell their software. LinkedIn’s overarching mission is to create equal economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce. Therefore career milestones will be pushed more to your direct network rather than strangers. The last one, the helpful insight, will be determined by a mix of your connections and people who are not connected with you but based on your persona. I know that was longer than 30 seconds, but it was a big question.

Farzana Baduel (06:45):
Love that. I wanted to lean into the helpful insight piece. As comms professionals, we’re always looking to display our talents on LinkedIn to engage people from within and outside our network. What makes a good insight post?

Alicia Teltz (07:21):
It is very hard to say why one post performs well and another doesn’t. In general, great content starts with knowing what type of content you’re putting out. I think in terms of the marketing funnel. Top funnel is broad. Middle funnel is more niche. Bottom funnel is promotional. Most people get this wrong. They post things like I spoke on stage, I won an award, join my webinar. Nobody cares unless they already trust you.

(08:06):
Salesy content doesn’t perform well because LinkedIn wants to distribute helpful and insightful content. Great content needs value, personality, emotion, storytelling and credibility. Why should I listen to you instead of Googling it or using ChatGPT? How long have you done this? How many clients have you had? Those three elements, value, personality and storytelling, are key.

Doug Downs (09:10):
A lot of leaders want to post. Leaders can be CEOs, VPs, directors or just folks with a shingle. Let me throw a few LinkedIn behaviours at you. Should leaders post at all? What about proud of my team posts? What about commenting on someone else’s post to show leadership? And links. If I want to drive people to my newsletter or YouTube channel, should the link go in the post or comments?

Alicia Teltz (10:23):
There were three questions there. Yes, leaders should post. Visibility builds trust, revenue and talent. Not choosing to be visible is a stance. Leaders often post only bottom funnel content without building trust first. You need a mix.

(11:10):
Using comments strategically is actually smart. If you add value in comments on a big creator’s post, you’re helping their audience and showcasing your expertise.

(12:42):
On links, LinkedIn has officially said external links do not harm reach. The issue is that people don’t explain the value. Write a detailed post about the takeaways, then include the link. That works.

Farzana Baduel (13:57):
That’s about being generous with insight and personable.

Alicia Teltz (14:16):
Exactly. LinkedIn is less polished now. Being human, casual and conversational works better.

Farzana Baduel (14:49):
What made you focus so much on LinkedIn?

Alicia Teltz (15:14):
LinkedIn was the best company I ever worked for. When I started posting myself, doors opened. People reached out. I realised I could do this independently and be more honest. Company ads are often a waste of money. That freedom is why I do this now.

Doug Downs (16:47):
Where is the puck going with LinkedIn?

Alicia Teltz (17:11):
LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft and needs sustainable revenue. The platform is shifting towards hyper personalisation and video. Younger generations want raw, entertaining content. Video will come back in a big way once the new video LLM is ready.

Farzana Baduel (20:02):
Why are people afraid to be visible on LinkedIn?

Alicia Teltz (20:42):
Many hide behind legal or PR concerns. Others find LinkedIn cringe. I use the analogy of Cringe Mountain. To reach success, you must climb it. Those climbing with you will support you. Those at base camp don’t matter.

Doug Downs (22:02):
Do hashtags work?

Alicia Teltz (22:16):
No. Scrap them. LinkedIn understands context.

Farzana Baduel (22:28):
Here are the top three ideas to master LinkedIn. One, posts are organised into buckets. Two, value beats sales. Three, climb Cringe Mountain.

Doug Downs (23:31):
Stories and Strategies is a co production of Curzon Public Relations and Stories and Strategies Podcasts. Thank you to Emily Page and David Olajide. Forward this episode to one friend. Thanks for listening.