You know that feeling when you post something brilliant on LinkedIn and it gets like... 12 views?

Yeah. Me too.

Last month, we tested what we thought was gold. Industry insights. Perfect hook. Even used those fancy bullet points everyone loves.

47 views. From 8,000+ connections.

Meanwhile, some random person commenting "Great post!" on other people's content was getting thousands of impressions.

What the actual hell, LinkedIn?

This is actually embarrassing to share but here we are

So we did what any obsessed marketing team would do. Spent the next 100 hours figuring out what broke. And honestly? Everything we knew about LinkedIn is outdated. The platform literally changed the rules while we were all busy posting the same old stuff.

Here's what we discovered. (Spoiler: it's weird.)

The Anti-Viral Revolution (Or Why LinkedIn Hates Your Motivational Posts Now)

Okay so here's the thing that nobody's talking about.

LinkedIn is actively PREVENTING content from going viral.

Not kidding. They actually admitted this. While every other platform is chasing viral moments, LinkedIn's algorithm is literally designed to suppress them.

We found this out the hard way.

We posted this inspirational story about overcoming failure (you know the type). Had all the elements - emotional hook, numbered list, call to action. Should've been my best post ever, right?

LinkedIn buried it. Like, aggressively buried it.

But wait, it gets weirder. That same week, We posted a boring technical breakdown of our API documentation process. Super niche. Zero inspiration.

2,847 views.

Turns out LinkedIn's new algorithm - they call it the "Expertise Authority Framework" (fancy, right?) - basically rewards you for being boringly consistent about one specific thing.

The algorithm now tracks:

How often you post about the same topics
Whether actual industry people engage (not just your mom)
How fast you respond to comments
If your content starts real conversations

Generic motivation? Dead. "Agree if you think..." posts? Super dead. That recycled Gary Vee quote? Please stop.

The professionals winning right now? They're the ones talking about incredibly specific stuff. Like this person I found who ONLY posts about PostgreSQL database optimization. 847 followers. Gets 10,000+ views per post.

(We're still slightly bitter about this but whatever.)

Turns Out Comments Are the New Posts (This Blew My Mind)

This is gonna sound weird but hear me out.

We basically stopped posting for a week. Instead, I just commented. On everything. Smart comments, dumb comments, asking questions, sharing stories.

Guess what? Profile views went up 300%.

THREE HUNDRED PERCENT. From commenting.

Look at those numbers. FROM COMMENTS.

Here's what nobody told you - LinkedIn now shows impression counts for every single comment. It's kinda hidden (you have to click into each comment) but holy crap the data is wild.

Some of my comments were getting 10,000+ views. My posts? Lucky to hit 1,000.

So now We spend like 60% of our LinkedIn time in comment sections. It feels backwards but it works.

The strategy that's actually working:

Find posts from recognized leaders in your field (not influencers, actual practitioners)
Add something genuinely useful - a different perspective, a specific example, additional context
Actually respond when people reply to your comment (this is where relationships happen)
Track which comments blow up and figure out why

Quick sidebar - Scrolling through Richard van der Blom's algorithm research at 2am (as one does) and he basically confirmed this. Comments now carry more weight than ever in LinkedIn's algorithm.

The downside? You can't schedule comments. You can't automate this. You actually have to show up.

(Trust me, We tried to hack it. LinkedIn was not amused.)

The Video Thing Nobody Wants to Talk About

Ugh. Fine. Let's talk about video.

I hate being on camera. Like, really hate it. But LinkedIn's new "Videos for You" feed is basically TikTok for professionals now and ignoring it is stupid.

So We started making videos. They were terrible.

But here's what's funny - they still outperformed my text posts.

Video on LinkedIn is weird right now. It's not about being polished. The stuff that works is:

Behind-the-scenes of actual work (I literally filmed myself debugging code)
Walking through how you solve real problems
Quick tool demonstrations (showing, not telling)
Interview-style conversations with clients/partners

The videos that tank? Motivational talking heads. Perfectly edited corporate announcements. Anything that feels like a commercial.

Our process now (after much suffering):

Batch record 4-5 videos every Monday morning (coffee required)
Keep them under 90 seconds
Add captions because everyone watches on mute
Post Wednesday afternoons (best engagement for some reason)

Still testing whether LinkedIn Live is worth it. Did one last week and spent 20 minutes talking to myself. Good times.

Personal Profiles Are Crushing Company Pages (And LinkedIn Doesn't Care)

This one hurt to accept.

We spent YEARS building our company page. 12,000 followers. Consistent posting. Beautiful graphics.

Average post reach: 200 people.

Meanwhile, my personal profile with random thoughts and coffee-fueled rants?

5,000+ views easy.

Look at this nonsense

The data is brutal:

Personal profiles get 5x more engagement than company pages
90% of brand impressions come from employee posts
Employee content gets shared 14x more than company content

So what are smart companies doing? Employee advocacy programs. Basically getting their people to post instead of the company page.

But here's the kicker - LinkedIn just killed their built-in employee advocacy features. The "My Company" tab? Gone. Those nice employee notification features? Deleted.

My friend Michelle J Raymond did this whole breakdown on her YouTube channel about how LinkedIn basically made employee advocacy harder while simultaneously making it more necessary. Make it make sense.

The workaround we're using:

Create content templates employees can personalize
Use tools like Vulse or Oktopost for coordination
Track who's actually posting (gamification helps)
Executives go first (nobody posts if leadership doesn't)

There's also this new company page commenting feature where brands can comment AS the company. We tried it. Felt weird. But it's getting 67% more engagement than regular company posts so... we're still doing it.

AI Is Everywhere But Nobody's Using It Right

Real talk - everyone's using AI for LinkedIn now. But most people are doing it completely wrong.

We see these AI-generated posts everywhere. You know the ones. Perfect structure. Lots of "moreover" and "furthermore." Em dashes everywhere. They read like a robot trying to sound professional.

LinkedIn users can smell this stuff from a mile away.

The comments on obvious AI posts are brutal

Here's what actually works:

AI for research and ideation:

Use Taplio's viral post analyzer to see what's working
Let AI help you identify trending topics and viral patterns
Get smart content calendar suggestions based on real LinkedIn data

Humans for personality and connection:

Write the actual posts yourself (or use AI as a starting point, then add your voice) (or use AI as a starting point, then add your voice)
Add your weird quirks and tangents
Share real failures and uncertainties

I've been using AuthoredUp for formatting (makes posts pretty) and Buffer for scheduling. But the actual writing? That's all me, coffee stains and typos included.

The sweet spot we found: AI handles 30% (research, optimization, scheduling), humans handle 70% (writing, engaging, relationship building).

We tried going full AI for a week as an experiment. Engagement dropped 89%. LinkedIn's algorithm can apparently detect authenticity. Who knew?

The Algorithm Wants You to Pick a Lane (And Stay There)

Remember when we could post about marketing on Monday, leadership on Tuesday, and random life updates on Wednesday?

Yeah, those days are dead.

LinkedIn's algorithm now basically requires you to pick ONE thing and never shut up about it. They call it "expertise recognition" but really it's just the algorithm going "what box do I put you in?"

We tested this (because of course we did):

Week 1-2: Posted about 5 different topics
Week 3-4: Only posted about content strategy
Week 5-6: Back to mixed topics
Week 7-8: Only content strategy again

Guess which weeks performed better?

The difference is stupid obvious

The single-topic weeks got 4x more reach. FOUR TIMES.

But here's the problem - posting about the same thing constantly is boring. So boring. We're already sick of talking about content strategy and it's only been a month.

The hack we're trying: Create content series. Like:

"Content Teardown Tuesdays" (analyzing what works)
"Tool Test Thursdays" (trying new platforms)
"Failure Fridays" (sharing what didn't work)

Still the same general topic but different angles. Keeps me sane(ish).

What's Actually Working: The Uncomfortable Truth

After all this testing, here's what actually moves the needle:

The 60/30/10 Rule:

60% commenting on others' posts
30% creating original content
10% experimenting with new formats

Posting Frequency That Doesn't Kill You:

3-5 posts per week (minimum for algorithm love)
Daily commenting (15-20 thoughtful comments)
One video every two weeks (monthly if you really can't)

Content That Actually Gets Seen:

Specific problem-solving posts ("Here's how I fixed X")
Behind-the-scenes process content (the messier, the better)
Data and insights from your actual work
Admitting what you don't know (vulnerability wins)

What's NOT working:

Inspirational quotes (please, no more)
Humble brags about your success
Generic "5 tips" lists
Anything that starts with "I'm humbled to announce"
Cross-posting from Twitter/Instagram

The Dark Side Nobody Talks About

Can we be honest for a second?

This stuff is exhausting.

Keeping up with LinkedIn's constant changes. Creating content consistently. Engaging authentically. Building actual relationships.

Some days I just want to post a cat meme and call it done.

(Actually tried that. Got 73 views. LinkedIn has no chill.)

The mental load is real:

Pressure to be "on" all the time
Comparing yourself to people with 100k followers
Feeling like you need to share every win
The anxiety when a post flops

Here's what's keeping me sane:

Batching content creation (Sunday afternoons, coffee required)
Setting boundaries (no LinkedIn after 7pm)
Having a "minimum viable" posting schedule
Remembering that most people aren't seeing your content anyway
Sometimes just... not posting (revolutionary, I know)

Tools That Don't Suck (And Some That Do)

Since everyone always asks, here's what's actually in my LinkedIn stack:

Actually Using:

Taplio - For content ideas and analytics ($39/month and worth it)
Canva - Quick graphics when I'm too lazy for Photoshop
AuthoredUp - Makes posts look pretty
Sales Navigator - For finding the right people to engage with

Tried and Abandoned:

Hootsuite (too clunky for LinkedIn specifically)
AI writing tools (made me sound like a robot)
Auto-connection tools (LinkedIn will punish you)
Engagement pods (fake engagement = algorithm death)

Still Testing:

Vulse for employee advocacy
LinkedIn's native video editor (it's... okay)
Various Chrome extensions for analytics

Budget reality: We're spending about $200/month on LinkedIn tools. Could we do it for free? Sure. But our time is worth more than that.

What's Coming Next (Educated Guesses)

Based on everything we've seen, here's what we think is coming:

By mid-2026:

LinkedIn will launch an AI chatbot in the main app (finally)
Video will become even more dominant (ugh)
They'll probably start charging for premium features in their video editor
More emphasis on niche communities/groups
Company pages might just... die?

What we're doing to prepare:

Getting comfortable with video now (still hate it)
Building deeper expertise in one specific area
Creating my own frameworks/methodologies (intellectual property matters)
Investing in actual relationships, not just connections
Starting a LinkedIn newsletter (algorithm loves these)

Your Action Plan (If You Actually Want to Do This)

Look, I know this is a lot. So here's exactly what to do:

Week 1: Foundation

Pick your ONE topic/expertise area
Update your profile (headline, about, banner)
Start commenting on 5 posts daily
Track your baseline metrics

Week 2-3: Content System

Create your first 3 posts (one teaching, one story, one insight)
Continue commenting (increase to 10 daily)
Join 2-3 niche groups in your expertise area
Test posting times

Week 4: Video Courage

Record one terrible video (post it anyway)
Try the company page commenting feature
Start building your tool stack
Analyze what's working

Month 2: Scale

Increase to 5 posts per week
Add weekly video
Build comment relationships
Test employee advocacy (if applicable)

Month 3: Optimize

Double down on what works
Kill what doesn't
Build your content series
Start that newsletter

The Bottom Line (Finally)

LinkedIn in 2026 is weird. The old playbook is dead. Viral content is punished. Comments matter more than posts. Personal brands crush company pages. And we all need to make videos now apparently.

But here's the thing - it's actually kind of better?

Yeah, it's harder. Yeah, it takes more time. But the people winning on LinkedIn right now are the ones sharing real expertise, building actual relationships, and showing up authentically.

No more gaming the system with engagement bait. No more motivational fluff. Just real professionals sharing real insights with real people.

(Okay fine, and making videos. But we don't have to be happy about it.)

The experiment continues. We're still testing a bunch of stuff and documenting what works. If you want to follow along with my LinkedIn experiments (and laugh at my failures), connect with me here.

Or don't. I'm not your boss.

But seriously, what's working for you on LinkedIn right now? Drop a comment below or shoot me a message. Always curious what others are seeing.

P.S. - If you made it this far, you're a legend. This post is way longer than LinkedIn's algorithm would like. But you know what? Sometimes you gotta break the rules to figure out what actually works.

P.P.S. - My coffee's cold again. Every damn time.

LinkedIn in 2026: Why Everything You Know Is Already Outdated (And What Actually Works Now)