I’m ex-LinkedIn, and this is the reason why your impressions have plummeted.

LinkedIn? Does this thing still work?

LinkedIn on Substack? Hear me out.

I know, I know… who wants to hear about LinkedIn on Substack?

I’m not here to compare Substack with LinkedIn. Both have their strengths and their uses.

But if you’re an active LinkedIn user, or you’ve used it before and want to try again… or you tried and failed miserably…

You might benefit from reading this one.

I hope you’ll find it useful, and hopefully entertaining.

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Firstly, a truth most people don’t like hearing

Nobody knows exactly how the LinkedIn algorithm works.
Yes, that includes me.

Anyone claiming to know either:

• works inside LinkedIn’s engineering team,

• is married or related to someone who does,

• or is outright lying.

Even when I was still working at LinkedIn, I couldn’t find out how my own content was distributed.

That’s how seriously they take protecting fairness and preventing people from gaming the system.

That said, I know enough from the inside to tell you what’s myth, what’s noise, and what’s actually happening.

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The most common LinkedIn myths

Myth 1: LinkedIn lowered your reach to sell Boosts.
Plausible, but unlikely.
Killing trust = killing the platform.

Myth 2: Video is being prioritised, so your text posts were throttled.
If this were true, video impressions would be skyrocketing.
They’re not.

Myth 3: LinkedIn is silencing women.
LinkedIn’s new LLM is biased, yes.
But there is zero commercial incentive for LinkedIn to suppress women’s reach.

Myth 4: Engagement pods got nuked, so everyone’s impressions dropped.
Yes, pods are being tackled, but that alone doesn’t explain a platform-wide drop.

Myth 5: There’s simply more content because of AI.
True… but still not strong enough to cause an overnight reach dip at scale.

Myth 6: Your SSI score is low.
SSI doesn’t control distribution directly.
It’s a spam-prevention score.

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So… that still doesn’t explain why your impressions are down, right?

Why isn’t it working?
WHY? WHY? WHY?

Alright, let’s dive in.

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Why your impressions are down

• LinkedIn’s new LLM shifted the feed to behave more like a “For You” page. (TikTok… ugh.)

• The system analyses who you are, what you post, and what you engage with.

• It groups you with people it considers “similar” to you.

• Your content is now shown to these new personas… not just your network.

• Your impressions dropped because your audience changed without you realising it.

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Why LinkedIn changed the algorithm

• LinkedIn is an $18B software, data, and media company.

• Microsoft owns them. Shareholders expect sustainable revenue.

• The feed supports LinkedIn’s monetisation goals.

• Around 85% of LinkedIn users are corporate professionals.

• The new persona-driven feed serves them better.

• This leads to more frequent logins and longer dwell time.

• Which gives LinkedIn more opportunities to sell its products.

• Gen Z and Gen Alpha will soon make up a major percentage of the workforce.

• They consume content differently, and the new feed supports that.

• LinkedIn is future-proofing itself.

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Why this was a risky move

• The new feed is detrimental to the 15% who are founders and sellers.

• Yet they’re the ones who currently produce most of the content.

• Corporate professionals remain predominantly lurkers.

• Their mindset around content creation hasn’t shifted yet.

• If too many creators move to platforms like Substack, LinkedIn risks an empty feed.

• Which makes it even harder to activate corporate voices.

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What you need to do to get your content seen

• Optimise your profile with the right keywords and skills.

• Create high-quality content that speaks directly to your ideal audience.

• Engage intentionally with the right personas.

Your impressions dropped because your audience changed, without you realising it.

That can be good news.

You may now be connecting with more people like you, turning your feed into an echo chamber.

But it also means you may stop seeing and being seen by your ideal customers or the network you spent years building relationships with.

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This is massively oversimplified.
There’s far more nuance to unpack.

I’ll write more about it in excruciating detail later, including what the hell is happening with video.

So yes… don’t forget to subscribe.
There’s a lot more to learn.

Until then… have a brilliant week, Substack.

Your favourite ex-LinkedIn employee…
probably.
I hope.