In today’s digital-first world, visibility on social platforms isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s a business imperative, especially for law firms looking to build thought leadership, attract clients, and recruit top talent. One key to unlocking that visibility is understanding the ever-evolving algorithms that govern what content gets seen — and what gets buried. For legal marketers and attorneys, staying informed and adaptive is the name of the game.
What is a Social Media Algorithm?
A social media algorithm is a set of automated rules that determine which content appears in a user’s feed. Rather than showing posts in chronological order, platforms like LinkedIn use algorithms to prioritize content based on relevance, engagement, and user behavior.
These algorithms are designed to maximize user experience (and time on site), which means that the more your content aligns with what LinkedIn deems “valuable,” the more likely it is to reach your audience.
The LinkedIn Algorithm: How it Works
LinkedIn’s algorithm is built to prioritize relevance, quality, and engagement. Here’s a simplified breakdown of how the process works:
- Initial Filter: When you post, LinkedIn quickly assesses whether the content is spam, low quality, or high quality. Only the latter two move forward.
- Test Engagement: The algorithm shows the post to a small sample of your network. If the content performs well (likes, comments, shares), LinkedIn pushes it to more users.
- Content Signals: LinkedIn evaluates key signals to determine post visibility:
- Connection strength: How closely you’re connected to someone (1st-degree, 2nd-degree, etc.)
- Engagement type: Comments are weighted more heavily than reactions; shares indicate strong value.
- Relevance: Based on a user’s interests, past behavior, and profile content.
Notably, native content — such as text posts, images, and videos that don’t link off-platform — tends to perform better. LinkedIn wants users to stay on the platform.
Adapting to LinkedIn’s Evolving Algorithm
Understanding the algorithm is only half the battle; adapting your strategy to work with it is where the real impact lies. Here’s how law firms and legal marketers can stay ahead:
1. Prioritize Value-Driven Content
- Focus on creating content that educates, informs, or inspires. Legal updates, plain-language explainers, and practice area insights tend to resonate with professional audiences.
- Thought leadership from attorneys or firm leaders boosts credibility and engagement.
2. Encourage Engagement (Especially Comments)
- Ask questions. Start conversations. Use calls-to-action that invite opinions or perspectives.
- LinkedIn rewards posts that spark discussions, not just passive likes.
3. Empower Individuals, Not Just Firm Pages
- Posts from personal profiles often outperform those from company pages. Encourage attorneys and partners to share firm content or post their own insights.
- Legal marketers can assist by creating shareable templates or content prompts.
4. Experiment with External Links
- Experimenting with external links — whether in the body of a LinkedIn post or in the first comment — can help you understand how LinkedIn’s algorithm treats link placement and what drives better engagement.
- Links in the post body might reduce reach due to algorithm suppression, but they offer immediate visibility. Putting them in the comments can maintain post reach while still providing the resource.
- Testing both helps identify the sweet spot for your audience and content goals — whether it’s clicks, comments, or impressions.
5. Post Consistently — but Thoughtfully
- Quality matters more than quantity. A few strong posts per week can outperform daily noise.
- Use analytics to monitor what resonates and adjust your content calendar accordingly.
Conclusion
For law firms, LinkedIn remains a powerful channel to reach corporate decision-makers, referral sources, and top talent. But simply showing up isn’t enough. By understanding how LinkedIn’s algorithm works — and tailoring your content and strategy to align with it — legal marketers can ensure their firms don’t just participate in the conversation but lead it.
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