Fetch Communications

LinkedIn isn’t a typical social media platform. It’s not for showing off brunch or your latest vacation. It’s a professional networking space designed to help you build connections and open doors on purpose. 

As the world’s largest professional networking platform with over one billion members worldwide — LinkedIn is not a platform where you want to be seen making mistakes, so let’s dive in to what you should and shouldn’t do to make the best impression possible. 

If you own a business, even as a 1-person consultancy, you should have a business page that includes your mission, website URL, services you provide, and your unique approach that informs people why they should hire you over someone else. Doing business from your personal page is less valuable — former colleagues, employees, employers … don’t respond well to being “sold to” or recruited as a client.

A simple Google search will tell you some best practices, including: optimizing your profile with a professional (and recent) photo; using keyword-rich headlines and detailed experience to attract opportunities; consistently posting engaging content (and having a content strategy); using eye-catching, professional visuals as they can double engagement; and actively building your network by connecting with peers and joining groups.

Key tips include customizing your URL, securing recommendations, and using native features like polls or articles to boost visibility. These are basics — but if you’re offering professional services, you need to go beyond the fundamentals.

What business service providers need to know – How the LinkedIn Algorithm Works

It’s valuable to understand how the LinkedIn algorithm works (in 2026) so you can align your content strategy with how the platform distributes trust and relevance.

1. Initial Quality Filter (The First 60–120 Minutes Matter Most)

When you post, LinkedIn runs your content through an AI quality check:

• Is it spammy?
• Is it engagement bait?
• Is it external-link heavy?
• Is it clearly valuable to a professional audience?

If it passes, LinkedIn shows it to a small sample of your network. What happens next determines everything.

2. Early Engagement Signals

The algorithm watches:

• Meaningful comments (longer = stronger signal)
• Saves (very powerful signal)
• Shares (strongest signal)
• Dwell time (are people actually reading?)
• Clicks on “see more”

Quick reactions alone are weak signals.

For business service providers, comments from peers and ideal clients matter more than volume from random accounts.

3. Relevance to Audience

LinkedIn prioritizes:

• Professional relevance
• Industry alignment
• Topic consistency

If you consistently post about a topic (for example executive coaching, leadership, or content strategy), LinkedIn learns who to show your posts to. Inconsistency confuses distribution.

4. Relationship Strength

LinkedIn favors:

• People you DM
• People who comment on your posts regularly
• People whose content you engage with
• 1st-degree connections

Distribution is relationship-driven, not follower-driven.

Reach is not about vanity

For service providers, reach ≠ vanity. It’s about attracting the right decision-makers. Here’s what actually moves the needle:

Comments > Likes

Structure posts that invite perspective:

Instead of:

“Do you agree?”

Try:

“What’s the hardest leadership transition you’ve had to make?”

Specific prompts generate thoughtful responses.

Stop Chasing Virality

LinkedIn is not TikTok.

Niche authority > broad visibility.

5 engaged CEOs outperform 5,000 random impressions.

Avoid External Links in the Post Body

External links reduce distribution.

Better options:

• Put the link in the first comment

• Or DM it to people who ask

LinkedIn wants people to stay on LinkedIn.

Optimize for Dwell Time

The algorithm tracks whether people actually read.

Ways to increase dwell time:

• Strong hook in first 2 lines
• White space formatting
• Clear story arc
• Structured insights

Storytelling + insight performs better than “tips lists.”

Consistency > Frequency

3–4 high-quality posts per week outperform daily filler.

LinkedIn rewards:

• Topical authority
• Predictable publishing cadence
• Engagement consistency
• Engagement consistency
• Predictable publishing cadence

Thought Leadership Beats Motivation

Instead of: “You’ve got this”

Try: “Most executives don’t burn out from workload. They burn out from misalignment.”

That creates positioning.

Advanced Strategy (That Most People Miss)

The First Hour Engagement Loop! Before posting:

Engage meaningfully on 5–10 ideal-client posts and leave thoughtful comments.

Why? When they reply or check your profile, they’re more likely to engage with your new post — boosting early signals. This is relationship priming.

What the Algorithm Is Really Optimizing For

LinkedIn prioritizes:

• Conversations
• Professional relevance
• Credibility
• Retention time

It is not optimizing for entertainment.

Here are some do’s and don’ts that I have seen business people do (and fail to do) that impact their audience and engagement in ways they might not realize.

DON’T

Create a Business Page or Profile Page and disappear (similarly, don’t create a post and disappear). Thanks to the algorithm, failing to respond to comments in a timely manner will affect your post reach and results. 

You should aim to respond to LinkedIn comments as soon as possible, ideally within the first hour or 24 hours, especially in the “golden hour” after posting to boost algorithm visibility and show active engagement. Prompt, personalized replies (not generic “thanks!”) encourage more conversation, build relationships, and significantly increase your post’s overall engagement, keeping threads alive. 

As mentioned, comments within the first couple of hours are highly valuable for the algorithm. Replying promptly to comments by others also helps prolong the conversation and signals activity.

DO

Check your LinkedIn posts daily (morning and late afternoon) to reply to any comments and engage with others. 

DON’T

Make multiple comments on your own posts, particularly in a stack because it:

• Appears spammy: Leaving too many comments at once or using generic comments like “Great post!” makes you look like you’re gaming the system, which can put off potential clients and harm your credibility.
  
  
• Risks account standing: While self-commenting itself is not necessarily bad, excessive comments are against LinkedIn’s policies and can result in penalties or even a banned account.
  
  
• “Sucks the air” out of the post:Constantly adding new comments without allowing others to contribute can make the interaction feel one-sided and less inviting for others to join the dialogue. 

Occasional comments on your own posts are fine provided they are meaningful, add value, and spark genuine conversation. However, you should avoid generic, spammy, or overly promotional comments, as these can harm your professional image and potentially reduce your post’s reach. 

DON’T

Tag multiple people in your posts. While LinkedIn allows tagging up to 25 people in a text post, best practice is to tag no more than one to three relevant people. Tagging a large number of people can cause LinkedIn’s algorithm to penalize your post’s reach and annoy those tagged with excessive notifications.

DO

• Provide Context.  Explain in your post why you are thanking them and what their contribution was. This makes the gratitude feel sincere and provides value to your audience. 
• Consider a Private Message or Note: For a more personal or significant thank you, a private message or even a handwritten note in addition to, or instead of, a public post can be more impactful.
• Ask for Permission (if unsure): If the topic is sensitive or you’re not close with the person, you can send them a quick private message beforehand to ask if they are comfortable with being tagge

DO

Instead, use a strategic self-commenting strategy to “seed” conversations, add value or clarity, and guide the narrative. 

DON’T

Design posts that look more like advertising than valuable informational content (Guilty!) 

DO

Follow the 5-3-2 rule: This rule suggests that out of every 10 posts, 5 should be curated content, 3 should be original content, and 2 should be personal or humanizing content. In my opinion, overuse of curated content sends the message that you’re merely piggybacking on other’s insights rather than offering your own.

DO

Follow the 3-2-1 rule: This rule suggests engaging with three posts, commenting on two, and creating one post per week. It helps maintain consistent visibility without overwhelming your audience.

DON’T

Post random photos that don’t relate to your post topic or just post your logo as a post visual. Your images should be post-specific, relevant, branded, and professional, including a headline, relevant image, logo, and perhaps your tagline if it’s relevant to the post content.

DO

Use professional, branded and consistent visuals. Hire a marketing professional to create images for you to highlight post topics and reinforce your brand. 

DON’T

Include your website post URL on images. 

DO

Comment on other people’s posts— add value and your insights, not just ‘this is insightful’ or “I appreciate your perspective.” 

DON’T

Repost (to your business page) other people’s posts with your one sentence response to “add your thoughts.” This doesn’t position you as a thought leader. 90% of the post value is someone else’s opinion, so you’re promoting them, not you.

When to post

The best times to post on LinkedIn for business development are Tuesday through Thursday between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m.

Midweek mornings offer the highest visibility for professional content, with specific peaks on Tuesday at 10–11 a.m., Wednesday at 10 a.m.–12 p.m., and Thursday at 10 a.m.–1 p.m.. Friday mornings are also effective, while weekends generally see the lowest engagement.

Drop a comment if I missed anything! I would appreciate and enjoy hearing your thoughts.