Are you looking to make LinkedIn a bigger focus in 2026?
This will help.
LinkedIn’s VP of Product Management Gyanda Sachdeva has shared some new insights into key engagement trends in the app, as well as pointers on how users can lean into them, in order to improve their content performance.
And LinkedIn is getting more attention. Sachdeva says that over the past year, content sharing in the app is up 15%, while comments in the feed have increased by 24%.
Double-digit rises in engagement point to expanded opportunity, and these tips could steer you on the right path to boosting your LinkedIn performance.
First off, Sachdeva says that users should share their expertise and experience in the app.
As per Sachdeva:
“People want to hear from other humans, and they want to hear real, lived experiences and insights. We consistently see that the content driving the strongest engagement falls into a few key themes – and our members tell us they want more of these.”
Those themes are:
- Industry news and your perspective on it, product announcements, or trends shaping your field
- Informative content, especially around work, business, or the economy
- Career stories and advice from your own lived experience, featuring insightful lessons and stories that only you can tell
So your own professional insights, guided by your own experiences, which nobody else has. That’s valuable, and if you can capture your learnings into concise summaries, those should do well on LinkedIn.
But don’t use AI to generate these for you.
LinkedIn has added AI tools into every element of its app, including post creation, though even Sachdeva notes that relying too much on AI is not the way to go:
“One thing I do want to reiterate is that while I encourage you to use AI as a tool to brainstorm or sharpen your thinking, professionals want to hear from real professionals about real experiences. AI is best used to augment your expression. Think of AI as a tool, not a crutch: members, not AI, power the best engagement on LinkedIn.”
So why, then, would LinkedIn add this as a post generation option?
I don’t know, but I would encourage users, especially on LinkedIn, not to use AI as a replacement for their own thoughts and insights.
On a related front, LinkedIn also continues to increase its actions to address fake engagement in-stream.
As we reported earlier this year, many LinkedIn users have reported seeing examples of automated engagement, and engagement pod activity in the app.
LinkedIn informed us in July that it’s looking to make this a bigger focus, and in a separate post, LinkedIn’s VP of Product Oscar Rodriguez has provided an update on its efforts to address this:
“Over the last few months, we’ve continued to take significant steps to address this. We’ve removed LinkedIn groups exhibiting signs of engagement pod behaviors. We’ve also reached out to thousands of members whose actions showed signs of participation in engagement pods or use of automated commenting tools, reminding them of our policies and warning of possible account restrictions and removals from LinkedIn programs, including Top Voices.”
So LinkedIn is looking to tackle platform misuse in a targeted way, and you can expect to see more action on this front in 2026.
In terms of posting frequency, Sachdeva says that users should aim to publish between 2-5 LinkedIn posts per week for optimal impact, with members who post twice per week seeing up to 5x more profile views on average.
“For best results, focus on quality and consider spacing out posts to give each breathing room when on very similar topics. Keep in mind that posting more than once a day won’t hurt your total reach, but people want to see content from a range of voices. If you share several posts close together, members will likely see the one that is most relevant to them.”
Sachdeva has also addressed recent questions about algorithm changes, and the relative impacts on post reach:
“Distribution and reach naturally fluctuate based on what you’re posting, things like the topic, timing, format, and even what your audience is engaging with that day. And because more people are posting and joining conversations on LinkedIn there is simply more activity in the feed overall. That naturally means a bit more competition but also more opportunities for creators and viewers alike.”
So, more people posting could mean less reach for each user, while Sachdeva has also responded to recent questions about possible gender bias in LinkedIn’s algorithm:
“There are many signals that can impact the distribution of your post, such as usefulness and uniqueness of the content, timeliness of the topic, relevance to the viewer, frequency of posting, use of media, if you’ve got context in the video post caption, or whether the language feels promotional or generic. These and many other factors determine what gets distributed and to whom. Importantly though, we do not factor in gender, age or other demographics of the poster into content ranking.”
Many users have conducted their own experiments on this, and have not been satisfied with LinkedIn’s answer, which is simply that such bias doesn’t happen. But based on official advice from LinkedIn, this is not a factor in content ranking.
Sachdeva further notes that users should focus on creating relevant, timely posts that spark conversations for your audience.
“A strong first sentence, a clear point of view and a simple narrative that brings people into the story can go a long way in helping your content land.”
That same advice is included on LinkedIn’s creation tips page:
Sachdeva also reiterates that hashtags are not important:
“Hashtags do not impact distribution, so no need to include them. If you still want to include them for other reasons, such as your own tracking or to help members search for them since they are clickable, you can continue to do so.”
While video posts are also driving big response in the app:
“Video is a key part of LinkedIn’s content ecosystem, and it’s one of several powerful ways to share your voice. Through video, we’re unlocking access to shared experiences and wisdom from other professionals to help members navigate their professional journey more meaningfully.”
LinkedIn also previously reported that videos are 20x more likely to be shared in the app, while video content also generates 1.4x more engagement than other post types.
As such, it’s definitely worth considering, and Sachdeva says that a strong hook, highlighted in text form, is key to driving video engagement.
Some valuable pointers from one of the people who’s in charge of overseeing how LinkedIn’s systems run, and as such, has in-depth knowledge of its content focus, as well as usage trends.
Worth noting for your 2026 approach.
