Do Hashtags Still Matter on LinkedIn?
What You’ll Learn in this Issue
- Why hashtags mattered earlier on LinkedIn and how their role has evolved with smarter algorithms
- Why content relevance now matters more than hashtags for reach and visibility
- How focusing on useful, audience-driven content delivers better results than relying on hashtags
LinkedIn didn’t always support hashtags.
But in 2018, the platform not only reintroduced hashtag discoverability but also started encouraging users to categorise their posts with hashtags. This was meant to help users find relevant content more easily by grouping similar conversations together.
In the early days of social media, users had limited control over the content they saw, often encountering a chaotic mix of irrelevant posts. Hashtags were introduced as a solution, making it easier to find content that mattered. When you use a hashtag, it becomes a clickable link, allowing others to search for and join in on the conversation.
The main idea was that by using hashtags, LinkedIn could better segment content, showing users posts that aligned with their interests. However, as social media algorithms have become more advanced, the reliance on hashtags has diminished. These systems can now analyse the entire context of a post, including text, visuals, user history, and keywords, to deliver relevant content to users.
So, do you still need to use hashtags on LinkedIn?
The short answer is that they're not as crucial as they used to be.
Richard van der Blom, in his LinkedIn post, revealed that while using 3-10 hashtags used to increase post reach by 10-25%, this is no longer the case. Hashtags don’t provide the same reach boost they once did.
This suggests LinkedIn is gradually de-emphasising hashtags as a discovery tool, focusing more on the relevance of the content. LinkedIn's system isn't designed for viral content in the same way as other platforms, which may be why hashtags are less emphasised now.
When you share a post about getting a new job, it may not reach the networks of everyone who likes it. LinkedIn's algorithm focuses on relevance, so if the content isn't directly relevant to the connections of those who liked the post, it won't be widely shown.
On the other hand, if you post advice on handling workplace challenges, it has a better chance of reaching a broader audience. This is because such advice is useful to a wider range of people.
The bottom line? You don't need to worry too much about using hashtags on LinkedIn. Focus instead on creating meaningful, relevant content that resonates with your audience.
