People are blaming "The Algorithm."

Something I read often.

Not because their post was a brilliant insight that deserved to go viral. And definitely not because LinkedIn has some secret vendetta against them.

They blamed the algorithm because their post didn’t get the likes they expected.

It wasn’t the algorithm. It was their writing.

Mine included.

I spent November reading article after article trying to sort it out.

And oh were there articles to feed these misguided ideas.

Why We Love to Blame the Algorithm

You put effort into a post, hit publish, and expect virality.

When it doesn’t happen, it’s easy to believe LinkedIn is “hiding” your content.

You won't admit the post wasn’t as strong as you thought.

Here’s what I’ve learned after posting for 8 months almost daily:

If your content is great, people will engage.

Not immediately. Not on every post. Consistently-great content always finds an audience.

What We Miss When We Blame the Algorithm

In the last month alone, I’ve seen at least a dozen posts that said some version of:

"My engagement is down. LinkedIn is punishing us." "The algorithm must have changed - no one saw my last post." "I put so much effort into this, but the reach is awful!"

I've read articles about it. People writing the improbable.

Was the post actually good?

Most of the time, it wasn’t.

Most of the time, it was:

• A generic take said 100 times before
• A weak hook that didn’t grab attention
• A block of text that was hard to read
• A message that wasn’t clear, engaging, or shareable

And that’s why people scrolled past it. Not because of some algorithmic conspiracy.

A Simple Shift That Changes Everything

The best-performing content I’ve seen didn’t rely on gaming the algorithm. It focused on writing something that earned engagement.

Take this, for example:

Bad Hook: "Here are five tips for better engagement." Good Hook: "Most people blaming ‘the algorithm’ have no idea why their posts fail."

See the difference? One is generic. The other makes you stop and think.

Or look at these two approaches:

Generic Post: "Engagement is down lately. Anyone else feeling this?"

Engaging Post: "I studied my last 20 posts to figure out why some tanked. Here’s what I found..."

One invites complaints. The other invites discussion.

And that’s the real secret to getting engagement.

How to Make People Engage with Your Content

Here’s what works better than blaming the algorithm:

1. Write Better Hooks – Your first sentence should make people stop scrolling.
2. Make It Easy to Read – Shorter sentences. Clearer ideas. White space.
3. Engage Before and After Posting – Commenting on others boosts yours.
4. Set your Expectations - Posting on Sunday is not like posting on Tuesday.
5. Be Consistent in your Focus - Pivoting alienates existing readers

And remember that not everyone who reads your content engages with it.

Many people just don't like or comment. But they are there.

The Bottom Line

If your post didn’t get the engagement you wanted, don’t rush to blame the algorithm.

Take ownership. Study what works. Improve your craft. Try again.

The writers who do this? They don’t complain about engagement.

They create engagement.

And that makes all the difference.

Thanks for reading!

Matt

PS: February is Video month. I'll be recording a lot of the research and work I'm doing into automation and GTM. If you have any burning challenges in the GTM space, I can see if I have some knowledge to share.