Honestly, if you’re still trying to "hack" the LinkedIn algorithm with the same tricks from three years ago, you're probably shouting into a void. October 2025 was a massive turning point. The platform finally stopped pretending to be a general social network and went all-in on being a high-utility professional toolkit.
I've been watching the data and the rollout logs. LinkedIn basically nuked the "viral reach" model. If you’re seeing your views drop by 50% like a lot of creators are right now, it’s not a glitch. It’s a feature.
The Death of the "Golden Hour" and the Rise of Relevance
For years, everyone obsessed over the first 60 minutes of a post. If you didn't get ten likes and five comments immediately, your post was dead. October 2025 changed that math.
LinkedIn's new relevance-driven model means your post from three weeks ago can suddenly pop back into someone's feed. Why? Because the AI decided that person actually needs to see your specific expertise today. They call it "extended content lifespan." It’s a shift from "Who posted most recently?" to "Who actually knows what they’re talking about regarding this specific niche?"
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Your Comments Need to Be Essays (Kinda)
Short replies like "Great post!" or "Thanks for sharing!" are now effectively invisible to the algorithm. In fact, they might even hurt you.
Research from experts like Richard van der Blom shows that the "15-word rule" is the new standard. If a comment is at least 15 words long, LinkedIn gives it about 2.5 times the weight of a short one. The platform is looking for depth of conversation rather than just a high count of reactions.
LinkedIn News Updates October 2025: The Features You Missed
While everyone was arguing about the algorithm, a few massive features slipped under the radar.
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One of the biggest is the "Contributors" tool. Think of it like movie credits but for your job. You can now tag colleagues directly in your work experience section to credit them for specific projects. It’s a smart move. It moves the profile away from being a static resume and turns it into a verified record of teamwork.
Then there’s the Hiring Assistant. This is LinkedIn’s first real AI agent. It doesn't just suggest keywords; it actually handles the "prescreening" of candidates.
- It asks initial screening questions based on recruiter criteria.
- It handles global candidate outreach in multiple languages (French, German, and Portuguese were added this month).
- It identifies "Newest First" candidates so high-volume recruiters don't miss top talent in the pile.
Privacy and the Salary Reveal
This was a controversial one. In October, LinkedIn rolled out a feature allowing users to securely share their notice period and expected salary directly with recruiters. You don't have to put it on your public profile, but it’s a massive signal for "Apply Connect" users.
The goal here is transparency, but it's basically LinkedIn's way of cutting through the back-and-forth negotiation dance that wastes everyone's time.
The Gamification Gamble
LinkedIn Games now has a Connection Leaderboard.
I know, it sounds silly. Why am I playing puzzles on a professional networking site? But the engagement numbers don't lie. By letting you compete with your coworkers or old classmates, LinkedIn is increasing "stickiness." People who play these games daily are staying on the app 20% longer.
Is it "professional"? Maybe not in the traditional sense. But it's keeping the lights on and keeping your network active so they actually see your business posts later.
Advertising Just Got Rebranded
If you manage ads, you’ve probably noticed the name changes in Campaign Manager. LinkedIn is trying to align with the rest of the industry.
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- Campaign Groups are now just called Campaigns.
- Campaigns are now called Ad Sets.
It’s a headache for those of us with internal spreadsheets, but it makes sense for anyone coming over from Meta or Google Ads. They also launched Thought Leader Event Ads, which let brands promote a specific person’s post about a live event. It feels much more organic than those clunky "Join our webinar" banners.
What Actually Works Now?
If you want to survive the 2025 landscape, you have to pivot.
Vertical video is absolutely crushing it. It performs about 80% better than horizontal formats. People are watching on mobile, and they’re watching without sound. If you don’t have captions, you’re losing 35% of your audience immediately.
Also, watch your hashtags. Using more than five now triggers a penalty. The AI is smart enough to know what your post is about without you tagging #business #success #growth twenty times.
Actionable Next Steps for You:
- Audit your "About" section: Use the new AI-powered "Life Tab" suggestions to refresh your company's story, but make sure to adjust the tone so it doesn't sound like a robot wrote it.
- Stop the "Link in Bio" or "Link in Comments" obsession: While native content is still king, LinkedIn has slightly loosened the penalty for external links if the post generates a high dwell time. Focus on the value of the text first.
- Engagement is a two-way street: Spend 10 minutes before you post commenting on 5–10 other people's stuff. Use long-form comments (15+ words). It "warms up" your profile in the algorithm's eyes.
- Leverage the "Saves" metric: Look at your post analytics. "Saves" and "Sends" (private DMs) are now more important than Likes. If people are saving your content, you've hit the expertise jackpot.