Best of LinkedIn: Social Selling CW 31/32 2026

Social selling on LinkedIn is splitting into two disciplines that used to be treated as one. On one side, a measurement layer is forming around SSI scores, algorithm mechanics, and attribution models that finally put a number on what used to be a vague brand play. On the other, the platform itself is actively policing the volume of AI generated content flooding it, from a new report button to a rebuilt ranking model. The throughline across this edition is that visibility is no longer assumed. It has to be earned pillar by pillar, defended against AI slop, and justified with a return figure someone can point to.

Date

August 12, 2026

Social Selling

Thomas Allgeyer

Methodology: Every two weeks we collect most relevant posts on LinkedIn for selected topics and create an overall summary only based on these posts. If you´re interested in the single posts behind, you can find them here: https://linktr.ee/thomasallgeyer. Have a great read!

Listen to our podcast

If you prefer listening, check out our podcast summarizing the most relevant insights from Social Selling CW 31/ 32:

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SSI and Profile Optimization

A 73 out of 100 SSI puts one marketing services professional in the top 1 percent of his industry and network, against a 30 and 39 average
LinkedIn's Growth Challenge turned three weeks of networking into a jump from top 40 percent to top 6 percent SSI in finance, plus a London HQ workshop invite
A profile score below 60 cuts recruiter search visibility even on a complete profile, since the score splits across four pillars worth 25 points each
Small profile tweaks alone lifted one SSI score from 62, with no change in posting frequency
Greece's average SSI trails the international average despite 3.2 million LinkedIn users, a gap tied to profiles still run as static resumes
Commenting three to four times a day on target accounts' posts is the single biggest lever for SSI, since it doubles weekly connection request limits

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Content and Authenticity

A post announcing a price drop from 256 zł to 230 zł logged 5,262 views, 96 reactions and 82 comments, beating a companion post's vaguer call to action
Individual profiles pull roughly 8 times the engagement of the same content from a brand page, alongside a separate 76 percent trust-in-person-over-company figure
A tenth place finish in Group 1 of Antony Martini's Top 100 LinkedIn Voices in B2B Sales Coaching is credited to two straight years of consistent publishing
A post mortem on three posts that ran 66 percent below average traced the drop to insight-first hooks and closers that never returned to the hook
Fourteen distinct income paths on LinkedIn point to being known for a specific skill, audience, or product as the real earner, not posting itself
A resource compiling 99 LinkedIn tactics groups its advice into algorithm mechanics, prospecting, and growth

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Outreach, Advocacy and Partnerships

One agency traces 35.7 percent of its clients to partnerships, worth hundreds of thousands for the agency and millions for its clients
A Claude plus LinkedIn outreach system booked 5 meetings in 4 days and reached dozens of ideal customer accounts within a single hour
47 employees resharing the identical post on the same day generated less combined reach than one employee's unrelated personal post days earlier
A recurring two hour "power hour" working 20 prospects per salesperson is credited with 10 or more meetings each time it runs
A free 2026 outreach playbook built on DM formats, sequencing, and connection scripts aims for fewer messages with a higher reply rate, not more volume
An employee advocacy program with 2 to 3 genuinely willing participants beats mandating every employee become a content creator

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Algorithm and AI Slop

LinkedIn's new ranking model, 360Brew, now weighs a save as roughly 5 times the signal of a like
One estimate puts AI written content at 53.7 percent of the LinkedIn feed
A "Seems like AI slop" option in the three dot post menu reports low value AI content to the platform with no confirmation step
LinkedIn is retiring the AI tool that rewrote posts in favor of a proofreading feature meant to correct writing without changing the author's voice
Post Collaboration lets a member co publish with another member or a Company Page, merging both audiences into one shared post
One media operator puts AI generated longform content at 41 percent and questions why the platform sold AI writing tools for two years before penalizing their output

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Measurement and ROI

A 267 percent return, 3 closed deals and $135,000 in social influenced revenue against $36,800 in cost, stays invisible under last touch attribution and 90 to 180 day sales cycles
Gartner's 2025 data shows 61 percent of B2B buyers now prefer a rep free buying process, and 73 percent avoid suppliers whose outreach feels irrelevant
The 2024 Edelman LinkedIn report found 73 percent of B2B buyers trust thought leadership over traditional marketing, and 75 percent researched a vendor because of one piece of content, with 23 percent going on to work with them
68 percent of B2B buyers already have a front runner vendor before contact, and that front runner wins the deal 80 percent of the time
Three years of data across 860 B2B companies shows executive, seller, and employee activity on LinkedIn rising and falling together despite separate silos
Three shifts separate 2026's LinkedIn winners: treating the platform as a revenue channel, targeted outbound to active decision makers, and retargeting warm audiences with organic plus paid

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Thanks to Lukas Otompasis, David Kuliev, Isabela Schnorr, Shannon Jessup, Marily Mitropoulou, Matan Kleyman, Magdalena Chalecka, Beatrice Vladut, Deepak Bhootra, Magali De Reu, Serge Bulaev, Dr. Tami Joy Schlichter, Matthew C Brown, Victor Castro, Mic Adam, Darren McKee, Milena Aguiar, Lee Densmer, Blair Huddy, Noam Nisand, Nicole Mezzasalma, Joshua B. Lee, Nathan Vennekens, Fox Tucker, Jack Clare, Amanda Boujos, Shideler B., Ranjit Giri, Sarah Goodall and Conor Paulsen, and everyone else who contributed insights to this edition.

Find the full list of posts and voices on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/best-linkedin-cw-31-32-social-selling-thomas-allgeyer-i3cme/?trackingId=3k9%2FXbJA3EAUIWTt2CdgkQ%3D%3D

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Frequently asked questions

What is a good LinkedIn SSI score?

Anything above 60 matters for visibility. A score below 60 cuts recruiter search visibility, since four pillars are worth 25 points each. A 73 out of 100 put one professional in the top 1 percent of his industry, against averages of 30 and 39. LinkedIn's Growth Challenge moved another user from the top 40 percent to the top 6 percent in three weeks.

How is LinkedIn fighting AI slop in the feed?

With a report option and a new ranking model. A Seems like AI slop option in the post menu flags low value AI content without a confirmation step. The 360Brew model weighs a save as roughly 5 times a like. One estimate puts AI written content at 53.7 percent of the feed, and LinkedIn is swapping its post rewriting tool for a proofreading feature.

How do you measure the ROI of social selling?

By looking past last touch attribution. One case showed a 267 percent return, 3 closed deals and $135,000 in social influenced revenue against $36,800 in cost, all invisible under last touch and 90 to 180 day sales cycles. 68 percent of B2B buyers already have a front runner before contact, and it wins 80 percent of the time.