LinkedIn has changed the algorithm again. It’s a big change that could impact your business or personal branding strategy.

LinkedIn is known for making changes to the algorithm it believes will enhance the experience of the community.

The social media platform overhauled the algo to reduce the amount of what it considers fluff and limit said fluff from going viral. It found that people would drop quote images or selfies with no substantive content and get thousands of likes. Some complained that the pandemic turned LinkedIn into Facebook lite.

The change, in my opinion, is good because it rewards original and thought-provoking content while deprioritizing puff pieces. Whether you are a content creator, use LI to promote your business, showcase your personal brand, or to find a job, this change will impact you.

In short, the algo will:

• Serve you more content from your connections and those you follow.

• Boost posts that generate honest commentary beyond “great post.”

• Focus on content that provides information rather than opinion or personal information.

• Deprioritize posts with selfies or quotes that don’t support the context of the post.

• Reward content that is aligned with a user’s profile and overall work experience (i.e., speaking on what they know).

• Penalize virality for posts unless it has generated discussion in the comments.

Recall from the last Flash Report that LinkedIn has removed inactive or hibernating accounts from your follower count. If you want to build your presence on LinkedIn, keep these changes in mind.

⚡ TL;DR

LinkedIn’s massive algorithm overhaul values quality over quantity. Posts should be informative. Fluff quotes and selfies will no longer be rewarded. Your content should be reflective of your expertise and relate to your audience. And you will be served more content from those you follow and your connections.

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Texas added new privacy laws. Here’s how it impacts your website.

Like California, Texas has passed its own data privacy rights law. If you own a website for your business (or any website), you must update your privacy statement. For example, after California passed its law, you probably saw many sites add “Do Not Sell My Data” to their footers.

The law will go into effect on July 1, 2024. Visitors to your site need the option to remove their information from your site. If you haven’t already done so, your site should include a Privacy Statement, Disclaimer, and Terms and Conditions.

Easy ways to manage this are with sites such as Termly or plugins for WordPress, Shopify, or other popular site creation tools.

⚡ TL;DR

The new Texas Data Privacy law goes into effect July 1, 2024. Like Europe and California, your site will need to be updated so that visitors understand how to opt out or remove data from your site. There are plugins or sites like Termly.io that can manage this for you.

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The Fed is cracking down on fake businesses.

This Treasury Department mandate hasn’t received much attention yet. But it will impact every LLC or S-Corp, etc. owner in the country. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) requires registered businesses to file a Beneficial Ownership Information form to crack down on criminal activity effective January 1, 2024.

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), passed in September 2022, requires that every entity file a form with the Treasury indicating the entity's beneficial owners. Missing the deadline or neglecting to complete the form will result in fines.

Hopefully, the Treasury Department will release more details as the date approaches. For now, you can find this information at https://www.fincen.gov/boi.

⚡ TL;DR

The Feds are cracking down. File a Beneficial Owners Information form with the Treasury Department starting January 1, 2024 or be fined. Instructions will be forthcoming from the Treasury.

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