We’ve been busy. Our LinkedIn Autoposter plugin just got a bunch of new features that can significantly boost your LinkedIn reach.
The Big One: URL in First Comment
LinkedIn’s algorithm doesn’t like posts with external links. Include a URL in your post and LinkedIn shows it to fewer people. It’s their way of keeping users on the platform.
The workaround? Post your content without a link, then add the URL as the first comment. LinkedIn’s algorithm treats this differently, and your post gets more reach.
Our plugin now does this automatically. Enable it in Settings → LinkedIn Autoposter → check “Post URL in first comment.”
Data suggests this can increase reach by 20-40%.
Smart Image Fallbacks
LinkedIn posts with images get more engagement. But what if you forget to add a featured image?
The plugin now has a smart fallback chain:
- Featured Image (if set)
- First image in post content
- Default Image (you pick one in settings)
- Site Logo (last resort)
You can now select a default image from your media library. This image gets used whenever a post has no other images. Much better than having posts go out with no thumbnail.
Better Text Extraction
The plugin now properly strips shortcodes and HTML when extracting excerpts. No more weird formatting in your LinkedIn posts.
What’s Next
We’re looking into carousel posts. LinkedIn data shows carousels get the highest engagement (around 5.9% vs 4.2% average). The challenge is that LinkedIn’s API requires uploading PDF documents to create carousels. It’s doable, but adds complexity.
For now, the URL-in-comment feature is probably your best bet for improving reach without changing how you write.
Get the Plugin
The LinkedIn Autoposter is free, open source, and available on GitHub. No monthly fees, no tracking, no bloat.