LinkedIn was historically associated more with recruiting than peer technical discussion. Since 2022, more senior engineers and DevRel professionals have built audiences there as some activity moved away from X.
Why LinkedIn matters now
- Professional context. Posts reach colleagues, decision-makers, and peers at scale.
- Algorithm favours long-form text. LinkedIn’s feed rewards 1,200-character text posts; rewards carousel posts (image series); rewards organic engagement disproportionately to other platforms.
- No paid-tier visibility gating. All organic posts compete on the same algorithm (in contrast to X’s verified-user boost).
- LinkedIn Live and LinkedIn Newsletters have emerged as additional formats.
- Stable platform. LinkedIn’s strategy has been consistent for years; not subject to the volatility of X.
What works for DevRel on LinkedIn
- Personal-narrative-driven posts. Lessons learned, anti-patterns, mistakes, career stories.
- Carousels. Multi-image posts walking through a concept; very algorithmically favoured.
- Thought-leadership essays. 800 to 1,500 words.
- Newsletter format (LinkedIn Newsletters): broadcasts to subscribers separately from feed reach.
- Live video sessions (LinkedIn Live).
- Job-news posts. Hiring announcements, promotions, role changes: reach is unusually high.
What doesn’t work
- External links in the post body (algorithm penalises; better to put link in first comment).
- Pure-marketing posts from company accounts (low reach).
- Sales outreach presented as peer engagement, which can damage the sender’s credibility.
Who uses it well for DevRel
Several DevRel and developer-product professionals built large LinkedIn audiences during 2022 to 2026 that exceed their X audiences:
- DevRel managers and directors looking to recruit and influence cross-company peers.
- AI engineering professionals (a substantial fraction of OpenAI, Anthropic, Hugging Face, NVIDIA, etc. employees post heavily).
- Engineering leaders (CTOs, VPs of Engineering) using it as a thought-leadership channel.
- DevRel hiring channels: many DevRel jobs are filled through LinkedIn networks.
Company use
Most developer-product companies maintain a LinkedIn company page, but the channel is much more effective when individual employees post under their names than when the company-account broadcasts.
For a major launch, team members can publish distinct posts under their own names. Those posts can reach audiences that do not follow the company account.
Newsletter format
LinkedIn Newsletters are a notable 2022+ addition. They function as opt-in email lists tied to LinkedIn identity. Some technical writers have grown substantial subscriber bases on LinkedIn Newsletters in addition to (or instead of) Substack / Beehiiv. The strategic question is identity portability: LinkedIn-only subscribers cannot be exported.
Caveats
- The platform’s tone is more polished than X / Bluesky. Casual humour and inside jokes underperform.
- Audience skews older and more enterprise than X/Bluesky in many domains.
- Engagement and reach are still gated by an algorithm; consistent posting has more effect than any single post.