LinkedIn Intelligence Report

What 271K followers and a weekly algorithm newsletter reveal about LinkedIn's most analytical creator — and your opportunity within his ecosystem

A data-driven look at Richard van der Blom and Just Connecting's combined LinkedIn presence. Richard — you've become the definitive voice on LinkedIn algorithm intelligence. Your weekly newsletter generates 30-94 comments per post from an audience of LinkedIn practitioners, marketers, and sales leaders actively trying to improve their platform performance. That makes your engagement data uniquely valuable for anyone selling into the LinkedIn creator and social selling ecosystem.

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Analysis for Richard van der Blom · Founder, Just Connecting · July 2026
📊
📝
👥
⚡
Followers
271K
Comments/Post
30–94
ICP Segments
4
AUDIENCE COMPOSITION
CS
Social Seller / Marketer
LinkedIn
EM
Enterprise CMO
B2B
CT
Creator / Consultant
0
LinkedIn Followers
0
Company Followers
0
Posts / Month
0
Avg Comments/Post
0
Team Size
Founder Profile

Richard van der Blom — the most analytical voice on LinkedIn

Just Connecting was founded in 2009 and has grown into a leading Social Selling and Employee Advocacy agency with enterprise clients across Europe. But the growth engine isn't the company page (10,706 followers) — it's Richard's personal brand at 271K followers, built on a weekly newsletter that analyzes LinkedIn's algorithm with the rigor of an academic paper. Richard doesn't just teach LinkedIn — he reverse-engineers it.

📊 The LinkedIn Algorithm Report is Richard's center of gravity — and it's the most consistent content franchise on the platform.

Richard's weekly numbered newsletter (currently at #65) consistently generates 30-94 comments per post. Recent chapters have covered carousel format changes, platform regulation, the Creator Marketplace launch, and company page optimization. Each post is a signal flare that attracts LinkedIn practitioners actively trying to improve their platform performance — and they comment because Richard's analysis changes how they operate.

#65 Weekly NewsletterAlgorithm Report Series271K Followers30-94 Comments/PostEnterprise ClientsSocial Selling Pioneer
2009
Founded
2-10
Team Size
NL
Headquarters
271K
Richard's Followers
CapgeminiSiemensMercedesHitachi VantaraINGGraydon
Content Footprint (Last 60 Days)
10
Newsletter Posts
~55
Avg Comments/Post
1x/week
Cadence
97.7%
No-Save Posts (LinkedIn)
Audience Intelligence

Who engages with Richard's algorithm insights — 4 segments worth knowing

Richard's 271K followers and his weekly newsletter comments reveal a concentrated audience of LinkedIn practitioners. Based on the content themes and comment patterns, here's who's paying attention.

👔
Social Sellers & B2B Marketers
40% · Core ICP
40%
The dominant segment. Sales professionals and marketers who use LinkedIn as their primary channel. These people comment on posts about algorithm changes because it directly impacts their pipeline. Richard's content on "Stop selling on your Company Page" (94 comments) and "Why your Best LinkedIn Format just Stopped Working" (56 comments) speaks directly to this group's daily reality.
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Enterprise L&D & Comms Leaders
25% · Decision Makers
25%
Just Connecting's enterprise clients — Capgemini, Siemens, Mercedes — represent the buying segment. These are L&D and Communications leaders evaluating employee advocacy and social selling training. They're not commenting publicly (they buy training, not debate algorithm changes), but they're watching. The company page's 10,706 followers skew toward this segment.
✍️
LinkedIn Creators & Consultants
20% · Peer Practitioners
20%
Independent LinkedIn coaches, ghostwriters, and social media consultants who study Richard's algorithm reports to improve their own content. They're the loudest commenters and the fastest to adopt Richard's format recommendations. This group functions as an unofficial distribution network — when Richard recommends a format, this segment pivots and amplifies.
🛠️
LinkedIn Tool & SaaS Builders
10% · Platform Ecosystem
10%
The "#64 LinkedIn Tools that get you Banned vs. The Good Ones" post (62 comments) attracted tool builders, platform developers, and SaaS founders who operate in the LinkedIn ecosystem. These companies would benefit from Richard's algorithm authority as a distribution or endorsement channel.
🌍
International / European B2B
5% · Cross-Border Signal
5%
Richard's Dutch base and Just Connecting's European client roster attract a disproportionately European audience. Enterprise clients like Capgemini, Siemens, and ING signal that European L&D budgets are flowing toward social selling training — and Richard is the most visible provider. For any company selling into European enterprise L&D or MarTech, Just Connecting's audience is concentrated proof of demand.

🔑 Richard's audience comments to learn — not to debate. That's a trust signal.

The comment sections on Richard's posts read like Q&A forums, not debate threads. People ask clarifying questions, share their own data, and thank Richard for insights that changed their approach. This is earned authority at scale. A creator whose audience treats comments as continuing education has built something deeper than reach — they've built trust. For any company whose product helps LinkedIn practitioners perform better, Richard's comment section is a live focus group of 30-94 people per week openly discussing their needs.

Content Analysis

10 newsletter posts, one franchise: the algorithm is the product

Richard publishes a numbered, serialized weekly newsletter — currently at #65 — that functions as a rolling LinkedIn algorithm intelligence service. The most engaged posts aren't the ones with the most likes — they're the ones with the most practical implications for how readers use the platform.

1
#56 "Stop selling on your Company Page"
StrategyCompany Pages
94 comments. Richard's thesis — that company pages should amplify employees, not sell directly — hit the nerve of every B2B marketer whose leadership is asking "what's the ROI of our LinkedIn page?" This post generated more discussion than any other because it challenged the default assumption most companies operate from.
94
comments
2
Free Insights: Algorithm Insights Report - Chapter 1
AlgorithmResearch
74 comments. The launch of his 2026 algorithm report series — "The New Brain Explained" — set the narrative for the entire series. Richard established that LinkedIn's algorithm had fundamentally changed, and his audience showed up to understand how. This is the anchor post that frames every subsequent chapter.
74
comments
3
#63 "LinkedIn's New Rules: Get Paid, Get Penalized, Get Real"
Creator MarketplacePlatform News
70 comments. LinkedIn launched a Creator Marketplace letting brands pay creators directly. Richard's analysis of the monetization implications drew engagement from the creator community — these are the people who would become Richard's direct competition if he treated them as such, but instead he educated them.
70
comments
4
#64 "LinkedIn Tools that get you Banned vs. The Good Ones"
ToolsPlatform Safety
62 comments. Richard's tools post — separating safe tools from dangerous ones — attracted both users concerned about account safety and tool builders who wanted their products mentioned. This post type (curated evaluation) positions Richard as a gatekeeper for the LinkedIn tools ecosystem.
62
comments
5
#65 "Why your Best LinkedIn Format just Stopped Working"
FormatsCarousels
56 comments. Richard revealed that carousels — his safest format for 4 years — had stopped performing. The creator community reacted because this directly impacted their content strategy. When Richard's own formats stop working, his audience knows the platform has genuinely changed.
56
comments
📡
The algorithm is the product
Richard doesn't sell training — he sells understanding. Each newsletter post is a free algorithm intelligence briefing that positions Just Connecting as the authority. The training and consulting revenue follows naturally from demonstrated expertise.
🔬
Data-driven, not opinion-driven
"97.7% of all LinkedIn posts receive zero saves" — Richard's content is laced with specific, research-backed statistics. His audience trusts him because he quantifies what others only speculate about. This is his competitive moat.
📰
Serialized newsletter = compounding asset
The numbered format (#56 through #65) creates a back catalog that new followers can binge. Each post references previous insights, creating an interconnected content universe that rewards deep engagement.
Signal Gaps

Three gaps in Richard's ecosystem — and three entry points

Richard's content is the most authoritative analysis of LinkedIn's algorithm. But authority creates adjacent opportunities — here's where the ecosystem has room for someone else to plant a flag.

🛠️
The tools evaluation gap
Richard's #64 post on safe vs. banned tools generated 62 comments — but it was a one-off. There's no ongoing "LinkedIn Tools Report." A SaaS company that builds for LinkedIn creators could own this category: annual tool benchmarks, integration guides, and compliance monitoring. Richard's audience is already asking for this.
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Personal analytics for LinkedIn creators
Richard tells creators WHAT the algorithm does — but he doesn't show them THEIR own data. A personal analytics tool that shows individual creators how their content performs relative to Richard's benchmarks would plug directly into his audience. Every person reading his newsletter wants to know "am I doing this right?"
🌍
European enterprise L&D is the hidden buyer
Just Connecting's client list (Capgemini, Siemens, Mercedes, ING) proves European enterprises are spending on social selling training. But Richard's content is platform-analysis, not procurement-focused. Someone who builds content targeting the L&D buyer — "how to evaluate social selling ROI for your enterprise" — captures the budget holder Richard's content doesn't directly reach.
The 10x Opportunity

Richard's comment section is a weekly focus group of LinkedIn's most active practitioners

30-94 people comment on every post asking specific, actionable questions about how to perform better on LinkedIn. This is qualitative market research hiding in plain sight — and it updates every Saturday when Richard publishes.

1

Mine the comments for product ideas

Richard's commenters openly describe their LinkedIn workflows, pain points, and tool preferences. Every comment section is a free product discovery interview with your ICP. A SaaS company building for LinkedIn creators could extract features, positioning, and objections from a single afternoon of reading Richard's newsletter archives.

2

Build content that extends (not competes with) Richard's analysis

Richard explains the algorithm. No one explains "how to apply Richard's algorithm insights to YOUR specific content strategy." Content that translates Richard's research into tactical playbooks — "Here's how I rewrote my LinkedIn strategy based on Chapter 4" — would surface inside the same audience.

3

Partner with Just Connecting as a distribution channel

Richard evaluates LinkedIn tools for his audience. A formal partnership — "the official LinkedIn analytics partner of the Algorithm Report" — would give a tool company instant credibility with 271K LinkedIn practitioners actively trying to improve their performance.

4

Bridge the European enterprise L&D gap

European enterprises are investing in social selling training — and Richard is the most visible provider. A company that builds content for the L&D procurement buyer (case studies, ROI frameworks, implementation guides) could ride the same demand wave without competing with Richard's training business.

Bottom Line
271K followers, 55 comments per post, one franchise
Richard's Algorithm Report is the most consistent content franchise in the LinkedIn ecosystem. If your product helps LinkedIn practitioners perform better, his audience is the most concentrated, highest-intent buyer signal on the platform — and it refreshes every week.
Engagement Profile

Comment-heavy, save-light — an audience that discusses, not just consumes

Richard's 30-94 comments per post is the headline metric. At 271K followers, his comment-to-follower ratio is exceptional — this is an audience trained to engage deeply, not scroll past. The practical takeaway: Richard's audience discusses tools, strategies, and outcomes. If your product belongs in that conversation, this is the audience you need to be in front of.

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Comments/Post
30–94
Avg 55
📊
Algorithm Authority
#65
Weeks Running
🏢
Enterprise Clients
6+
Fortune 500
📅
Cadence
1x/wk
Consistent
Notable Engagers

The ecosystem around Richard's content

Richard's commenters include LinkedIn creators, social selling practitioners, tool builders, and enterprise L&D leaders. These are representative profiles from the types of people who engage with his algorithm research.

Want this kind of intelligence for your target accounts?

I build LinkedIn audience intelligence reports for founders and GTM leaders who want signal over noise. Richard's took ~45 minutes. Yours could surface gaps, opportunities, and buyers you didn't know existed.

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