Richard van der Blom

Tired of LinkedIn™️ not delivering the leads you need? Struggling to stand out in all the noise? Too much advice, not enough results? Running out of time to land new clients? Wondering how to turn connections into paying customers? I’ve got exactly what you need!  ☎️ 𝘁𝗲𝗹. +𝟯𝟭 𝟲 𝟱𝟱𝟭𝟭 𝟳𝟮𝟴𝟮

𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗔𝗺 𝗜?
I'm Richard van der Blom, born in the Netherlands 🇳🇱, currently living the Spanish 🇪🇸 life. My world revolves around my partner Evelina 🇦🇷, our delightful doodle Siena 🇩🇪, and an undying love for international cuisine 🍲 , travel, Pearl Jam 🎶 , and yes, a Gin-Tonic 🍸 . Once a technical wizard on the football ⚽️  field, now I get my kicks from steering businesses towards success on LinkedIn™️.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗲 𝗗𝗼
We specialize in leveraging comprehensive, evidence-based strategies to enhance LinkedIn™️ engagement and effectiveness for B2B clients. Our partnerships with a diverse clientele of over 900 companies and the mentorship of more than 300,000 professionals have enabled us to develop a robust repository of best practices and actionable insights. Our commitment to ongoing research in social selling, content optimization, and staying ahead of LinkedIn’s algorithmic updates ensures that our consultancy and training services are at the forefront of the industry, delivering customized solutions that drive tangible business outcomes.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁?

𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗨𝗕
An independent 100% dedicated LinkedIn™️ training and consultancy agency. Founded in 2009, we empower our clients with insights-based LinkedIn™️ training for sales, marketing and recruitment professionals as executives and consultants. In 7 native languages, online and on-site.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗕𝗘
Join my vibrant online community of 150+ members. We're all about leveraging social selling to amplify your online presence through continuous training, community events, and masterclasses. Learn from industry leaders and become part of a groundbreaking training community.

𝗞𝗲𝘆𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 
I bring the stage to life – either live or virtually – with insights that 99.9% of LinkedIn™️ experts can't match. Rated as the Best Keynote Speaker in over 80% of my engagements, I'm here to deliver strategies that truly make a difference and inspire business growth

𝗦𝗼...
Dive into the transformative world of insights-based LinkedIn™️ strategies and training – to see more results, with a more efficient and less time-consuming approach

📞 +31 6 5511 7282
✉ Or share your ambition with me via richardvanderblom@justconnecting.nl

Public Speaker / Keynote Speaker

Renowned international keynote speaker, deeply passionate and knowledgeable about a range of topics including LinkedIn, Social Selling, Content Strategy, and the evolving landscape of Sales. My expertise is in delivering insights-based, engaging, and impactful keynotes.

With a track record of delivering 60+ keynotes across cosmopolitan cities such as Buenos Aires, Marrakech, Austin, Paris, Copenhagen, Athens, Vienna, and Dubai, my global experience enables me to bring unique perspectives and insights to every event.

I'm proud to have been rated as the best speaker at 80% of all events I've attended, with an impressive average rating of 9.1 out of 10. As a speaker, I am dedicated to not just sharing knowledge, but also inspiring change and action. My talks are a blend of current trends, practical strategies, and forward-thinking ideas, designed to empower professionals to thrive in today's dynamic sales environment.

Dannos Tsakalos (CEO)
Richard was one of the 10+ international speakers who took the stage at our annual Social Media & Influencer Marketing Conference (Athens October 2023). He was the last who took the stage, yet he managed to captivate the audience and received an impressive rate of 9,5/10. Why? Because, in a nutshell, he is a gifted presenter, a true expert who delivers tons of actionable insights and useful tips around LinkedIn and how to stand out on it.

Michael Geary (CEO - SMPS)
I have had the pleasure of witnessing Richard in action at our annual marketing conference, Amplify A|E|C, and I am was impressed by his ability to captivate and engage audiences. He's a true master of a stage presentation and communication skills. Richard possesses the talent for making complex ideas accessible and compelling. He has the the ability to distill intricate concepts into clear, concise messages that resonate with our audience.

5 ways LinkedIn silently kills your post. 
No warning. No explanation. Just... gone.

Analyzed 600,000+ posts, found algorithm behaviors that LinkedIn will never publicly acknowledge. Some are brutal. Some are bizarre. All are real.

1.     The 60-Minute Cliff

Your post gets 50+ engagements in the first hour. Comments flowing. Likes stacking. You're thinking "this one's going viral."

Then... nothing. Complete flatline at minute 61.

We've tracked posts where 50%+ of ALL lifetime engagement came from that first hour — then the algorithm just... stopped distributing. No second wave. No extended reach. Dead.

Why? Our theory: LinkedIn's "quality gate" triggers at the 60-minute mark. If engagement velocity doesn't hit a specific threshold relative to your follower count, the algorithm assumes the content peaked. Distribution stops.


2.     The “See More” Shadow Ban

This one's eerie. Post something critical about LinkedIn, gender issues, religion, or politics. Get decent engagement. Someone clicks "see more" to expand your post and...

It vanishes. Not scrolls down. VANISHES. Gone from their feed entirely.

We've replicated this dozens of times. The post still exists on your profile. But it's been quietly removed from active distribution. No notification. No policy violation. Just algorithmic erasure.

3.     The Ambassador Penalty

This one breaks my heart. You have 15-20 loyal supporters. Real people. Genuine fans of your content. They comment on everything you post — manually, thoughtfully, because they actually care.

And LinkedIn punishes you for it.

When the same accounts engage with your content repeatedly, the algorithm flags it as "artificial engagement patterns." Your reach gets throttled. Sometimes immediately. Your biggest fans are accidentally killing your distribution.

4.     The Ghost Follower Drain

You have 10,000 followers. But only 2,000 are "active" (logged in within 30 days).
LinkedIn doesn't care about your total count. It calculates engagement rate against your 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 follower base — including the ghosts.

So your 200 likes on a post? 
LinkedIn sees that as 2% engagement on 10K followers. Mediocre. Distribution slows.

Meanwhile, someone with 2,000 active followers gets 200 likes and LinkedIn sees 10% engagement. Exceptional. 


5.     The Hashtag Trap

Using hashtags should expand your reach, right? Not anymore.
Posts with 3+ hashtags now consistently underperform posts with 0-2 hashtags. But here's the strange part: it's not gradual. At exactly 3 hashtags, we see a 15-20% reach drop. At 5+, it's 35%+.

LinkedIn's spam detection now treats hashtag stacking as a manipulation signal. The very feature designed to help discovery is now triggering suppression.

The algorithm isn't evil. It's just optimizing for metrics we can't see. Understanding these hidden rules won't guarantee virality. But ignoring them guarantees suppression.

Which of these surprises you the most? Drop a number (1-5) in the comments

Helping B2B Sales & Marketing Teams Turn LinkedIn into a Lead Generation & Business Growth Engine | Social Selling Expert | International Keynote Speaker| 4x Investor

Your 2024 LinkedIn tactics are killing your 2026 reach.
Lifespan of posts have changed, and this is how you can extend them

Please understand this. The algorithm didn't just update. 
It fundamentally shifted — from network-based to interest-based.

Here's what that means for your post lifespan:

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗻:
• 20% of total reach in first hour
• 65% in first 24 hours
• 85% in first 48 hours
• Post dies around 84 hours

How to extend it? Likes, comments, engagement from your connections and followers. Being relevant to your inner-circle.

Boost tactics? Pods. Replying to every comment.

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗻:
• 40% of total reach in first hour (2x faster!)
• 55% in first 24 hours
• 65% in first 48 hours
• Last 5% often comes after 6-8 days

How to extend it? Saves, reposts, comments from 2nd and 3rd degree connections. Being relevant to your Interest Cluster.

Boost tactics? Paid promotion. Getting into Suggested Posts.

See the shift?

In 2024, your network decided your reach.
In 2026, your topic relevance decides your reach.

Your connections don't matter as much anymore.
Your content's fit to interest clusters matters more.

Pods? Mostly useless now — the algorithm sees through same-network engagement patterns.

The new currency? 
Strangers saving and reposting your content.

𝟰 𝗧𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲:

1. Write for saves, not just likes. Ask yourself: "Would someone bookmark this to reference later?"

2. Create repost-worthy content. Give people something they want to share with their audience — not just react to.

3. Target interest clusters, not your network. Your ICP might be a 3rd-degree connection who's never heard of you.

4. Front-load value in the first hour. 40% of your reach happens there — make those first 60 minutes count.

The algorithm isn't broken.
It just stopped caring about who you know.

Now it only cares about what you know — and who needs to hear it.

Still optimizing for 2024? 
You're already behind.

Which shift surprises you most — the speed (40% in first hour) or the extended tail (6-8 days)?

taplio