Social Selling Index on LinkedIn: Everything You Need to Know

Build your professional brand, increase your audience, and make more of a difference within your field by understanding the Social Selling Index on LinkedIn (SSI). As one of the largest social platforms for professional networking, LinkedIn connects people to opportunities. Understanding how content performs increases your chances of impressions and connections, meaning your message and service or product reaches more people. One way to do this is by engaging in thought leadership. It also helps to understand LinkedIn’s SSI.

Thought leadership 

First impressions are everything. On social media, there are limitless chances to connect with new people. As of 2024, there are 5.04 billion people in the world who use social media – over half the global population. Ensure that your connections become followers (and later, customers) by becoming a thought leader and increasing your SSI. 

The best thought leaders are experts in their field. They lead by example, craft authentic content, and share their passion with a carefully thought out delivery. Thought leaders are passionate, focused, knowledgable, and transparent. How are they different from influencers? Leaders engage and inspire, but their experience adds a critical layer of credibility. 

Using thought leadership practices will improve the quality of your content. This, in turn, increases your social selling success. Once leads show interest and become prospects, consider the assistance of a sales funnel template (like the one we use at Surfe). You can then generate and qualify leads easily with accurate outreach and communication efforts.

Thought leadership directly affects your LinkedIn profile. Honest, knowledgable, and personalized content increases your score, leading to more views. This system is how the social selling index works.

What is SSI, and what it says about your LinkedIn presence

Are you curious about how to find the social selling index on LinkedIn? It’s easy. Log into your profile. Then, in a new tab, visit linkedin.com/sales/ssi. Here, you will find your score. As a number between 1 and 100, this score measures your profile’s visibility and the impact of your content on its audience.

If you’re wondering how to calculate the social selling index, don’t worry. LinkedIn does this calculation daily by considering four elements of your profile: 

1. How you establish yourself as a brand 
2. Whether your content reaches the right people
3. Engagement – is your audience commenting, reacting, and sharing
4. Your relationships with other industry leaders

There are a few questions that you can ask yourself when wondering how to increase the social selling index:

1. Is every field of your profile complete? 
2. Do you share articles, and do articles spur conversation? 
3. Can other industry leaders find you? How often is your profile viewed? 

Ensuring these points will increase your LinkedIn SSI and, in turn, your selling success. Staying active also provides a clear image of your ICP, or ideal customer profile – and this is one of our sales tips for any economic climate. 

How to improve your Social Selling Index LinkedIn

As mentioned above, you can increase the social selling index by completing your profile, being an active member, and crafting relatable, knowledgable, and enticing content. Create posts for industry experts but also target followers curious to learn more. Don’t forget to use the right tools that keep you on top of industry trends.

What is the connection between your SSI and LinkedIn’s algorithm

Benefit more from LinkedIn by understanding the platform’s algorithm. This is crucial because the algorithm dictates the visibility of your content. It decides whether your content offers quality information from the minute you hit ‘post.’ Content that ranks higher will not only reach more people, but will reach the right people. 

Once you craft the perfect post or article, keep the algorithm working in your favor by engaging with comments and asking questions. 

Craft the perfect post with the following tips:

1. Hook your audience with storytelling techniques. Combine photos or videos with a story about your company, mission, or product/service. Keep the trigger, or the part of your story that insights emotion, in the first few lines.
2. Write longer text posts that engage your followers. Each social platform values its own set of criteria, and according to HootSuite, longer articles of up to 2000 words perform best on LinkedIn. 
3. Keep the conversation (and your sales effort) going with CTAs (call to action) at the end of your post. The best CTAs catch the reader by offering more information and a chance to act.
4. Tag relevant people on your posts. Just be mindful of not tagging too many people. More than a few tags may cause LinkedIn to rate your content as spam.
5. Increase your chance of impressions by using 3-4 relevant hashtags. Again, using too many will rank your content as spam or ungenuine.

FAQs

What is the Social Selling Index on LinkedIn?
The Social Selling Index (SSI) is a LinkedIn score from 1 to 100 that measures how effective you are at building your professional brand, finding the right people, engaging with insights, and building relationships.

How do I find my Social Selling Index on LinkedIn?
Visit linkedin.com/sales/ssi while logged into your account. Your SSI will be broken down into four categories with personalized tips.

Does a higher SSI actually matter?
Yes. A higher SSI can increase your visibility on LinkedIn, improve reach on posts, and often correlates with better engagement and more pipeline opportunities.

How often is SSI updated?
LinkedIn updates your SSI score daily, so you can track progress over time as you improve your activity and content.

How can I increase my LinkedIn SSI fast?
Complete your profile, post regularly, engage with others, and build relationships with people in your industry. Focus on consistency and quality interactions.

How does Surfe help improve SSI-related outcomes?
Surfe helps you take action on engagement—by saving, enriching, and syncing leads from LinkedIn to your CRM. You turn profile views and content interest into actual conversations.