Did you know that reading is on the decline? That's bad news for me and this blog, since long-form text is my main way to communicate what I am learning about marketing and AI in 2026. Did you know that gambling is now more popular than reading, and only 16% of adults read for pleasure anymore?
In a recent Verge podcast, Atlantic staff writer Rose Horowitch said, “…strangely, Americans are probably reading more words than ever before. People are bombarded with emails, text messages, ex-posts, Reddit threads, Instagram captions.”
So it's not so much that people are becoming more illiterate or can't read; it's more that the overload from our phones and computers is diminishing our desire to read.
She also notes that people used to watch 6-7 hours of TV a day, but that is being replaced by TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook Reels.
Getting attention is hard enough when you can't easily search for a topic on demand. It's the algorithms that control what we see to increase our engagement, based on what will keep you on a platform, rather than what will help you learn and grow in your life or career.
But that is not the only obstacle in your way of being seen, heard, or trusted.
LinkedIn Engagement
When trying to reach B2B prospects, clients, and influencers, there is only one place (other than your own mailing list) to reach them… LinkedIn.
When it comes to posting on LinkedIn, you can post to your profile, business page, or both. You can create a newsletter on both, but chances are you have 10 times more connections or followers on your profile than your business page. That is especially true if you can post to multiple employee profiles rather than just the business page.
You can also choose to post a full article or a teaser post. Studies show that posts with links get a 40-60% lower reach than ones without. You can use the “Link in the first comment” trick, but it requires an extra action and is often less effective than the link in the post version.
Full articles have no link penalty, but it's hard to get people to consume a full long-form article. Newsletters have a 20-25% improvement over feed posts, but you have to get people to subscribe to get the full benefit.
All social media favors keeping people within their ecosystem, but it's worth the diminished engagement to get people to your website as often as possible.
We have had great success using LI ads to increase the click-through of linked posts, so that's another way to boost engagement.
LinkedIn AI
If you take all of the above into consideration, another issue comes into play if you are using AI to write your teaser text or full articles.
LinkedIn has been actively limiting feeds from generic AI‑generated text and images, but it’s doing it indirectly via detection + engagement signals rather than a simple AI penalty rule.
Studies have shown that in 2025–2026 AI‑generated LinkedIn posts have been getting 20 to 45% less reach and 30–55% less engagement than human‑authored or edited hybrid posts.
In 2026, LinkedIn has integrated a system to detect “generic AI content” (posts, comments, and even bulk‑generated replies) and limits it to your connections and limits it in general feeds.
360Brew is LinkedIn’s new AI ranking system that now decides who sees your content, how far it travels, and whether it gets quietly squashed. Low‑scoring content is hidden for second-level connections while remaining visible to first-level connections and followers.
This applies to posts that feel templated, or look like bulk‑generated AI slop. That does not mean that you can't use AI to modify or rewrite portions of your content, but if you read my article on AI detection, the algorithms are getting smarter and more accurate.
The Metaverse
Facebook started out as business-friendly, but it took a sharp turn into consumer over B2b over 10 years ago. Facebook has always had a friends-and-family focus. Most people don't go there for business, and their ad platform is totally geared towards consumers, not other businesses.
Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and other Meta platforms are notoriously brutal when it comes to posts with links, or anything that smells like self-promotion. Also, text has been diminished over video, and it's getting worse.
Static image with text‑only posts have taken a 60–80% hit in organic reach compared to 2025, regardless of whether it's AI or not. That's because Facebook (and especially Instagram) are pushing Reels and native video. That shift can make AI text feel “penalized” even if the real issue is format.
Along with that, there’s growing evidence that all Meta platforms downgrade AI‑generated content, especially informational AI‑slop posts, even though Meta publicly says that they are AI neutral. But, based on the scam sales posts and rage-baiting algorithms I often see, I am sure you can just trust what Meta says (SARCASM ALERT).
How to Boost Your B2b Posts
For B2B thought‑leadership‑style content, the safest pattern is “AI‑assisted, human‑driven” long-form informational posts, LinkedIn newsletters, and teaser posts with links.
The key is to just be careful with your AI copy and paste. Although I got some of the information in this post from AI, I verified its accuracy (as best I could) and rewrote the sentences and paragraphs in my voice and style.
I not only spread my posts and newsletters across days when I upload to LinkedIn, but I also send the same information to my email list. That gives me multiple opportunities each week to get the same information to the widest possible audience. I have found little resistance (such as unfollows and unsubscribes) with this methodology.
Yes, you can post a lot of different content each week, but I find that consistency yields better results than multiple messages that may not convey a cohesive thought-leadership presence.
Getting the same content seen more than once will increase the chance that people who are interested will act when they feel they have the time and attention span to absorb it.
The best-case scenario is that they connect via my website, comment on LinkedIn, or reach out with a direct message (which happens weekly for me).
Closing Thought
Thought leadership is counterintuitive to our short attention span theater known as social media. Social media, email, and text are short bursts of mostly text. It can take multiple impressions to create interest, and even more to take action.
Being consistent helps you become familiar, but if you throw everything at the wall without a clear plan, it might confuse your message and, more importantly, your audience.
Even long-form videos can be dissected into multiple bite-sized pieces that can have teaser text and links back to the full versions. They can also be transcribed, but it's better to post a human-written recap with a link to the full video. Also, you can create teaser graphic quotes to do the same heavy lifting back to your videos on your website.
Having a cohesive strategy and a consistent posting flow will give you the competitive edge to get your messages seen, read, and acted upon.
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Comment below and share your thoughts, ideas, or questions about business-to-business sales and marketing today! Do you have a sales or marketing communications strategy that works for you? What tips or techniques can you share that work for you and your business?
To learn more about this and other topics on B2b Sales & Marketing, visit our podcast website at The Bacon Podcast.
