In this blog, we discuss:
- Why B2B PR teams should build paid social amplification into Performance PR from day one, not as an afterthought
- What declining LinkedIn organic reach means for PR visibility and campaign momentum
- How paid distribution improves targeting, measurement and optimisation so PR impact is clearer to report
Organic performance across social channels is changing, and in B2B circles, LinkedIn serves as the clearest example. Many brands are seeing lower reach and fewer impressions on their company pages than they did a year or two ago and personal profiles are feeling it too.
That doesn’t mean there is no value in organic posting. Regular, consistent organic activity still matters as it is crucial for building credibility and a baseline presence your audience can come to recognise over time.
But it can still be a bit disheartening. You invest time researching and writing an in-depth thought leadership piece, post it, and it can feel like it doesn’t quite register. Then you open your feed and see a picture of a stranger’s office dog pulling in thousands of likes.
That gap between effort and visibility is exactly why paid amplification now needs to sit alongside organic, as part of an integrated Performance PR approach.
Evidence that LinkedIn’s organic reach is diminishing
Social platforms regularly tweak their algorithms, but over the past year many users have noticed changes in what’s appearing in their LinkedIn feed.
We are seeing a similar pattern with some of the B2B tech brands we work with, and there’s data to support this decline.
AuthoredUp’s analysis, based on more than 621,000 posts, shows that average reach fell by 34% in 2025. Alongside another expert’s algorithm research, the findings also point to a sharp decline in the visibility of organic company content, from around 7% of the feed in 2021 to just 1% on desktop and 2% on mobile in 2025.
As a result, achieving visibility through organic activity has become much harder. Feeds are more competitive and, with around 11% of it now made up of adverts as LinkedIn prioritises paid distribution, paid amplification has become central to maintaining visibility.
What does that mean for PR
Changes in organic reach affect your PR investment too. Your PR team puts time and budget into building strong narratives, they secure the right coverage. You then share the story on your LinkedIn page and the response feels much more muted than it should.
You expect your own channels to help build momentum. You want your audience to see the story in your words, at the moment the campaign is live. But the result is that stories do not always get the lift they need or deserve from organic distribution. Visibility can vary and momentum can be harder to sustain. Social should be there to help give your message scale, but organic reach on its own cannot always be relied on to deliver it.
Build it in from day one
Throughout this series we have explored how PR is at its most impactful when PR, content and SEO work together rather than in silos. Paid social completes that picture. And the most effective Performance PR campaigns treat paid social as part of the strategy from the very start, not once the coverage exists.
The narrative, the assets and the distribution strategy should be shaped together so your story has the scale it needs. You should know who will see your message, not just who you hope will.
The level of certainty paid offers is important as it allows your story to be syndicated in the formats which perform best on the platforms your buyers use. It means your content has the reach to influence perception and support demand generation. And it means you are not relying on unpredictable organic visibility to deliver commercial impact.
This is also why budgeting for paid amplification is essential. It allows your campaign to deliver the measurable outcomes your board expects.
Paid social offers precision to strengthen strategy
Once paid is built into the plan, the distribution becomes more targeted and aligned with your target audience. Your paid segments can mirror your personas and buyer groups.
You can reach decision makers who might not engage with traditional media and who would never see your content organically – simply because they don’t happen to follow your page. And you can place your story in front of people who have genuine intent and relevance.
It ensures your narratives reach the people who influence your pipeline and purchase decisions.
Measurable results
Integrating paid also strengthens your ability to prove impact. You can report on impressions, engagement, click throughs and conversions. You can see how PR content contributes to the pipeline. You can unify reporting so PR, content and paid social become one measurable activity rather than three separate ones.
For B2B tech teams asked to justify spend and show commercial value, this level of insight makes such a difference. It builds confidence with stakeholders. It strengthens the argument for PR investment and it shows your work is driving outcomes which matter to the business.
A feedback loop to help optimise
For your PR team, paid social also allows them to optimise your campaigns using real-time feedback. It allows headlines, message angles and creative designs to be tested before they are rolled out more widely.
It enables them to validate which themes resonate most with your audience and those insights can be used to shape media pitches, refine landing pages and improve longform content.
This creates a feedback loop between how your audience responds to a story and how the PR campaign evolves. It means your campaign can be honed so that it becomes more impactful and delivers improved ROI.
Across this series we have looked at what happens when you break the silos that hold PR back. When your story, your distribution and your measurement work together, everything becomes clearer and more effective. If you want a PR programme that is built this way from day one, and designed to support your commercial goals, we would love to show you what that looks like. Get in touch.
