GLOSSARY · LINKEDIN MECHANICS
Top Voice
LinkedIn Top Voice is an invitation-only designation that LinkedIn gives to a selected group of members whose content it judges to be of high quality in a given field, shown as a blue badge on the profile. It is separate from the Community Top Voice gold badge, which LinkedIn awarded from 2023 for contributions to collaborative articles and discontinued in late 2024. The blue Top Voice badge is curated by LinkedIn's editorial team and cannot be applied for. It signals that LinkedIn itself has recognised the member, which is a trust signal, though not a guarantee of expertise.
How it works in practice
The two badges caused real confusion. The blue Top Voice has existed for years in various forms, including annual Top Voices lists by country and subject, and is given by LinkedIn's editorial team to a small number of members. It cannot be earned by meeting a threshold; LinkedIn selects. The gold Community Top Voice badge was different. From 2023, members who contributed enough to LinkedIn's AI-generated collaborative articles could receive it, and the volume of gold badges that resulted lowered its perceived value. LinkedIn retired the gold badge in late 2024. Anyone describing themselves as a Top Voice today should be read with that history in mind.
For personal branding, the lesson is about what the badge is for. The blue badge is a genuine, if subjective, endorsement from the platform and is worth mentioning once in the About section if you have it. It is not a reason to follow someone and buyers know this; the content still has to hold up. Chasing the badge is a poor strategy because the selection criteria are not public and change. Publishing consistently useful work on a clear subject is the only route that both improves your odds and pays off whether or not the badge ever arrives.
Example
A supply-chain specialist is named a LinkedIn Top Voice in logistics. She adds one line to her About section noting it and otherwise changes nothing, because the newsletter that earned it is also what brings her clients.
Common mistake
Leading with "LinkedIn Top Voice" in the headline, especially when the badge was the discontinued gold one. It displaces the words buyers search for and tells informed readers the author values a label over substance.