Last Updated on March 19, 2025
If LinkedIn is an important part of your marketing plan – and it should be – then measuring the traction of your content will help to make you even more successful going forward. Key performance indicators like engagement percentage – how people are interacting with your content (or not) – is probably the most salient. You can arrive at this number by adding up the total engagement (likes, comments, shares), dividing that number by the number of impressions, and then multiplying by 100. Individually, look at the number of likes, comments and reposts. Track these things over time and compare month over month, quarter over quarter, or year over year performance.
Beyond the traditional numbers, look at the following qualitative metrics for more informed perspective on how well your LinkedIn content is performing.
Quality of Connections
Assess the quantity and quality of your connections. When it comes to numbers, I would say to build toward 500 as a starting point. But don’t look at your connections from a mere number standpoint. You should know the people you’re connecting with; they should be people who provide value.
Thematic Performance
In terms of content, I like to measure thematic performance over time. If you’ve identified content pillars – consistent identifier-type themes – how often are you posting for each one? Is this evenly spread out over pillars? Which themes are outperforming others and get the most likes, comments and shares? If there’s a content pillar that underperforms over time, then you may want to revisit it.
Comment Quality
While strong engagement with your content shows itself in the number of comments, likes and reposts, it’s equally important to look at the quality of each comment you receive. There was a post I wrote for a client which performed relatively well on LinkedIn, but what made it stand out were the comments that people made on it. These were really in-depth and addressed the details in the post. Commenters shared their opinions, stories, and photos when appropriate. It was engagement at its best. Secondly, the comments were from individuals beyond her department, from other areas of the very large organization she works for. So, the post’s reach was also impressive. The broad appeal of the content shined through.
Remember to appropriately tag people and organizations in the posts as this helps with amplification. Also, add a call-to-action message, like “What do you think of xyz?” at the end of each post; this serves as a prompt to get people to react and respond.
Competitor’s Content
For one client, I track the number of followers she has on LinkedIn vis a vis other peer leaders by posts per week and overall by quarter. I also look at how they are growing their following. This has affirmed that my client is outpacing several of her peers because she consistently posts compelling content and is a LinkedIn Top Voice (blue badge). The others are inconsistent on the platform and generally post company news, which doesn’t perform as well in my experience.
Graphics
I know that personal photos of one client in the field are like LinkedIn gold. They create a lot of excitement and make people feel as if they know her. Impressions consistently rack up in the tens of thousands. So, this is something I track – the number of personal photos used – to make sure we are using enough of them. One caveat: LinkedIn is not Facebook, so I caution that you use personal photos of people at work; use those of people in very personal, non-work situations more sparingly. Also, switch up the graphics to include video, infographics, and polls which keep things interesting.
Timing of Posts
I try to stay with a consistent posting schedule on consecutive weekdays between 9-10:30 am in the client’s time zone. That said, I’m currently experimenting with posting on Sunday evenings to see if there’s an uptick in response.
Including these metrics will give you a more informed measurement of the success of your LinkedIn content strategy.
