I had some time to kill this weekend, so I decided to analyze all of my LinkedIn posts from this calendar year to date (Jan 1. – Apr. 18). Here are the numbers, lessons learned and some poorly designed charts. Just go with it. 🤷♂️🎓
Number One:
Text-only posts made up the majority of my content during this period, but nearly all forms were utilized. I also began to experiment with a handful of polls for the first time. More to come on that in a moment. During this period, I posted an average of 5.3 times per week
Number Two:
By far, the majority of my views came from text-only posts. I posted a total of 16 videos, but the comparative reach was much lower. The algorithm significantly cut the reach of videos last year, which is depressing.
Number Three:
While the previous chart shows that text-only posts generated most of my views, that’s due in large part to the fact that text was the format I used in most of my posts. However, when you look at the average reach by type, POLLS actually generated the highest views by a long shot! I don’t expect this to last long, however, as I’ve recently noticed a growing number of complaints about the flood of polls in the newsfeed. I think LinkedIn is giving them generous reach in order to give this feature some visibility, but will scale it back very soon. Take advantage while it lasts! My top poll generated 76,000 views a few weeks ago.
Number Four:
Remember what I said about videos earlier? While their reach is lower than other types of posts, the engagement rate was much, much stronger, at 5.3%. This makes me believe the algorithm is serving video content to the people who routinely watch and engage with this type of media. I think it’s also serving videos to the people who frequently engage with your content. I have no data to back that up…just an observation from the names and faces who I routinely see liking and commenting on my videos.
Random: Here’s a link to my highest performing video of the period. It turned out to be a TikTok that I repurposed for LinkedIn. Oh, here are a few of my TikTok tips if you’re in to that kind of thing. Also, follow me on TikTok. Please.
What is engagement rate? Calculated as views-to-like/comment/share ratio. If you want to learn more about engagement rates, drop a question in the comments of my LinkedIn post.
Here are the top performing posts by type based on engagement rate for the period. Click to visit the actual post.
One More Thing…
How did I generate all of this? Go here: www.shieldapp.ai. They have a trial version, but if you’re serious about LinkedIn, this is a must-have tool. Remember, you’re marketing yourself on LinkedIn through your content. Successful marketing requires you to analyze data to understand what’s working, what’s not and how to adapt to changing market conditions (i.e. the algorithm and user behavior). Data doesn’t lie!
Wait, One More Thing Again…
If you’re a true data geek like me and want to see the raw data, here’s a link to the Excel file. Knock yourself out! One of my favorite aspects is the link they provide for each post, allowing you to see the data and recall the exact content. I have no idea why LinkedIn doesn’t offer this as part of their own analytic package. 🤔🤷♂️
ONLINE COURSE: Tips to Build Your Brand on LinkedIn ($40)
Need help with your LinkedIn profile or content strategy? Book a 1:1 consult today!