The short answer is yes, LinkedIn posts can be edited after publishing in most cases. However, there are some limitations on editing depending on the type of post and how long ago it was published.
Editing Regular LinkedIn Posts
For regular LinkedIn posts that you share to your connections’ feeds, you have quite a bit of flexibility to edit the content after publishing. These types of posts include sharing an article, image, video, or text update.
When you first share the post, you’ll have the option to edit for up to 10 minutes after publishing. This gives you a short window to fix any typos, add/remove tags, change the content, etc. Simply click on the three dots at the top right of the post and select “Edit post.”
After 10 minutes, the standard “Edit post” option goes away. However, you can still make changes by clicking the three dots and selecting “Update post.” This will allow you to edit the text, hashtags, and tagging, but not the primary piece of media attached.
So if you originally shared an article link or image, you cannot change or remove that. But you can modify everything else about the post. Updates made this way will not re-share the post to your connections’ feeds.
The “Update post” option is available for regular posts indefinitely after publishing. So you have quite a bit of flexibility to modify posts over time if needed. Just keep in mind that major changes later on won’t be re-broadcast, so you may need to re-share the post for maximum visibility.
Editing LinkedIn Articles
LinkedIn also gives the option to publish long-form articles, separate from regular posts. These articles appear in the LinkedIn Publishing platform and allow you to share in-depth content.
Similar to regular posts, you can edit articles within 10 minutes of publishing through the “Edit article” option. After 10 minutes, this option goes away.
However, unlike regular posts, you cannot continue editing an article indefinitely after the first 10 minutes. Instead, LinkedIn only allows one additional edit up to 7 days after publishing.
To make this final edit, click the three dots next to the article title and select “Revise article.” You can then change the content during this final one-week revision window. After 7 days, the article will be permanent and no further edits are allowed.
So keep in mind you only get two chances to modify a published article – once during the first 10 minutes, and one final edit within the first week.
Editing LinkedIn Sponsored Posts
If you pay to sponsor posts on LinkedIn and boost their reach, you’ll find that the editing options work a bit differently.
During the initial set up of a sponsored post campaign, you can save the post as a draft and come back to it later for revisions. This allows you to tweak the content before the first publish.
However, once you officially launch the sponsored post, you can only pause the campaign, not directly edit the post. Pausing will stop it from being distributed, but any changes need to be made by duplicating the post and starting a new campaign.
So while you can essentially “update” a sponsored post by launching a new one, you lose the ability to directly edit a live post after it starts being distributed via paid promotion.
Why LinkedIn Limits Post Editing
The limitations on editing LinkedIn posts are mainly to maintain the integrity and transparency of conversations.
Allowing users to continually update regular posts long after publishing could lead to issues like changing the meaning, removing proper context, deleting old comments, etc. So LinkedIn tries to strike a balance where some editing is possible, but posts become permanent records after a certain window.
For paid sponsored posts, not allowing edits helps ensure that advertisers can’t change what content is being actively promoted and distributed via the LinkedIn ad network after launch.
So while it may be inconvenient at times, the editing restrictions ultimately stem from wanting to keep communication authentic and preserve transparency.
Best Practices for Updating LinkedIn Content
Given that LinkedIn does limit post editing, here are some tips to provide updated information:
- Proofread thoroughly before publishing since permanent edits are limited.
- For regular posts, use “Update post” to modify anything other than the primary media.
- Share old relevant posts again to your feed if you want to re-promote the information.
- For articles, make any substantial changes within the first week before edits are closed.
- To update sponsored posts, create a new campaign and pause old outdated ones.
- Add new comments to add context or clarify outdated information when you can no longer directly edit.
While not ideal, working within LinkedIn’s editing restrictions allows you to publish posts confidently knowing the content will remain accurate and transparent.
With some strategic planning and use of workarounds like re-sharing and adding comments, you can continue updating your connections with relevant information as needed.
Can You Delete LinkedIn Posts?
In contrast to editing limitations, LinkedIn does allow simple deleting of posts in many cases. For regular posts shared to your connections’ feeds, you can delete the post at any time.
Simply click the three dots at the top right of the post and select “Delete post.” This will permanently remove it from your profile and feeds without leaving behind a note that it was deleted.
The ability to delete also applies to activity updates like sharing an article, endorsing a connection, etc. Essentially any post or update can be deleted after publishing by the original author.
For LinkedIn articles, you can similarly delete the article completely as long as you are the original author. However, there are some rare cases where LinkedIn will not let you fully delete an article:
- If the article received very high viewership, LinkedIn may retain it for archival purposes.
- If you deleted too many articles recently, LinkedIn may block additional deletions temporarily.
But in general, expect that you can fully remove articles and regular posts, unlike the limitations faced when editing content.
The main exception is sponsored posts. Since these are essentially paid ads, once you launch a sponsored post campaign, you cannot directly delete or remove the post before the campaign ends naturally. You can only pause the campaign.
So if you need to effectively “delete” a sponsored post, you’d have to pause it immediately and let any already-distributed posts expire gradually over the next few days.
When to Delete vs. Update LinkedIn Posts
Given that deleting posts is generally straightforward, when should you delete vs. updating/editing?
Here are some best practices on when to remove posts completely:
- The post contains sensitive information that should not remain public, like internal communications.
- The post has received negative feedback or could damage your brand.
- You shared something inadvertently like an unrelated draft post.
- The post contains serious factual inaccuracies – deletions are permanent.
In these cases, deletion makes more sense than trying to update, since the post should really not remain visible at all. Minor edits wouldn’t be enough.
However, in many cases updating is better than deleting posts:
- You want to refresh old content while preserving engagement/comments.
- You need to clarify or expand details, but main intent is still valid.
- You want to reformat/restructure post for clarity.
- Post is still relevant but links/info are slightly outdated.
Updating can retain the core content while fixing details that have changed over time. Outright deletion may be overkill unless the entire post is invalid or should be hidden.
In summary, rely on deleting for posts that really should be permanently removed vs. updating for posts that need modification while preserving the core value.
Mistakes to Avoid When Managing LinkedIn Posts
When making use of LinkedIn’s editing and deleting options, there are some mistakes to avoid:
- Deleting lots of old posts in bulk to “clean up” your profile can look suspicious and reduce content that may still have value.
- Editing posts weeks or months old to significantly change the meaning or value proposition.
- Failing to proofread posts carefully since ability to update later is limited.
- Deleting constructive comments that disagree with your point of view. This appears censorial.
- Updating posts with no transparency when the changes alter the original meaning.
Essentially, avoid any management of old posts that seems dishonest, underhanded, or tries to rewrite history. While updating and deleting can be useful tools, they should be used to constructively improve your profile over time, not damage your reputation.
The Takeaway on LinkedIn Post Editing
While not as flexible as some social networks, LinkedIn does provide a reasonable ability to edit and delete your posts after publishing while limiting potential abuse.
Regular posts can be updated indefinitely, while articles allow one edit within the first week. Sponsored posts cannot be directly edited at all after launching.
Deleting is more straightforward – most normal posts can be removed at any time. But use this carefully to avoid deleting too much valuable content in bulk.
Overall, focus on quality original publishing, but take advantage of editing and deleting responsibly as needed. This allows you to maintain the highest-value content over time while removing anything that is misleading, irrelevant, or factually inaccurate.