As a social media platform used primarily for professional networking and career development, LinkedIn presents unique opportunities for businesses and influencers to connect with target audiences. With over 800 million members worldwide, LinkedIn is the largest professional network and continues to grow in popularity. For those looking to build their brand, establish thought leadership, and drive engagement, understanding what types of content perform best on LinkedIn is critical.
Most Engaging Types of LinkedIn Posts
Not all LinkedIn content is created equal when it comes to generating likes, comments, and shares. According to multiple studies and expert analyses, the following types of posts tend to get the highest engagement on LinkedIn:
- Industry News and Trends: Posts that discuss recent developments and analysis of news relevant to your target audience get lots of engagement. This shows you are plugged into what’s happening in your field.
- Behind-the-Scenes Content: Give audiences a peek behind the curtain of your business with photos, videos, and stories. This humanizes your brand and satisfies curiosity.
- Expert Tips and How-To’s: Position yourself as an expert by sharing actionable tips, tactics, and strategies. This helpful content gets widely shared.
- Opinion and Commentary: Thoughtful analysis and commentary on industry topics demonstrate your expertise and perspective.
- Listicles: Posts formatted as numbered lists and “top 10” compilations tend to attract readers and shares.
- Data-Rich Visuals: Infographics, charts, graphs, and other visual formats that creatively display data perform well.
- Live Videos: Broadcast short live videos to engage your audience in real-time and generate interest.
- Lead Generation: Offers, discounts, and other gated content that provides valuable resources in exchange for contact information.
- Case Studies: Show how you solved specific problems for clients with in-depth case studies.
- Holidays and Events: Connect your brand, products, or services to holidays, cultural events, and awareness days.
Types of Posts to Avoid
On the other hand, some types of posts tend to underperform on LinkedIn:
- Overt Sales Pitches: Direct promotional posts trying to sell your offering often turn off audiences.
- Controversial Topics: Posts about sensitive issues like politics and religion can alienate your audience.
- Overused Quotes: Motivational quotes are now considered cliché unless they provide unique perspective.
- Too Many Self-Promos: Posting exclusively about your own content appears self-serving.
- Duplicates: Copying the same post across multiple groups and feeds comes across as spammy.
When to Post on LinkedIn
Post frequency and timing also influence the level of engagement. Some best practices include:
- Post 1-2 times per day for an active presence without spamming connections.
- Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday tend to see higher engagement than Mondays and Fridays.
- Post during the workday, before 9 am or after 5 pm, when LinkedIn users are most active.
- Experiment with posting at different times to see what resonates best with your followers.
This table summarizes the optimal posting times for each day of the week:
| Day | Best Time to Post |
|---|---|
| Monday | 7-9 AM, 1-3 PM |
| Tuesday | 9-11 AM, 1-3 PM |
| Wednesday | 7-9 AM, 1-3 PM |
| Thursday | 9-11 AM, 1-3 PM |
| Friday | 7-9 AM |
Optimizing Posts for Engagement
Beyond content and timing, a few other tips can help boost post engagement:
- Include multimedia: Posts with images, infographics, slideshares and videos tend to perform better than plain text.
- Use captions: Photos and videos should have brief, descriptive captions to provide context.
- Link to long-form content: If you reference a blog or article, include a link so readers can easily access it.
- Reply to comments: Interact with anyone who comments on your posts to continue the conversation.
- Use hashtags: Relevant hashtags help extend your reach to users outside your immediate network.
- Tag influencers: If appropriate, tag industry thought leaders to help amplify your content.
- Ask questions: Pose questions in your posts to encourage comments and dialogue.
- Post consistently: Keep a regular posting schedule so followers know what to expect.
Measuring Engagement
The key metrics to track are reactions, comments, shares, and clicks. Each type of engagement contributes to your overall goal. For example:
- Reactions: The more likes and loves, the more your post resonated.
- Comments: This shows you sparked discussion and debate.
- Shares: Getting shared expands your reach to new audiences.
- Clicks: This indicates interest in learning more.
Tools like LinkedIn’s analytics can help you identify your best performing posts. You can also A/B test different types of content and post at different times to determine what moves the needle with your target audience.
Driving Engagement with Paid Advertising
In addition to organic posting strategy, paid advertising options on LinkedIn can amplify engagement. Some options include:
- Sponsored Content: Pay to boost the reach of your posts beyond your current followers.
- Text Ads: Display targeted text ads alongside LinkedIn feed posts.
- Dynamic Ads: Highly personalized ads based on member profile data.
- Message Ads: Send targeted messages directly to members via LinkedIn messaging.
The advantage of paid advertising is the ability to segment and target specific demographics to maximize post engagement from your ideal audiences. Test different paid options and target criteria to see which perform best.
Conclusion
Driving engagement on LinkedIn requires quality content, optimal posting strategy, and potentially paid promotion. Types of posts that tend to see highest engagement include industry news, expert advice, data visuals, lead generation offers, and videos. Avoid overt sales pitches, politics, and spammy repeats. For best results, post 1-2 times daily during peak hours and interact with your followers. Monitor performance analytics to double down on what works and adjust what doesn’t. With consistent effort, you can build an active, engaged audience on LinkedIn.
