Why you shouldn't take your LinkedIn metrics too seriously

After averaging 100 engagements per post over a year, I conclude that LinkedIn metrics are broken.

I post daily and recently crossed 36,500 engagements. That's an average of more than 100 engagements per post over 365 days.

And since I limit myself to one post per day, mediocre posts won't do.

My conclusion after almost a year? Tracking LinkedIn metrics is ultimately fruitless. Here's why.

Impressions or engagements

Barely months after I started in April last year, I switched from tracking impressions to engagements. In fact, I never shared my impressions metric.

After all, merely having your post on a feed is counted as an impression. This makes it subject to the whims of the LinkedIn algo, which is skewed towards popular topics.

That's not what I wanted. I hence switched to monitoring engagements. I offered some tips on how to do it here.

Did someone say quality?

But while engagements is a better metric, it doesn't account for quality (or lack of).

Let's be honest here: LinkedIn is a social network, which means friends will typically "like" your content, even if they don't entirely agree with you.

Moreover, the best way to boost engagements is to eschew quality: Whip out multiple 5-minute posts a day, write using AI, or plaglarise.

And oh, did I mention it's easy to cheat with your engagements?

Trivial to cheat

Since high engagement is the hallmark of a successful influencer, some resort to gaming the system.

And cheaters are everywhere on LinkedIn. Want to inflate your engagements, try these:

• Rent-a-pod.
• Auto-pods.
• Private pods.

I wrote about this problem here.

What's shocking is how company influencers, celebrities, and top content creators have been exposed for cheating.

Track the impact

If there's one use of metrics, it would be for self-appraisal. Use it to evaluate and compete against yourself.

Beyond that, track the impact, not metrics.

• Did you cliche new deals?
• Have a headhunter contacted you?
• Do readers DM, email their appreciation?

Since last year, I've secured deals that added up to the high five digits through LinkedIn. And I'm incredibly thankful for that.

So you could absolutely achieve success without obsessing over vanity metrics or compromising your integrity.

I want to encourage you to:

• Craft a good LinkedIn strategy.
• Keep being consistent.
• Aim for quality first.
• Don't cheat.

And don't give up. In my experience, potential clients or employers are unlikely to engage with your posts. But they are reading.

What have you gained through LinkedIn using ethical strategies? Do share.