As a digital marketer, your goal is to improve your page's LinkedIn analytics. Better statistics on the platform will translate into increased leads and sales.
However, being unaware of the right metrics to track can cost your brand some money.
So if it's necessary to track your analytics, what's the proper way to get your messages to your target audience?
In this guide, we'll take a closer look at the list of LinkedIn metrics you need to track. We'll cover what they are and why you should take advantage of them.
Let’s get started!
What is LinkedIn analytics?
LinkedIn analytics are a group of metrics that help you measure your page's performance. It reflects your current marketing strategy and how your content resonates with your target audience.
Remember that each post, update, or video on your page generates a type of response. You can gain more page views, followers, clicks, shares, or comments.
Each of these is a common LinkedIn metric that provides valuable insights about your audience.
For instance, LinkedIn can tell you where most of your audience comes from. You can also see your posts with the most reactions, shares, and comments.
These two examples are just a few simple ways of using your LinkedIn metrics to your advantage. Through these insights, your brand can have the following benefits:
- More effective marketing strategy: Understanding your LinkedIn metrics helps you make vital adjustments to your existing marketing strategy.
- Better traffic and ROI: An effective marketing strategy will resonate with your audience. So you'll have increased leads and ROI in the future.
- Achieve corporate goals: Better traffic and ROI will help you reach your goals and mission more quickly and easily.
- Stand out from your competition: Seeing how your content fairs with other brands' posts can indicate how well your performance is doing.
More realistic benchmarks: LinkedIn metrics can encourage you to set more realistic and attainable milestones for your brand.
Where to find LinkedIn analytics?
You can find your LinkedIn Analytics on the admin view of your company page. But you'll only see this option if you have it set up. To do so, simply follow the steps below:
- Set up your company page. To set up your brand's own page, you must create your account on LinkedIn. Don't forget to use a decent photo and write a good headline and summary.
- Look for the Analytics option. After creating your LinkedIn page, you must access its admin view to see your analytics. You'll see the Analytics option on the menu bar at the top of your screen.
- Click the dropdown menu. Once you've located the Analytics option, clicking on its dropdown arrow will present you with three primary sections — Competitors, Followers, Leads, and Visitors:
- Competitors: Through the Competitors option, you can see how well your page is doing compared to other brands in your niche. You can also manage your competitor list and keep an eye on what they're doing on their pages.
- Followers: The Followers option will show you your existing follower base. It will tell you your audience's locations, jobs, and many more.
- Leads: You'll have the Leads option activated on your Analytics if you use lead generation forms. You'll gain information about your leads in the past 90 days.
- Visitors: Clicking on Visitors will give you valuable insights into your page viewers. You'll see the type of device they use, their demographics, and other vital trends about your audience.
However, on some LinkedIn pages, you can see more than three options under the Analytics menu. You can find an option for Employee Advocacy and Updates:
- Employee advocacy: The employee advocacy metric comes in handy if you hired several handlers for your LinkedIn page. It's more useful in such circumstances because it can show you the recommendations and comments your employees received for their posts.
- Updates: If you want to know how well your updates performed on LinkedIn, then activating the updates metric can help you. It gives you a clearer picture of how engaged your followers are before and after you changed something. It can be anywhere from your post's schedule or the type of content you published.
Remember that you need to activate these features on your brand's LinkedIn page before you can see them on the dropdown menu of the Analytics option.
What are LinkedIn impressions?
When we dissect LinkedIn metrics deeper, we'll come across one powerful insight — LinkedIn impressions. With this, you'll get a clearer picture of your page's performance.
LinkedIn impressions are one of the most critical metrics to keep an eye on. They tell you the total number of times people have seen your content on their feeds, even if they don't directly engage with it.
Under this metric, you'll find them as total impressions or unique impressions:
- Total impressions: Total impressions give you the overall number of times your post appeared on LinkedIn users' feeds.
- Unique impressions: Unique impressions show the number of unique accounts that have come across your post.
But note that your total impressions include multiple views on your post, even if it's from one LinkedIn account only and if they don't engage with it.
That's why a higher number of LinkedIn impressions doesn't necessarily mean you have an effective marketing strategy.
While some posts can be attractive, looking at their unique impressions can give you a more accurate look at their performance.
Let's put it this way: If one LinkedIn account comes across your new post 3x on their feed, you'll have 3x impressions. But this account will only count as 1x unique impression.
From this example, unique impressions have more weight in identifying which posts rank well on LinkedIn. But, of course, there are other vital content-related metrics, which we'll discuss in a bit — Clickthrough Rate and Engagement Rate.
What is the LinkedIn reach metric?
Other than your impressions, there's another valuable insight that can help you build your brand's page — LinkedIn Reach. Tracking this metric with your content's impressions will bring traffic and ROI.
LinkedIn reach tells you the number of unique accounts that see your post on their feeds. So it's normal to have more impressions than reach for every content.
For instance, you can have a LinkedIn reach of 50 unique users. That means only 50 accounts have seen your post. But you can have as many as 200 impressions for the same number of real viewers to a post.
Like LinkedIn impressions, your reach also helps you monitor your brand awareness. And the amount of reach your page has will only mean two things:
- High reach: A high LinkedIn reach means that your content may drive traffic to your page. It indicates some potential to attract users who are active on the platform.
- Low reach: A low LinkedIn reach indicates something off with your current marketing strategy. Use this as an opportunity to improve your content and how you deliver them to your target audience.
As digital marketers, always strive for a high LinkedIn reach on your page. This way, you can get your messages to relevant individuals more effectively.
Essential LinkedIn metrics to track
Since there are millions of users on LinkedIn, there's so much room for your brand to attract more leads and sales. But doing this is a lot easier if you monitor the right metrics.
Each data gives you valuable insights to improve your current marketing strategy. So we listed the top LinkedIn metrics your brand should be tracking below:
- Impressions
- Reach
- Clickthrough rate
- Engagement rate
- Followers
- Follower demographics
Here's a closer look at the best LinkedIn analytics to monitor:
1. Impressions
We can't stress enough how LinkedIn impressions are critical metrics you should monitor. They give you the total number of times people have come across your content on their feeds, even if they don't directly engage with it.
LinkedIn impressions are necessary because they can help you identify the types of content that LinkedIn users like.
If your post is eye-catching, it can grab the attention of your viewers. As a result, they'll likely scroll up on their feed to look at your post again.
Therefore, higher LinkedIn impressions indicate that your posts and updates match your audience's needs and interests. They tell you that your content is relevant.
2. Reach
LinkedIn impressions may not be enough to give actionable insights into your current marketing strategy. But knowing the total number of unique views your posts have can give you some clarity on your page's performance.
Your LinkedIn reach tells you the number of unique accounts that have seen your post on their feeds. Again, it can be lower than your impressions and won't necessarily indicate a bad thing.
Instead, your reach alone can tell you if your content is informative and appealing to your target audience. And seeing continuous growth in it will be a good thing for your brand.
On the other hand, a decline in your reach indicates some room for improvement. Therefore, it should encourage you to take action and modify your marketing strategy as early as possible.
3. Clickthrough Rate (CTR)
A fairly new term in this guide is your LinkedIn's clickthrough rate (CTR). Like impressions, this insight is also a content-specific metric you could monitor if you're building your brand.
Your LinkedIn CTR indicates the total number of interested viewers your brand has. They're individuals who engage with your posts and are likely to become leads and sales eventually.
LinkedIn calculates your CTR by dividing your post's total number of clicks by its total impressions:
Your post's clicks ÷ Your post's impressions = Your post's CTR
For instance, if your LinkedIn post gets a total of 100 clicks and 1,000 impressions, your CTR is 10%:
100 clicks ÷ 1,000 impressions = 10% CTR
The LinkedIn CTR metric tells you how well your keywords and content are doing on your page. It can help you weigh whether you need to improve your marketing strategy.
A higher CTR means your audience considers your posts helpful and relevant. But a low CTR indicates your keywords aren't ranking your content at top positions or your page has boring content.
4. Engagement rate
Besides your impressions, reach, and CTR, you can grow your brand's community by focusing on its engagements. They can be in the form of shares, comments, and reactions to your posts.
These engagements keep your pave relevant in your industry. They also make your brand stand out from its competitors.
But to get your engagement rate, LinkedIn adds the total number of engagements you have to your page's total impressions:
Total number of engagements ÷ Total impressions = Your engagement rate
For instance, if your LinkedIn post gets a total of 100 clicks, 200 shares, 100 comments, and 1,000 impressions, your engagement rate is 40%:
(100 clicks + 200 shares + 100 comments) ÷ 1,000 impressions = 40% engagement rate
Although it may not seem necessary, looking at your engagement rate can give you some insight into your content. If it grows, then you're doing things right with your brand.
5. Followers (total and organic)
As mentioned, you'll see several options under the LinkedIn Analytics menu. One of these options gives you valuable data on your follower base.
Your followers represent LinkedIn users that actively support your brand and content. But many companies often struggle with this metric.
It's challenging to gain new followers because of competition. That's why using a mix of organic and paid advertisements in your marketing strategy can help you grow awareness, engagement, and revenue.
On LinkedIn, you'll see two types of follower metrics — Total Followers and Organic Followers. Each of these has its unique advantages:
Total followers
Your total followers are the total number of LinkedIn accounts subscribed to your page. This metric includes both sponsored and organic followers.
Organic followers
Your organic followers are the total number of LinkedIn accounts subscribed to your page without relying on paid advertisements. Instead, these users found your account through SEO ranking or reposts from their connections.
Remember that a high follower base will reflect your brand's popularity and image. It can also attract other interested users in the future.
6. Follower demographics
Besides understanding your LinkedIn's total followers and organic followers, knowing their demographics can provide more details about them. This way, you can cater your content to their needs and interests.
You can do this by monitoring your follower demographics on LinkedIn. This metric provides you with valuable insights into your existing follower base. But the best thing about it is that you can filter your data by:
- Company size
- Industry
- Job Function
- Location
- Seniority
With the help of your follower demographics, you'll know how to adjust your marketing strategy to create more targeted content. As a result, you'll keep your audience engaged and excited.
7. Company-specific metrics
These are the best metrics to monitor regularly, regardless of your brand's niche. But you can still view other valuable and company-specific insights under the LinkedIn Analytics section.
For instance, some companies may want to activate content-specific metrics such as Shares and Video Views for their ads. Others can enable their Follower Trends to analyse their community's growth over the past months.
Here are some other company-specific metrics you can track on LinkedIn Analytics:
Comments
Comments are a great way to monitor how well your audience takes your messages. They're also key indicators of engaging content, especially since they spark relevant discussions.
Follower trend
Tracking the number of new followers your LinkedIn page has over some time can help you maintain your brand's visibility. In addition, you'll know whether your content is effective enough to attract more connections.
Reactions
Like comments, reactions indicate how engaged your audience is with your posts. And getting one means your content was successful in getting their response.
Shares
Similar to comments and reactions, your shares can help you improve your brand awareness and reach. You can also gain new followers if your current connections share your posts with their feeds and circles.
Video views
Video views are the total number of times users have watched your video content on LinkedIn.
Building your brand's name is no joke. But maintaining its visibility online can help you attract more traffic, earn better ROI, and achieve your corporate goals faster.
However, you'll only get these benefits if you understand the power of your LinkedIn metrics — your impressions, reach, CTR, engagement, and followers. Note that there are many other metrics relevant to your company that you want to monitor too.
Still, there are a lot of LinkedIn metrics you need to keep an eye on simultaneously. That's where our services at Reporting Ninja come into the picture.
Our LinkedIn reporting capabilities help you automate complex reporting functions. This way, you'll have more time to understand your data and take action.
Sign up for a free trial of our LinkedIn reporting and see how we can help you build your brand effortlessly today.
