Tell two kinds of metrics apart
This is where most people get lost. There are metrics that feel good, and metrics that bite. Mix them up and you will always think things are going well, right up until the calendar is empty.
The vanity metricsViews, likes, follower count
They feel good and often point upward. But you cannot invoice them. A post can break a record in views and produce zero business. Measure them if you like, but never lean a decision on them.
If you only measure what feels good, you will always feel things are going well. Right up until the calendar is empty.
// Vanity × realityThe metrics that biteThe uncomfortable numbers
How many relevant people did you reach out to? How many replied? How many meetings came of it? How many deals? These are uncomfortable numbers, because you cannot fake them with a good headline. They require that someone actually got in touch.
Measure the activity, not just the outcome
Business comes unevenly. So measure in the order you actually control: backwards, starting from what you steer.
Contacts per weekWhat you control directly. The number of relevant people you reach out to yourself. It is the precondition for everything else, and a number you have full control over.
Conversations and repliesHow many of those contacts turned into an actual dialogue? This is the first number you can no longer fake with a headline.
Meetings and dealsThe outcome. It comes unevenly and after the fact, but it is the only thing that pays salaries. Count it, and trace it back to the platform.
And now the point
You cannot control how many people see a post. You control how many you reach out to yourself. So measure what you own.
You cannot control how many people see a post. You control how many you reach out to yourself.
// Measure what you ownMeasuring on its own changes nothing. A nice dashboard nobody acts on is just decoration. It is what you do with the numbers that decides, and it is your own drive to raise the activity that moves the result. How to set the numbers to chase is in the newsletter on goals for your LinkedIn presence. It is also the core of our LinkedIn training: building the habit of raising activity, not chasing reach.
Count conversations. Count meetings. The rest is nice to look at, but it pays no salaries
Vanity metrics only say you exist. The metrics that bite show whether LinkedIn produces business. Measure what you own, act on the numbers, and let the activity move the result.
LinkedCoach helps you set up metrics that actually show whether LinkedIn produces business, and to act on them. With a team of nine coaches we help everyone from global companies to the one-person business use LinkedIn for business. The common denominator for our clients is the insight that their potential customers are on LinkedIn.
Frequently asked questions
How do you measure if LinkedIn is working?
You measure whether LinkedIn works by counting what leads to business: contacts you make per week, how many reply, meetings booked and deals that trace back to the platform. Likes and views only say you exist.
Which LinkedIn KPIs should you track?
The KPIs that bite are contacts per week, replies and started conversations, meetings booked and deals. Measure the activity you control, not just the outcome.
Do likes and followers matter on LinkedIn?
No, those are vanity metrics. They feel good and often point upward, but you cannot invoice them. A post can break view records and still produce zero business.
Do we need LinkedIn training to succeed?
Measuring shows what to improve, but it is the activity that creates business. LinkedIn training builds the habit of actually raising activity and focuses on conversations and meetings rather than reach.