Drive More Engagement on LinkedIn — a Lesson for the Influencers

Jeff Nowak
Jul 21, 2017 · 6 min read

There are many influencers on Twitter and LinkedIn today. In some niches, like professional sports, these people are our heroes, we adore their ability to perform on the large scale. In other niches, high profile startup founders, they are our role models. In the niche of digital and content marketing, the influencers are our teachers. We engage with their content because it can lead to a positive increase in revenue for our business or help us become better marketers.

I too learn from influencers like Michael Brenner, Ann Handley, and much more. I’ve been able to grow my marketing knowledge through the content they share.

However, after sharing a recent post I started to wonder if there was anything this young padawan could teach the teachers. In essence, could the student become the master for once?

Time to design an experiment…

The subject

Neil Patel — Crazyegg

The influencer I chose was Neil Patel, he is a well-known influencer in the digital and content marketing space. His following is quite large. Across platforms, it reaches more than 450,000 people. 265,000 of those followers are on Twitter and 165,000 of them are on LinkedIn.

I was particularly interested in his following on LinkedIn because it is large for a marketing niche. In this case, digital and content marketing.

On LinkedIn, Neil’s activity consists of 2 main categories. Articles and updates. Articles are shared via his LinkedIn and are displayed on the feeds of all his followers. These articles often include an introduction and a hashtag (#) related to the topic. Updates are posted directly to the LinkedIn feed without any photos, headlines, or hashtags.

The only thing missing from his activity is likes. Neil doesn’t seem to spend much time spreading the love to his connections on LinkedIn.

The experiment

In this study, I wanted to see which type of post performed best for an influencer. Performance would be judged based on 2 criteria; likes and comments on the post. The more likes and comments, the higher the performance. All of the likes and comments were directly attached to the update on LinkedIn.

In order to test which type of post was best, I reviewed 3 months of activity from Neil’s LinkedIn. To check a user’s activity, head to their profile and click, “see all activity”. It should be in the section above their first work experience.

In 3 months Neil pushed a total of 50 updates. The 50 updates were split into 3 categories.

  1. Articles with no header image
  2. Articles with a header image and brief intro
  3. Updates posted directly on the feed

After reviewing all of the posts I then crunched some numbers. First I labeled the best and worst performers for each type of post. Then I calculated the average number of likes and comments for each type of post.

The results

Most liked from each category

Most likes for each category

Below is a graph showing the highest number of likes achieved by a single post in each category.

Most Liked article with no header image

This post was liked 131 times. Tw0 things to notice here. First, you can see that Neil is using his name at the end of the article title. Second, the article preview poses a question that may prompt the reader to click.

Most liked article with header image

This post was liked 462 times. The article has a brief introduction to help the reader understand a bit more about why they should read the article. In the “…see more” section you will see a few hashtags that Neil has linked to the post.

Most liked Update

This update received 1,270 likes and 52 comments. It is a public update with a positive message. When analyzing the tone of this post, it comes back as 70% Joyful, which is right in the sweet spot when optimizing for engagement.

Average number of likes for each type of post

Average number of likes

Here we see a graph that displays the average number of likes on each type of post. We can see that updates posted directly to the LinkedIn feed are out performing the other types by more than 3x. We can also see that articles with header images are out performing articles without header images by more than 2x.

Most comments from each category

Highest number of comments

The following graph displays the highest number of comments received on a single post from each category. The highest amount of comments on an update post was 104. The highest amount of comments on an article with a header image was 29. Lastly, the highest amount of comments on a post with no header image was 9.

Most commented article with no header image

The following post received 9 comments. A majority of the comments, 7/9, we’re followers thanking Neil for sharing this post and many others like it. The reaming 2 comments were users linking their connections to the post.

Most commented article with header image

This post received 29 comments. The comments in this post were split between 3 different things. First, users tagging other users. Second, users thanking Neil for posting and sharing this articles and others like it. Third, users posting links to their own articles or content outlets.

Most commented update

This post was a bit of an anomaly. It received the most comments of any update, but it also received the least amount of likes. Here Neil is asking his followers a question and they are interacting in large numbers. A breakdown of the comments shows 70% are leaving a quick one sentence answer or a series of emojis. Another sizable percentage of followers are address Neil directly as if he messaged them personally.

Average comments for each type of post

Average number of comments

Here we see a graph that displays the average number of comments on each type of post. We can see that updates posted directly to the LinkedIn feed are out performing the other types by 4x. We can also see that articles with header images are out performing articles without header images by nearly 4x.

Additional results

Least number of comments

In this graph we can see the lowest number of comments on each type of post. Several articles with no header image received 0 comments. The lowest amount of comments on an article with a header image is 4. The lowest amount of comments on an update is 35.

Lessons learned

There are a few takes aways for the masters.

First, updates posted directly to the LinkedIn feed will engage a larger percentage of your following.

Second, if you want to optimize a post for likes, make sure it is an emotional message in the form of a story. You can check the emotional tone with the Boost Editor beta.

Third, if you want to optimize for comments, ask your audience a question. Make sure it can be answered in a series of emojis, a 1,000 word response, or anything in between.

Fourth, do not post articles without a header image. I truly believe you are doing yourself a disservice by using this practice. By simply adding a header image, you can 2–3x the amount of likes and comments.

Feel free to comment with questions or concerns.

)

Jeff Nowak

Written by

Write and read about tech, marketing, Irish culture, and advertising. Behind the flap @ Oatfoundry.com

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade