9 Ways to Measure Your LinkedIn Networking Success

Yes, a bigger LinkedIn network is better. It’s better for your social selling, job searching, and reputation-establishing efforts.

Small ones can work too. It’s what you do with your network that’s important. The more attention you can provide to your connections, the better! The more value-add touches you make, even better!

What is LinkedIn Networking?

LinkedIn networking is engaging with one’s primary, secondary, and tertiary connections on the LinkedIn platform. Networking is never about active selling. It’s about adding value and engaging in conversation. Active engagement includes:

1. Direct messaging to individuals
2. Sharing knowledge and information to LinkedIn Groups
3. Posting feed updates
4. Commenting on others posts
5. Publishing Articles on the LinkedIn publishing platform
6. Asking questions
7. Answering questions
8. Offering and promoting jobs
9. Endorsing and recommending other members
10. Adding new connections

How to Think About Your Linkedin Networking Goals

Your networking goals likely center on three areas:

1. Increase the reach of your message
2. Keep your community engaged with your messaging
3. Convert interest in your messaging into a next-step conversation

These three goals help you move toward your LinkedIn success, whether it’s more sales, a better job, or more influence.

You can’t sell the idea of one, including yourself, with LinkedIn metrics. They are indicators to see if you are moving in the right direction.

If you want to meet your sales quota, you need to make more conversational connections. These conversations lead to more sales. Linkedin enables you to reach and engage with customers who will buy from you.

Like the Pennsylvania Lottery says, you’ve got to play to win. So, start to engage on LinkedIn. Track your success metrics, and watch your job offers, opportunities and sales increase!

Forrester states that 76% of B2B marketing professionals agree that tracking marketing ROI validates their marketing programs.

Here are nine ways to measure your job searching, reputation building, and social selling success on LinkedIn!

9 Ways to Measure Your LinkedIn Networking Success

1. Number of LinkedIn connections

Why does size does matter when it comes to your LinkedIn network? Each new relationship adds to your 2nd- and 3rd-connection reach. These additions can add thousands of contacts!

When you need to be introduced to a client or contact, it can help to know someone who knows someone. This is where the 2nd- and 3rd-level connections become a part of the networking story. This extended-reach number is how you can regularly measure your LinkedIn success! Growing your network will help you increase your influence and visibility in LinkedIn.

2. Number of new invitations

When you are selling yourself and using LinkedIn as your digital hub, the more invitations you receive, the better off you are. This type of LinkedIn invitation is what I like to call “personal pull marketing” since people come to you to connect! Keep track of your new invitations to show the health and value of your social brand’s currency. If you get a ‘good number’ of new invitations weekly, you know you are building your LinkedIn value.

Yes, a bigger LinkedIn network is better. It’s better for your social selling, job searching, and reputation-establishing efforts.

Gerry Moran

3. Number of LinkedIn profile views

If you’ve ‘prettied up’ your profile, added keywords to it, and take part in the conversation, then you should be more ‘findable.’ But, how do you measure your ROLI (Return on LinkedIn Improvement)? Of course, by noting the number of people who view and access your profile! If you have a premium account, then you can precisely monitor who checks you out (You can then start to follow them on Twitter and NOT yet make a phone call or send an email).

4. Appearances in search

Include descriptive words in your Headline, About, Groups, Experience/Job Description, and Skills & Endorsements sections. These inclusions will help your LinkedIn search results. This change indicates you will likely increase the number of LinkedIn profile views.

5. Percentage of target audience profile views

If your mom, brother, or recruiter checks you’re your profile, their interest can’t really turn into a sale. Instead, pay attention to the number of prospect views you receive by upgrading your LinkedIn account. You can increase this number by being engaged in LinkedIn Groups, adding your LinkedIn profile to your email signature, Twitter profile, etc. Also, pay attention to the number of views you receive before and after a trade show or conference (post-pandemic) or after an important client call!

6. Your interaction level

Besides cultivating a large-sized network, you need to keep them engaged! Remember, it’s not the size of your network that counts most. It’s what you do with it! In other words, this is your “Am I interesting” metric.

Every time you comment in an “open” LinkedIn Group or on your status update, you open yourself up for likes and comments. This engagement indicates your content’s relevancy. It’s measured by positive feedback from likes and comments. Interesting comments are a sign of your increasing credibility in your field. If your interaction is boring or not relevant.

Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

7. Number of skill and endorsements

LinkedIn eliminated the “Specialties” section in the summary area and replaced it with Skills & Endorsements a long time ago. Many people still list these descriptions in their About section. It’s superfluous. Move these words to your Skill section. These keywords and searchable skills help you rank higher for internal LinkedIn searches. The more, the better. However, you’re limited to 50.

Try to increase your endorsements! More endorsements positively position you above your competition. So again, more (endorsements) is better!

8. Number of recommendations

We all need to have at least ten recommendations. But, more than ten is better! Recommendations are a great ‘commercial’ for you. They are a quick way for others to assess your qualities, even if they are always positive. If you do not have enough, then get moving and ask for them! Use the built-in function to ask past bosses, current clients, and others to recommend you!

9. Key social selling metrics

Whether you are looking for a job, a sale, or a better reputation, you are selling. And you do it with social media. You will be more successful. ‘Social brand currency’ indicators will help drive the critical selling metrics you can point to in your weekly call reports or your CRM systems.

1. Number of leads
2. Total number of first contacts
3. Total number of calls generated from making contact
4. Number of opportunities
5. Number of sales, job interviews, or media contacts

How to Improve Your LinkedIn Networking

• How to Build the Perfect Blog Post
• 5 Strategies to Stay Relevant and Active on LinkedIn
• 5 Social Selling Blunders to Avoid

Do you have another way to measure your social selling success with LinkedIn? If so, please share below! Or, contact me directly at gerry@marketingthink.com.

Remember to pay attention to your LinkedIn network’s size and cultivate and nurture it. In addition to its size, you need to know how to use it. So, work your engagement opportunities in LinkedIn Groups, status updates, and overall brand management.

NOTE: This post was first published as How to Measure Your LinkedIn Social Selling Success on June 9th, 2013, and was updated on February 5, 2021.