Written by: Vickie Sullivan  |  April 16, 2026

What Works on LinkedIn Isn’t What You Think

The LinkedIn of today is far different than what the platform was like when it first launched. Nearly every working human uses it, plus the platform’s algorithms have dramatically changed what people see in their feed. And that makes it harder to know what works on LinkedIn—if your posts will get any engagement.

Some people have figured it out and are getting impressions and engagement. Drumbeat analyzed over 2.5 million engagements across 16,000 posts to find out what works on LinkedIn, and what doesn’t. Here are their findings.

What Works on LinkedIn Now

What’s type of LinkedIn posts perform well? These are ones getting high engagement these days:

• Long posts (1,000 characters or longer)

• Starting a new position

• Being thankful, but not cheesy

• Being personal (writing in the first person: I/my

My favorite part of this study, though, is the engagement bait graveyard. A lot of the tactics, emoji, and hooks we’ve been using are dying—if not already dead. It isn’t pretty.

What do all these bad ideas have in common? They were once effective. These maneuvers used to cut through the noise. They don’t anymore because everyone started doing the same thing.

The worst part: Lots of advisors still tell people to keep up this bad work.

Why do they do that? Because they don’t have their finger on the pulse of what’s working now. They are on autopilot.

So, the real takeaways in this report are twofold:

1. Change tactics sooner than you want

2. If you hire someone to help increase engagement, ask tough questions about what’s working

Call me an eternal optimist, but LinkedIn can still be a powerful platform. But you need to use it to the fullest advantage, and that calls for being nimble and willing to switch things up.

Now Read This:  

• The Best LinkedIn Post Formats for Driving Company Page Results
• Strategic Sounding Boards Give Real-World Advice for When the Rubber Meets the Road

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