LinkedIn courts creators — and advertisers — with new performance metrics

The “followers gained from this post” metric can, for instance, help creators understand how their posts are driving growth, which they can leverage when working with brands, according to LinkedIn vp of product management Gyanda Sachdeva. “‘Premium custom button interactions’ (like clicks to a website or newsletter for Premium members), on the other hand, gives them a way to show how their content drives action, which can be valuable in securing partnerships,” Sachdeva added. 

One difference between LinkedIn’s new crop of metrics and the analytics LinkedIn has previously shared with creators — such as the average video watch time metric the platform launched in February — is the new metrics’ focus on conversions such as button-clicks. LinkedIn creators including Gigi Robinson and Lindsey Gamble said that many of the brands they had worked with were focused on conversions above all other metrics, so the new metrics would help them strengthen their pitches to potential advertisers.

“The link clicks showing actual conversion is really important for brands, especially in B2B, because they are looking for bigger enterprise accounts to get signed up,” said Robinson, who has activated on LinkedIn with brands such as Adobe, Stanley and Superpower.

LinkedIn’s new creator metrics signal a strategic push to solidify its role as a performance-driven content platform. For creators, better data means smarter, more targeted content. For B2B marketers, it brings clearer insight into ROI and brand engagement on a platform built for professional trust and high-intent audiences.

Beyond the benefits to their pitches to brands, LinkedIn creators and talent managers believe the new metrics will help them achieve higher traffic and engagement by allowing them to essentially A/B test different types of posts to determine which ones work best.

“It helps the creators understand what content is resonating or what isn’t with their audiences, which in turn will benefit matchmaking with brands,” said Aneesh Lal, the founder of B2B creator management firm The Wishly Group. “My best creators, and best brand partners, are the ones who do micro-experiments all the time, right? They’re constantly testing what story arcs work, and more importantly, what mediums work.”

Brand marketers were enthusiastic about the announcement, with Hubspot vp of media Jonathan Hunt saying the new metrics could help push Hubspot to spend more on LinkedIn influencer marketing. 

“Marketers are always going to want more visibility into the impact of their investments, and creators are always going to want more signals to drive their content strategies and rates. These new metrics are a good start and a win-win for both needs,” Hunt said. “From a marketing perspective, the closer I can get to post- and creator-level attribution for transactional KPIs like leads, referral visits, and subscriptions, as well as brand KPIs like awareness and consideration among my ICP [ideal customer profile], then, assuming the math is mathing, I’m going to invest more capital and calories into that strategy.”

Danielle Ito, head of influencer marketing for Notion, a productivity software company, said that the new metrics were unlikely to “directly impact [Notion’s] existing LinkedIn strategy.” She said the real benefit of LinkedIn’s new metrics lies downstream — helping creators craft more engaging posts, which in turn drives greater value for advertisers.

“Being able to measure custom button clicks from a post will be a great indicator to a creator on how their LinkedIn content is driving to their third-party channels, such as newsletters or websites — which will help creators optimize their content for growth,” Ito said. “In the event that I’m working with a creator on a partnership that drives to their other channels, this will only help paint the story more on how their content is driving results.”

Adjusting the offering

The rollout of new metrics was not the only change implemented by LinkedIn on May 28. At the same time, the platform quietly removed its hyperlink function, which allowed users to place a link to a website directly onto their profile. 

As of Wednesday, the only way for LinkedIn users or creators to link out from their profiles is to implement a custom button — and since custom buttons are only available to LinkedIn Premium members, this means any creators who want to do so need to pay for Premium. While this might come across as a bid for more Premium subscriptions by LinkedIn, Gamble pointed out that many Linkedin Top Voices and creators who are part of the company’s Accelerator Program already receive free access to Premium.

“A lot of people view my newsletter or view my site, but unless you use a tracking link, you have no idea if people are actually clicking through [LinkedIn],” Gamble said. “I think this is awesome — having more insight into how your content is driving clicks.”

While creators and marketers see LinkedIn’s new metrics as encouraging, many believe the platform will need to go further, particularly by highlighting features that showcase its unique professional edge, like engagement from industry leaders — if it hopes to rival creator-first platforms like TikTok and YouTube. 

“LinkedIn’s mission statement is to connect the world’s professionals — to make them more productive and successful — and historically, their analytics are not necessarily as robust as a TikTok, or YouTube, in particular,” said Brendan Gahan, CEO of the LinkedIn influencer marketing agency Creator Authority. “So, all this stuff is hugely helpful, and stuff people have been curious about for a long time. I feel like they’re really just trying to build out a more robust tool set to support creators — and in supporting creators, they’re going to support brands.”