Metrics, data, analytics - oh my! Knowing your numbers on LinkedIn can feel pretty darn complicated. Before investing your time and resources, it's important to figure out exactly what your return on investment should be.

When you don't know exactly which numbers matter, which measurement tools to use, and when to adjust your approach on LinkedIn -- it can feel like you're rolling the dice.

We all know that numbers drive strategy. It's pointless to collect data that you're never going to use.

My question to you: do you have 5 minutes per week to look at your numbers?

I'm serious -- that's all it takes.

In this episode of Mondays with Mindi we got to the bottom of the LinkedIn metrics that matter!

I explained the seven essential metrics you should be tracking, gave a sneak peek of my favorite LinkedIn metrics tool, and shared my easy-to-use DIY spreadsheet HERE.

What questions do YOU have about LinkedIn ROI? Go ahead and post yours below.

I don’t know about you, but I really don’t enjoy looking at numbers.

When it comes to LinkedIn, should you simply wing it? Well, you could.

But if you’re being strategic about how and why you’re using LinkedIn, you might want to check your numbers every so often. If you don’t...

You may go “all in” on LinkedIn and have nothing to show for it - very frustrating
Could see something is working, but you don’t what or how to replicate that success
Maybe you have no idea what good sales and metrics benchmarks even are for your LinkedIn
You might not even know you COULD track your personal LinkedIn profile performance

Let’s figure out how to get your LinkedIn metrics dialed in - we’ll talk about which numbers matter, which measurement tools to use, and when to adjust your approach on LinkedIn

And, the best part is it only takes a few minutes per week to do.

Doing "all the things" on LinkedIn

A lot of people jump into LinkedIn headfirst and start googling all sorts of tips and tricks from LinkedIn gurus.

With all that enthusiasm, they throw together a mishmash of tactics that promise to “generate thousands of inbound leads” or “turn your LinkedIn profile into a prospecting machine having 30 sales calls per month”

With all of that LinkedIn activity, it’s easy to get caught up in the vanity metrics and not really KNOW what’s working for you on LinkedIn.

So, you generate all of this NOISE on LinkedIn…

BUT, does that turn into tangible business for you? Is it helping you to scale your impact? Grow your LinkedIn network strategically with the right people?

Do you ever find yourself just spinning your wheels on LinkedIn and hoping for the best?

We’ve all heard the phrase, “You cannot improve what you are not measuring.” This applies to LinkedIn, too.

The Secret: It's a process

Did you know that savvy LinkedIn users don’t spend a TON of time looking at their numbers?

They only pay attention to the numbers that matter most, the metrics that move the needle for their business.

They know exactly what these numbers are

They understand which levers to pull to change the numbers

They use a nifty tool to break down all the data for them in layman’s terms

So there’s not really a secret to the numbers or how to track them

It’s more a process of building "your number checking" into a workflow once you understand which metrics you should be tracking.

The 7 Metrics You Should be Tracking on LinkedIn

You don't need to track EVERY metrics, but here are the top seven I recommend you pay attention to if you're using LinkedIn for business.

1. LinkedIn Profile Views

Mindi Rosser - LinkedIn Sales and Marketing Metrics - Followers

What it is: Your Views are the total number of views your LinkedIn profile has received in a specific time period.

This means people have not ONLY seen something of yours in their LinkedIn news feed, they have actually looked at your profile.

THAT’S HUGE.

Too many people assume this is a vanity metric, but it’s not.

What it’s telling you: If this number is consistent or going up, it’s telling you that your keywords, your posts, your profile are getting attention, piquing interest and getting people to learn more.

If this number is going down, you may have just switched something on your LinkedIn profile or are simply not getting the right people to pay attention.

Start by looking at your LinkedIn profile headline.

2. Engagement Rate

Mindi Rosser - LinkedIn Sales and Marketing Metrics - Engagement Rate

What it is: Your engagement rate is calculated as the views-to-like/comment/share ratio for a specific time period.

(The screenshot pictured here is taken from the SHIELD app.)

In a nutshell, this tells you how people are engaging with your posts on LinkedIn.

It’s one of the most important marketing metrics to pay attention to from a marketing perspective.

A good industry benchmark to shoot for is between 2-3% here.

Mine is definitely outside that range because I have a smaller, more strategic network that’s pretty engaged with my content.

What it’s telling you: Whether or not your content is valuable to your LinkedIn audience and connections. Is it worth sharing? Liking? Commenting?

3. Number of Followers

Mindi Rosser - LinkedIn Sales and Marketing Analytics - Followers

What it is: how many people are either following you or connected to you. It totals your followers AND your connections.

Obviously, you want to see this number go up over time unless you are doing some “LinkedIn connections clean up” where you’ll see this number go down initially.

When you continue to post valuable content and strategically build your LinkedIn network, this number will organically grow over time

What it’s telling you: How many people are in your LinkedIn audience and likely to see your posts in their feed. Most of these will likely be LinkedIn connections unless you get into the Influencer range with your network size.

Grow your LinkedIn network with the right people, and you cannot go wrong here.

4. Number of New Connections

Mindi Rosser - LinkedIn Sales and Marketing Metrics - New Connections

What it is: how many people did you connect with on LinkedIn within a certain time frame, which includes both inbound (received) and outbound (sent by you) connection invitations.

This should be trending upward, and it’s critical to ABC (always be connecting)!

For those of you who are into list building or growing an audience, this is how it’s done on LinkedIn.

What it’s telling you: How many people you are accepting connections from or sending connections to that are accepted.

A good rule of thumb (if you’re taking a strategic approach) is to add about 10-20 people to your network per week.

5. Connection Acceptance Rate

What it is: calculated as the connections sent-to-connections accepted ratio for a specific time period.

Send 100 connections over a month, and 60 of them are accepted.
That's a 60% connection acceptance rate.

For those who are actively prospecting, this rate can vary dramatically. If you’re consistently getting below 25% in an industry that is pretty active on LinkedIn, you need to rethink your connection invitation.

I like to see around a 30-40% connection acceptance rate for my clients who are actively prospecting.

Those who are simply getting connected and growing their network with non-prospects, shoot for a 50-75% connection acceptance rate.

What it’s telling you: how good your connection request is! If it’s not getting people to accept, you’re either sending them a poorly written connection invitation or reaching out to the wrong people.

6. Connection to Conversion Rate

What it is: calculated as the number of connections who agree to have a conversation with you or “convert” to whatever your ask is. This can vary depending on what your LinkedIn connection strategy is.

For example, most of my clients are looking to have a conversation with their new connections, which will hopefully lead to new business opportunities.

Others are simply asking a question, or trying to get the new connection engaged in a two-way conversation that is more along the lines of “getting to know you”

A solid connection-to-conversion rate = 40%

This means that 40% of the new connections are agreeing to a conversation or taking action on whatever your conversion event is.

What it’s telling you: how well aligned your messaging is with your target audience and their wants, needs, desires.

If what your “ask” seems like a no-brainer to them or obviously advantageous, they will be more likely to convert.

7. Number of Opportunities

What it is: how many sales opportunities you identified on LinkedIn from new connections or old connections that resurfaced during a given time period.

It’s that simple.

If you’re not seeing opportunities on a regular basis (at least monthly) in LinkedIn, something is off! You need to figure out exactly what that is before you keep investing time, resources, and money into LinkedIn.

When you have a healthy LinkedIn program and strategic network, you can expect both inbound and outbound opportunities to surface each month.

What it’s telling you: whether or not you’re using LinkedIn effectively for business

If you want more opportunities, you need to be doing the right combination of things on LinkedIn. Sometimes it can be tricky to figure out which levers to pull here to get more opportunities, but getting some advice from an experienced LinkedIn sales & marketing expert or a savvy friend can help.

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Before you start trying to improve your LinkedIn analytics, make sure to optimize your LinkedIn profile to increase your chances!

I just released a free three-part mini-training How to Reboot Your LinkedIn Profile to Grow Your Online Business!

It’s jam-packed with templates and examples and a step-by-step approach to optimizing your headline, the two most important parts of your About section to get more inbound connections and build your list, along with what to do with your Experience sections!

Click HERE to get instant access!

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