Every day there’s a new social media trend alert, algorithm shift or someone promising an easier, faster way to get amazing results. It can be hard to sort through what’s wishful thinking, data-backed trend tracking, and the hype machine in overdrive, which is why we often test drive new recommendations before taking them to our clients.
As LinkedIn has evolved as a platform, broadening its focus from a job search site to a well-rounded professional networking and social site, it’s embraced video, graphic and text-only content. The addition of LinkedIn articles and newsletters have rounded out the selection of on-site content types.
When we read a few seemingly valid claims that fewer LinkedIn brand page posts combined with a monthly LinkedIn newsletter and article would increase reach and engagement, we had to see for ourselves.
The LinkedIn brand account we chose to test, averaged 46 LinkedIn brand posts per month or between 11 – 12 posts per week, for the first half of 2025. In July, we dropped to one post a day and then decreased further to five posts a week for August and September. What we expected to see was an increase in average post impressions and engagement. What actually happened was shocking.
New LinkedIn follows increased even as the engagement and impressions took a dive. Prior to the experiment, the account saw a monthly average of new LinkedIn followers of 6.5. During the three-month reduced posting, that average jumped to 10. These followers are not attached to specific posts, which leaves us to conjecture that they are a result of the newsletter.
The LinkedIn newsletter grew exponentially: the engagement rate increased month-over-month by 2% (going from 4% to 8% over three months), impressions increased by more than 3X, and article views increased by 5,200%! Newsletter subscriber demographics revealed another benefit. The newsletter had better penetration of key sectors and a higher percentage of C-suite professionals than the brand page followers.
It’s been a wild ride and the takeaways are clear: the LinkedIn newsletter is a must for brand pages, as is a more robust posting frequency. A monthly LinkedIn article is a key piece of the content mix.