What Works On LinkedIn Pulse: Analysis Of The Top 5000 Articles With 20M+ Social Interactions

Over the last three years, LinkedIn Pulse has grown to become the top content destination for B2B marketers. A report by the Content Marketing Institute states that 94% of B2B marketers regularly use LinkedIn to distribute content. It is also the most potent lead generator and boasts of a visitor-to-lead ratio that is three times higher than its competitors.

But what does it take to become a successful content publisher on LinkedIn?

We decided to put our best foot forward to answer that question. So we pulled out the top 5,000 articles from LinkedIn, and used Natural Language Processing coupled with Advanced Data Sciences to bring you top insights on what makes content click on LinkedIn.

At an aggregate level:

• The top 5,000 articles received more than 20 Million shares, likes & comments
• 75% of the authors made it to the top 5,000 with just one article
• Dominant content themes were Career, Management, Entrepreneurship, Psychology

1) Promote your LinkedIn content everywhere

At its core, LinkedIn Pulse is a publishing platform. Which means that a good article here can gain social takeoff on other social networks too.

LinkedIn seems to understand and appreciate this fact. Which is why they highlight the Share function more than the others. And for sharing, they provide equal prominence to the big three – LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter.

In measuring cross-channel performance, we found that 24% of social engagement (shares, likes, comments) for LinkedIn Pulse content happens outside LinkedIn. 1 in 5 shares happen outside LinkedIn, and nearly half of the likes & comments come from other social networks.

So, expand your sphere of marketing. Share and promote your LinkedIn Pulse content on other social networks as well.

2) Interviews and HowTos are the way to go

Listicles have been ruling the content universe for a while now. But, it is getting increasingly difficult to come up with a useful list on a relevant subject that hasn’t been published already.

But fear not, Interviews & How Tos do extremely well on LinkedIn. And they resonate much better with the B2B audience, even if they are not shared as much by the general audience.

Bonus tip: If you are still keen on producing listicles, focus on lists of 5 or 10, as they get the highest number of shares per post.

3) Focus on short headlines and long articles

If you published an article but no one read it, does it exist?

That is why the headline & article length are extremely important. Regardless of the creative aspects and the subject matter, the numbers demonstrate a clear trend.

Articles with a 5-9 word headline attract the highest number of shares per post. And the ideal length of an article is between 2000-2500 words. Deploy your creative energies in constructing the right headline & narrative within these guidelines.

In case, you have already published a lot of short-form articles on LinkedIn, promote them on Facebook & Twitter. Audiences there seem to react better to short-form LinkedIn articles.

In closing

• LinkedIn Pulse is a great platform to publish content
• Good content published on LinkedIn performs well on other social networks too
• You don’t need to publish many articles to get to the top
• Interviews & HowTos are the best article types to focus on
• Ideal headline length is between 5-9 words
• Ideal article length is between 2000-2500 words

You do need to focus on the subject matter and creative treatment that is apt for you and your target audience. But, while doing that, if you follow these definitive guidelines, you will maximize your ROI on LinkedIn Pulse.

If you wish to research further on your own, please click this link to get access to all LinkedIn Pulse content.

As always, drop us a line for any help with data or insights for your topics.