Why LinkedIn Posts Should Be Judged by Clicks, Not Reach

In a recent LinkedIn post, Matt Barker discusses why businesses should evaluate LinkedIn content by its purpose rather than its reach. Barker reports that a post seen by 2,928 people generated roughly twice the click rate of his other posts that week, challenging the assumption that lower distribution means a post has failed.

“That post had (roughly) 2x the click rate of my other posts.”

Look beyond impressions

According to Barker, reach measures distribution, but it does not necessarily show whether a post prompted the right readers to act. He recommends calculating click rate by dividing clicks by reach, then comparing posts against that measure when they include links. In the figures he shared, Friday’s post had a 1.9% click rate, while the others ranged from 0.8% to 1.0%.

That distinction matters for marketers and founders using LinkedIn to reach potential customers. A post with broad appeal may attract attention without connecting with the people a business wants to reach. Barker argues that content should begin with a specific buyer’s problem, rather than a general hook designed to maximize views.

Make the post relevant and actionable

Barker’s suggested approach is to identify a pain point, briefly explain why it persists, and describe a change that addresses it. He illustrates the method with the example of spending an hour on a single post when he began writing on LinkedIn. The example ties a recognizable frustration to a cause—random posting—and a response: giving each post a clear intention.

He also advises including one next step rather than listing several offers. As Barker puts it:

“Just send them to one thing per post.”

That recommendation reflects the post’s broader focus on conversion. Barker presents content as part of a path from a reader’s problem to a relevant action, such as clicking through to a resource. He includes a link to a free course for founders seeking inbound interest from decision-makers.

Judge content by the job it was meant to do

Barker says his low-reach post also underperformed on profile views, follower growth and comments. Those results could make it look like a flop if judged by broad engagement alone. But he argues that the post’s intended job was to earn clicks, and by that measure it performed best of the week.

“Identify the metric that drives business and focus on that metric only.”

The post offers a practical reminder for businesses reviewing their content: choose the outcome that matters before deciding whether a post worked. Barker’s account does not establish that clicks are the right measure for every post; rather, his framework is to match the metric to the post’s purpose and assess performance accordingly.