Is Your LinkedIn Strategy Really Working? A Competitive Analysis Guide to Boost ROI

ROI or Return on Investment, shows you how well your efforts are paying off. It measures the profit you’ve earned compared to what you’ve spent, helping you see which campaigns sparkle and which might need a little polish.

But here’s the kicker: how do you actually know if your strategy’s hitting the mark… or if you’re just talking to an empty room and how do you measure ‘brand awareness’? 

With a little savvy competitive analysis and a regular reality check on your own performance, you can figure this out. In this blog, I’ll be sharing 6 tips to help you find out if your LinkedIn strategy is working well, and delivering the kind of results your business deserves.

1. Know What “Working” Really Means

First things first, success looks different for everyone. Maybe for you, “working” means more inbound leads. For someone else, it might mean growing their personal or company brand, or it could be driving more traffic to their website.

A few questions to get clear on your goals:

• Are you trying to increase your reach and engagement?
• Generate leads or sales?
• Grow your personal or company page?
• Position yourself as an industry thought leader?

Once you know what matters most to you, it becomes so much easier to track whether your strategy is paying off. Before we can tell if it’s working, you need to know what you’re actually aiming for!

2. Stay Ahead of the Competition 

Here’s where it gets interesting. A quick scan of your competitors’ moves can uncover powerful insights into what resonates and what falls flat.

A few easy ways to do this:

• Check who’s posting consistently and what kind of content gets traction.
• Look at the tone: Are they professional, playful, storytelling?
• Note their posting frequency and timing.
• Pay attention to what formats are performing best (video, carousel, polls, text posts).
• You can even check your metrics and analytics against your competitors (on the LinkedIn company page, click Analytics > Competitors and then ‘Edit Competitors’), and you can choose who you rank against. You can see:
  • New follower metrics
  • Total post metrics
  • Total engagement metrics
  • Trending competitor posts

Remember, you’re not copying, you’re strategically observing. Think of it as “LinkedIn inspo”.

3. Understand the LinkedIn Algorithm (Without Losing Your Mind)

Ah yes… the mysterious LinkedIn algorithm, the one that’s constantly changing and switching up, almost as many times as the Google algorithm for SEO.

While no one outside of LinkedIn HQ has the full formula, here’s what we do know works pretty well:

• Consistency is key: Posting regularly signals to the platform that you’re active and worth showing.
• Engagement matters: The faster people interact with your post after it goes live (think 10x minutes), the more LinkedIn pushes it.
• Authenticity wins: Real stories, personal insights, and genuine opinions tend to outperform stiff corporate speak.
• Encourage conversation: Posts that spark comments get more visibility.
• Links: LinkedIn likes to keep its users on its site, so isn’t as fond of outbound links and much prefers internal linking to other people or companies.

So if you’ve been posting once a month and wondering why nothing’s happening, that might be your answer, but…

Plan it before you wing it!

We’ve all had those “What on earth do I post today?” moments… followed by a totally random post that doesn’t quite hit. The fix? A solid content plan. Scheduling your posts in advance is the secret to staying consistent and keeping your audience engaged. And if time’s not on your side, that’s exactly where my team and I can step in to help.

4. Track What You’ve Got

Before you change anything, take a look at your current performance:

• Which posts got the most engagement and why?
• Are your followers growing steadily or flatlining?
• Are there some months you perform better than others – hello quieter summers
• What’s your average engagement rate (likes, comments, shares)?
• Which types of content actually lead to conversions or inquiries?

You don’t need a fancy tool to start. Even LinkedIn’s built-in analytics gives you some juicy clues (FYI, it only tracks back 1x year). But if you want to get a little more advanced, there are plenty of tools out there that can make this super easy.

5. Tweak, Test, Repeat 

Once you’ve got your data and insights, it’s time tweak and test:

• Experiment with new formats and posting times.
• Adjust your tone and style to see what clicks.
• Lean into what’s working and ditch what’s not.

The beauty of LinkedIn is that small, consistent tweaks can lead to big wins over time.

6. Remember: You Don’t Have to Do It All Alone 

If all of this sounds like a lot to keep on top of, that’s because… it is! Building and maintaining a strong LinkedIn strategy takes time, energy, and a good dose of consistency.

The good news? You can totally get help.

If you’d love to free up your time and have someone take care of the strategy, competitive analysis, or content side of things for you, Freya’s got your back.

Get in touch with Freya Helps Me to chat about how she can help make LinkedIn work harder for you, so you can focus on what you do best, running your business! With the right insights, a little competitive edge, and a sprinkle of consistency, you’ll be turning connections into real results in no time.