I tested LinkedIn growth hacks so you don’t have to — here’s what actually worked.

Every few weeks, a new list of “LinkedIn best practices” makes the rounds.

Post a carousel. End with a question. Add a comment CTA. Break your text into one-line paragraphs. Include emojis. Use a hook. Avoid links. Use links. Tag no one. Tag two people. Never tag. Always tag.

You get the idea.

It’s tempting to treat these like a checklist. Especially when you’re time-poor and just want your posts to do something.

But I wanted to know what actually holds up beyond the recycled advice. So I ran an experiment.

⚙️ What I tested (and why):

Over the course of a week, I tested the most common LinkedIn “growth hacks” I see:

• Carousel format (because “LinkedIn loves carousels”)
• Comment bait CTA (“hook me up and I’ll send it to you”)
• Career-style language (“excited to share”, etc.)
• Formatting tricks (one-line spacing, lots of emojis)
• Video content (repurposed from TikTok)
• Ending with a question (to boost comments)
• A post using all of the above, plus a selfie (which people claim boosts reach)

Each post was written to match these patterns, but still rooted in something I’d normally talk about. I wasn’t just writing rubbish.

The goal? See whether form really beats function.

📉 The results:

Here’s how each post performed on impressions:

These are some of my lowest-performing posts in months.
(For reference: my average post gets 1,000–4,000 impressions. The one right after this test hit over 4,000.)

🧠 Why these “hacks” didn’t work:

Here’s what I think is going on.

1. These tactics don’t fix weak ideas

Format might boost visibility, but it doesn’t carry the content.
If the idea isn’t interesting, relevant, or different, no carousel or emoji spacing can save it.

Takeaway: Your post needs to earn attention on its own. No hack will rescue something generic.

2. “Looking like everyone else” is a bad look

The more your post resembles the last 20 posts someone saw that day, the easier it is to scroll past.

Ironically, the hacks that are meant to increase reach might be making your content blend in. Not stand out.

Takeaway: Sounding like yourself is a better differentiator than any post format.

3. Trying to optimise for the algorithm often de-optimises for the reader

Comment CTAs. Leading questions. Artificial hooks. These work when they fit the post. But when they’re tacked on for the sake of reach, they feel forced.

I had posts that were technically structured “correctly”, but didn’t invite real conversation.

Takeaway: Engagement metrics don’t matter if they don’t lead to relevance, relationships, or results.

4. People connect with clarity, not cleverness

The one post that outperformed all of these? A simple, useful insight, written the way I normally write. No fancy hook. No formatting trick. Just something that clicked with the people I wanted to reach.

Takeaway: Helpful, human content > hacky, optimised content. Every time.

👀 What this means for you (whether you’re posting yourself or outsourcing)

If you’re a founder, marketer, or expert trying to build visibility on LinkedIn, here’s the real lesson:

You don’t need to optimise for the algorithm.
You need to optimise for understanding. And resonance. And relevance.

Some practical things to try instead:

• Focus on one sharp idea per post, and make it genuinely useful
• Say what you actually think (not what sounds “LinkedIn-y”)
• Think of your audience before the algorithm
• Use a hook only if it earns its place‍
• Post formats are tools, not tactics
• Write the way you speak
• And post like a human, not a case study of “what works”

📈 So what does work?‍

The post that performed best that week was the one that sounded like me.

I shared a clear point of view, in a natural voice, on a topic that mattered to the people I write for.

It wasn’t optimised. It was real.
That’s what got people to stop, read, and respond.
(And yep, it led to client conversations, too.)

👋 Want your LinkedIn content to work like that?

This is what I help clients do, through ghostwriting, strategy, and content retainers that make your voice clear, consistent, and actually worth reading.