Do You Really Have to Pay to Play on LinkedIn? I Put It to the Test.
As I’ve been growing my business and connecting with like-minded professionals, I’ve heard the same phrase pop up time and time again: “You gotta pay to play.”
So, I figured why not test that theory out on my personal LinkedIn profile?
I chose a post I thought had potential. It had a solid photo, relevant hashtags, and I tagged someone with a decent following. I noticed the little “Boost” button and decided to give it a shot. According to LinkedIn, boosting would help me reach more professionals and grow my influence. The longer the boost, the more impressions I could expect.
I set the boost for 48 hours. Once it wrapped up, I checked the results:
Boosted post impressions: 3,309
Reactions: 7
My typical average? Around 500 impressions per post. So this was pretty good.
But then, something unexpected happened.
About a week later, I shared a completely organic post. It was a playful trend going around—asking ChatGPT to act like my drunk BFF and describe what I do. No paid boost, no strategy—just a fun, engaging piece of content.
Here’s what happened within 48 hours:
Organic
Impressions: 31,700
Reactions: 212
So What’s the Takeaway?
Boosting a post can help you get more visibility, but it’s not a guaranteed engagement machine. Before you spend money, ask yourself:
Is my content engaging and conversational (without sounding like clickbait)?
Is it relevant to my audience? Will they actually care?
Am I offering a fresh or original perspective?
If you can answer yes to those, boosting might give your post the extra push it needs. But don’t underestimate the power of authentic, creative content. Sometimes, the posts that perform best are the ones that make people smile, think, or laugh—no budget required.
And remember: LinkedIn is just one piece of the puzzle. There are plenty of ways to promote your business beyond social media… but we’ll save that for another post. 😉
Curious about how LinkedIn’s algorithm really works? Here’s a helpful read from Hootsuite: https://blog.hootsuite.com/linkedin-algorithm/