LinkedIn Marketing

How to Boost LinkedIn Posts: Complete Guide to Promoting Posts (2026)

SocialRails Team
SocialRails Team
8 min read

TL;DR - Quick Answer

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Tips you can use today. What works and what doesn't.

How to Boost LinkedIn Posts: Complete Guide

Want more visibility for your LinkedIn content? Boosting puts your posts in front of people beyond your current followers.

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What is LinkedIn Post Boosting?

Boosting a LinkedIn post means paying to show it to more people. Your organic post becomes a sponsored post that appears in the feeds of your target audience.

Key benefits:

  • Reach beyond your followers
  • Target specific audiences
  • Drive traffic and engagement
  • Generate leads
  • Increase brand awareness

For better organic reach first, see best time to post on LinkedIn.


How to Boost a LinkedIn Post (Step-by-Step)

Step 1: Find a High-Performing Post

Only boost posts that already perform well organically. Look for:

  • High engagement rate (likes, comments, shares)
  • Relevant to your target audience
  • Clear call-to-action

Tip: Posts with 2x your normal engagement are good candidates. Use our engagement calculator to measure performance.

Step 2: Click "Boost" on the Post

On any published post from your Company Page:

  1. Find the post you want to boost
  2. Click the "Boost" button below the post
  3. You'll enter the Campaign Manager setup

Step 3: Choose Your Objective

LinkedIn offers three objectives for boosted posts:

ObjectiveBest For
Brand AwarenessMaximizing impressions
EngagementGetting likes, comments, shares
Website VisitsDriving traffic to your site

Step 4: Define Your Audience

Target by:

  • Location - Countries, regions, cities
  • Job titles - Decision-makers, specific roles
  • Industries - Target relevant sectors
  • Company size - SMBs vs enterprise
  • Interests - Professional interests and skills

Minimum audience size: 1,000 members

Step 5: Set Budget and Schedule

Minimum daily budget: $10/day

BudgetExpected Reach
$10/day1,000 to 3,000 impressions
$25/day3,000 to 7,500 impressions
$50/day7,500 to 15,000 impressions
$100/day15,000 to 30,000 impressions

Duration options:

  • 1 day (minimum)
  • 7 days (recommended for testing)
  • 14 days (for campaigns)
  • Custom end date

Step 6: Review and Launch

Review your targeting, budget, and post content. Click "Boost" to launch.

Your boosted post will enter review (usually approved within hours).

Quick Knowledge Check
Test your understanding

Your organic post got 50 likes when you usually get 25. Should you boost it?

💡
Hint: Only boost content that's already proven to resonate with your audience.

LinkedIn Post Boosting Costs

Average Costs

MetricAverage Cost
CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions)$6 to $12
CPC (cost per click)$2 to $7
Cost per engagement$0.50 to $2

Factors Affecting Cost

  1. Audience competitiveness - C-suite targeting costs more
  2. Industry - Tech and finance are more expensive
  3. Targeting specificity - Narrow audiences cost more per impression
  4. Time of year - Q4 is most expensive

Who Can Boost LinkedIn Posts?

Requirements:

  • Company Page admin or content admin role
  • Page must be published (not in draft)
  • Must have a payment method connected
  • Post must be from your Company Page (not personal posts)

Personal posts cannot be boosted through the Boost feature. For personal profile content, you need to create ads in Campaign Manager.


Boosting vs. LinkedIn Ads

FeatureBoosted PostsLinkedIn Ads
Setup complexitySimpleAdvanced
Targeting optionsBasicFull
Ad formatsPosts onlyAll formats
Bidding controlAutomaticManual or automatic
ReportingBasicDetailed
Best forQuick amplificationStrategic campaigns

Use boosting for: Quick wins, testing content, simple awareness

Use LinkedIn Ads for: Lead generation, complex funnels, precise targeting

Quick Knowledge Check
Test your understanding

You want to capture emails from CFOs at Fortune 500 companies. What should you use?

💡
Hint: Use boosting for awareness, Campaign Manager for lead generation.

Best Practices for Boosting LinkedIn Posts

1. Only Boost Winners

Don't boost underperforming content. If it didn't work organically, paying won't fix it.

Boost posts that have:

  • 2x your average engagement
  • High comment-to-like ratio
  • Strong share counts

2. Target Thoughtfully

Avoid too-broad targeting. Better to reach 10,000 relevant people than 100,000 irrelevant ones.

Good targeting example:

  • Marketing Directors
  • At companies with 200+ employees
  • In United States
  • In Software industry

3. Set Realistic Budgets

Start with $10 to $25/day for testing. Scale what works.

Testing budget: $100 to $250 total

Campaign budget: $500+ for meaningful results

4. Monitor and Optimize

Check performance daily during the boost:

  • Are you hitting engagement goals?
  • Is cost per result acceptable?
  • Should you extend or cut the campaign?

5. Time It Right

Best days: Tuesday to Thursday

Best times: 7 to 8 AM, 12 PM, 5 to 6 PM (audience timezone)

Avoid: Weekends (lower engagement on LinkedIn)


When to Boost LinkedIn Posts

Good Reasons to Boost

  • Launching something new - Product, service, feature
  • Event promotion - Webinars, conferences
  • Major announcements - Funding, partnerships, milestones
  • High-performing content - Amplify what's already working
  • Recruiting pushes - Job openings at scale

When NOT to Boost

  • Post performed poorly organically - Boosting won't save bad content
  • No clear goal - Know what success looks like first
  • Very narrow audience - Use full Campaign Manager instead
  • Personal profile content - Boosting only works for Company Pages
Quick Knowledge Check
Test your understanding

Your post got 5 likes in 24 hours (you average 30). Your boss says 'boost it anyway.' What do you do?

💡
Hint: Use organic performance as your test. Only pay to amplify winners.

Measuring Boosted Post Performance

Key Metrics to Track

MetricWhat It Tells You
ImpressionsHow many people saw your post
ClicksInterest in your content
CTR (Click-Through Rate)Content relevance
Engagement RateAudience resonance
Cost Per Click (CPC)Efficiency
Cost Per EngagementValue delivered

What's "Good" Performance?

MetricGoodGreat
CTR0.4%+0.8%+
Engagement Rate1%+2%+
CPCUnder $5Under $3
Quick Knowledge Check
Test your understanding

Your boosted post has 0.2% CTR after 3 days. What should you do?

💡
Hint: Set performance thresholds. Cut campaigns that don't hit them within 2-3 days.

Alternatives to Boosting

Employee Advocacy

Your employees' networks are free reach. Encourage team members to share and engage with company posts.

Impact: Average employee post reaches 10x more than company page posts.

Organic Optimization

Before paying, maximize organic reach:

  • Post at optimal times
  • Engage with comments quickly
  • Use relevant hashtags
  • Tag relevant people and companies
  • Create engaging formats (carousels, polls, videos)

Need help creating posts? Try our LinkedIn post generator or LinkedIn caption generator.

LinkedIn Ads (Full Campaign Manager)

For advanced targeting and lead generation:

  • Sponsored Content
  • Message Ads
  • Lead Gen Forms
  • Conversation Ads
  • Text Ads

Troubleshooting

"Boost" Button Not Showing

Possible causes:

  • You don't have admin access
  • Post is from a personal profile
  • Page is in draft status
  • LinkedIn is testing (feature availability varies)

Boost Not Getting Approved

Common rejection reasons:

  • Prohibited content (tobacco, gambling, etc.)
  • Political content restrictions
  • Third-party data claims
  • Misleading content

Low Performance

If results are poor:

  1. Check audience targeting (too broad or narrow?)
  2. Review post content (is it compelling?)
  3. Test different times
  4. Increase budget (too low to optimize)

Key Takeaways

  • Only boost winners - Posts already performing well
  • Start small - $10 to $25/day to test
  • Target thoughtfully - Quality over quantity
  • Set clear goals - Know what success means
  • Monitor daily - Optimize or cut underperformers
  • Consider alternatives - Employee advocacy and organic optimization are free

LinkedIn Tools

LinkedIn Guides

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