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executive linkedin benchmarks 2026
what happened to 14 b2b executives' linkedin reach, followers and engagement in their first 90 days of a ghostwriting program. every number with its sample size.
published november 2026 · by francisco gost scagliarini, partner · 9 min read
the short answer
Across 14 B2B executives on a done-for-you LinkedIn ghostwriting program in 2026, the median executive's monthly impressions grew 4.7x in the first 90 days compared with the 90 days before (n=7 executives with complete account data on both sides; 6 of 7 at least doubled). Followers grew a median 17.4% in about 90 days (n=9). The typical post only did a little better (median impressions per post rose 1.27x). The growth came from posting consistently and from breakout posts: 4.5% of posts passed 50,000 impressions, against none in the 90 days before.
rallyup publishes this report and ran the programs it measures, so read it as one agency's data, not an industry census. Every number below states its sample size, and no client is named.
on this page
headline numbers1. monthly reach grew 4.7x
2. the typical post barely changes
3. breakout posts drive the total
4. followers grow about 17% in 90 days
5. starting from zero
6. what correlates with reach
methodology and limits
faq
headline numbers
| Metric | Result | Sample |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly impressions, 90 days after vs 90 days before | 4.7x median, up to 15.3x | 7 executives, account-level data |
| Executives who at least doubled monthly impressions | 6 of 7 | 7 executives |
| Median monthly impressions, before → after | 27,640 → 88,243 | 7 executives |
| Median impressions per post, before → after | 1,376 → 1,747 (1.27x) | 135 posts before, 224 after |
| Posts above 10,000 impressions, before → after | 5.9% → 14.3% | 135 / 224 posts |
| Posts above 50,000 impressions, before → after | 0% → 4.5% | 135 / 224 posts |
| Share of impressions from the top 10% of posts, before → after | 48% → 75% | 135 / 224 posts |
| Follower growth in about 90 days | +17.4% median | 9 executives |
| Engagement rate per post (reactions, comments, reposts ÷ impressions) | 2.18% median | 453 posts |
| Posts per week on the program | 2.1 median | 14 executives |
Source: LinkedIn analytics for each executive's personal account, synced through Ordinal, May to November 2026. Reposts excluded.
1. monthly reach grew 4.7x
We compared each executive's total LinkedIn impressions in the 90 days before their first ghostwritten post with the 90 days after it. This is account-level data, so it counts everything the account earned, not only the posts we wrote. Seven executives had complete daily data on both sides of that line.
The median executive went from 27,640 to 88,243 impressions a month, a 4.7x increase. Six of the seven at least doubled. A second method, adding up post-level impressions for 9 executives, gives the same answer: 4.7x.
2. the typical post barely changes
The median post went from 1,376 impressions to 1,747, 1.27x. The bigger story is in the totals: judging a LinkedIn program by how a normal Tuesday post does misses where the growth comes from.
Two things moved instead. Executives posted more consistently (a median of 22 posts in the 90 days before, 31 after), and a small number of posts broke out far beyond their usual audience.
3. breakout posts drive the total
| Posts above | 90 days before (135 posts) | 90 days after (224 posts) |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 impressions | 5.9% | 14.3% |
| 25,000 impressions | 0.7% | 5.8% |
| 50,000 impressions | 0% | 4.5% |
After kickoff, the top 10% of posts produced 75% of all impressions, up from 48% before. Across all 14 executives, six posts passed 100,000 impressions. Nobody can schedule a breakout post. What a program changes is how many good attempts you take: more posts, each built on a real story or a clear point of view, and each one a chance to escape your existing network.
For an executive this means two practical things. Judge a program on monthly totals and on breakouts, not on the median post. And give it enough posts to find the outliers: at around two posts a week, that takes most of a quarter.
4. followers grow about 17% in 90 days
Across 9 executives with at least 80 days on the program, followers grew a median of 17.4% from kickoff to day 90. Across all 14 executives, measured from kickoff to November 2026, the median was 21.7%. Follower growth was steadier than impressions: every one of the 14 grew, the top executive by 50.9%.
5. starting from zero
Four executives had posted fewer than eight times before starting, so we left them out of the before-and-after averages: a ratio against almost nothing is meaningless. Two of them are still worth reporting. One reached 145,071 impressions in their first 71 days, and the other 407,799 in their first 56 days, after earning 0 and 414 impressions in the measured days before.
The other two had been on the program for less than a month when we pulled the data, which is too early to say anything.
6. what correlates with reach
These patterns use all 453 posts published after kickoff. To stop large accounts from dominating, each post is compared with its own author's median.
- Comments matter more than likes. Posts in the top third for comments relative to reactions reached 1.16x their author's median; the bottom third reached 0.85x. Posts that start a conversation travel further.
- Tuesday and Friday did best. Tuesday posts reached 1.15x the author's median (137 posts) and Friday 1.19x (34 posts). Wednesday was weakest at 0.86x (127 posts). Days are in UTC, across several time zones.
- Format made no measurable difference. Images, video and text posts all landed at about 1.0x their author's median. 380 of the 453 posts carried an image and none were carousels, so this sample can't say much about carousels.
Want the month-by-month version? See how long LinkedIn ghostwriting takes to work.
methodology and limits
- Sample. 20 LinkedIn personal accounts of rallyup clients were reviewed. 14 executives at 11 B2B companies had at least five posts after kickoff and are included: 4 in AI, 4 in fintech, 1 in B2B SaaS, 1 in venture capital and 4 in other B2B sectors. No client is named, and figures are not attributable to a company.
- Kickoff. The date of each executive's first post scheduled through the program. "Before" is the 90 days before that date; "after" is the 90 days from it, or until November 10, 2026 if sooner.
- Data. LinkedIn's own analytics for each personal account, synced through Ordinal. Account-level totals cover all account activity. Post-level figures exclude reposts and posts with missing metrics (2 of 455).
- Who is included. Account-level before-and-after uses only the 7 executives with 80 or more days of daily data on both sides. Follower growth at 90 days uses the 9 executives with 80 or more days on the program.
- Limits. This is a small sample of people who chose to hire a ghostwriting agency, with no control group. It shows what happened, not what would have happened without a program. Medians are used throughout because a few very large posts skew averages.
Cite as: rallyup, "Executive LinkedIn benchmarks 2026", November 2026, https://rallyup.team/blog/executive-linkedin-benchmarks-2026.html
when rallyup isn't the right fit
- Your budget is under $5,000 a month per executive. A good freelance ghostwriter is the better choice.
- You want to write your posts yourself and only need an editor.
- You need booked meetings in the next 30 days more than an audience. An outbound-first agency fits better.
- You're building a B2C or creator audience rather than B2B pipeline.
- You can't give your writer a 30-minute story interview twice a month. Posts in your voice need your stories.
what changed on this page
- November 11, 2026: first published, with data pulled the same day.
- We plan to refresh this report each quarter as more executives pass 90 days, and will log every change here.
want a quote for your executives?
rallyup writes linkedin content in your own voice, you approve everything in slack, and we guarantee 100k organic impressions in 90 days or you don't pay.
see if you qualify →frequently asked questions
how much do linkedin impressions grow with a ghostwriter?
In rallyup's 2026 data, the median executive's monthly LinkedIn impressions grew 4.7x in the first 90 days of a done-for-you ghostwriting program compared with the 90 days before (7 executives with complete account data; 6 of 7 at least doubled). The typical post grew 1.27x; the bigger gains came from posting more consistently and from breakout posts.
how fast do executives gain linkedin followers?
The median executive in rallyup's 2026 benchmark grew followers 17.4% in about 90 days (9 executives), and 21.7% from kickoff to November 2026 (14 executives). All 14 grew.
what is a good engagement rate for an executive linkedin post?
Across 453 executive posts in rallyup's 2026 benchmark, the median engagement rate (reactions, comments and reposts divided by impressions) was 2.18%.
does posting more often on linkedin help executives?
Consistency mattered more than any single post. The median executive went from 22 to 31 posts per 90 days, and posts above 50,000 impressions went from 0% to 4.5% of all posts. The top 10% of posts produced 75% of all impressions.
what is the best day for executives to post on linkedin?
In this sample, Tuesday posts reached 1.15x their author's median impressions (137 posts) and Friday posts 1.19x (34 posts); Wednesday was weakest at 0.86x (127 posts). Days are measured in UTC across several time zones.
where does this data come from?
LinkedIn's own analytics for 14 B2B executives' personal accounts on rallyup's ghostwriting program, synced through Ordinal, May to November 2026. No client is named. It is one agency's data with no control group.