Do video posts or text posts perform better on LinkedIn?

Among posts made with Hummbird, video posts have averaged about 40 percent more likes than text posts

What does the evidence say?

It leans towards video on likes, with caveats. Among posts made with Hummbird, video posts have averaged more likes than text posts, as the figure above shows. Video is also growing across LinkedIn as a whole. In a February 2025 post, LinkedIn's Lakshman Somasundaram wrote that video on LinkedIn was being watched 36 percent more than a year earlier.

In a separate, wider set of founders' posts, made with any tool, posts with an image or carousel did best on likes, and plain text had the lowest average of the three formats. Likes are only one signal, though, and they say little about what each format does for you.

Across hundreds of LinkedIn posts by founders over the past year, posts with an image or carousel averaged about 150 percent more likes than plain text posts. Video posts averaged about 45 percent more

Why do video and text do different jobs?

Because they do different work for you. A sharp text post is quick to read, easy to react to and easy to share, which helps it travel beyond the people who already follow you. A video lets people see and hear you, which builds familiarity faster than words alone. Text widens the circle, and video deepens what people know of you.

So the formats are not really competing. Judging them only on likes misses what each one is for, which is why the averages above are a starting point rather than a verdict.

Is video reach reliable?

Not always. Digiday reported in September 2025 that seven creators and talent managers had seen their video impressions fall, with one creator's videos dropping from between 40,000 and 70,000 views each to a few thousand. LinkedIn said it was matching videos more carefully to the members they suit, rather than making a broader algorithm change, and that the drop was not universal.

So treat video as a format that can carry you a long way some weeks and less far in others. That is another reason not to bet everything on one format.

How should a founder mix them?

Alternate through the week rather than choosing one. A mix lets your audience see you on camera and read your thinking in detail, and it gives LinkedIn more than one kind of post to show. One text post and one video a week is plenty to start. If video feels like a leap, begin with text and fold video in once the habit sticks.

Then judge the mix on your own profile over a month. Compare your videos with your text posts on comments, profile views and the conversations they start, not only on likes. What works for your audience matters more than any average, ours included.