Reach benchmarks by follower size
We tracked 50,000 LinkedIn posts in March and measured reach across seven follower ranges at four performance tiers: typical (p50, median), strong (p75, top 25%), top (p90, top 10%), and breakout (p99, top 1%).
Follower range | Typical reach | Strong reach | Top reach | Breakout reach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
0–1K | 165 | 433 | 1,118 | 13,513 |
1–5K | 470 | 1,209 | 3,071 | 26,269 |
5–10K | 757 | 1,896 | 4,949 | 41,736 |
10–25K | 1,177 | 3,025 | 8,344 | 60,563 |
25–50K | 2,186 | 6,141 | 18,065 | 116,146 |
50–100K | 4,471 | 12,375 | 35,894 | 198,403 |
100K+ | 11,375 | 34,354 | 105,322 | 345,460 |
Impressions per post, March 2026. Tiers: typical (p50), strong (p75), top (p90), breakout (p99). Source: TheShieldIndex.com
Absolute reach scales with audience size. A typical post at 0–1K followers gets 165 impressions. At 100K+, 11,375.
Reach rate (impressions divided by follower count) moves the other way. A typical post at 0–1K reaches 33% of the network. At 100K+, 5%.
Last month, one range broke that pattern. The 50–100K range posted higher reach rates than 25–50K on typical, strong, and top tiers. We flagged it as the shelf.
The shelf lasted one month.
Accounts under 5K: a typical post travels further, a viral post doesn't
Typical reach at 0–1K went from 148 to 165 impressions. Strong reach went from 378 to 433. Both up more than 10%.
But breakout reach dropped. From 14,070 to 13,513 at 0–1K. From 29,805 to 26,269 at 1–5K.
A typical post from a small account is traveling further this month. A viral post is not.
The gap between a normal post and a hit is narrowing across small accounts.
5–25K: second straight month of decline
Both ranges fell across the board. At 10–25K, every single metric declined.
At 10–25K, breakout reach dropped from 75,131 to 60,563. That's 19% less upside.
In February, typical reach in this range held steady while the upper tiers pulled back. In March, typical reach started falling too. At 5–10K: 774 to 757. At 10–25K: 1,216 to 1,177.
Two months of the same direction. Nothing in this range moved favorably.
25–50K: full reversal
In February, the 25–50K range contracted on every metric. No other range fell that broadly.
In March, it reversed. Up or flat on every metric. No declines.
Breakout reach went from 105,387 to 116,146. Breakout reach rate went from 291% to 329%.
This is the only range in the data where everything moved up.
The 50–100K shelf broke
In the February edition, the 50–100K range had higher reach rates than 25–50K on the typical, strong, and top tiers. The 75–100K sub-range was the driver: 22% strong reach rate, 73% top reach rate. Both the highest of any range above 25K. Three months of climbing.
In March, the 75–100K top reach rate dropped to 52%. Strong dropped to 17%.
The 25–50K range now matches or beats 50–100K on strong (18% vs 17%) and top (51% vs 47%) reach rates.
The one exception: breakout. The 50–100K range went from 180,022 to 198,403 breakout impressions while the typical post dropped from 5,144 to 4,471. A typical post is reaching fewer people. A top 1% post is reaching more. The outcomes in this range are spreading apart.
The number that stood out
The 75–100K top reach rate: 60% in December. 63% in January. 73% in February. 52% in March. Three months of climbing, then the largest single-month drop in the dataset.
100K+: steady decline
Typical reach: 12,520 to 11,375. Strong: 38,618 to 34,354. Top: 117,555 to 105,322.
Reach rates moved the same direction. Typical: 6% to 5%. Strong: 15% to 13%. Top: 36% to 34%.
Breakout reach held flat at 345,460. Typical, strong, and top posts are reaching fewer people. Breakout posts are not.
The breakout multiple (how many times further a top 1% post travels compared to a typical post) by follower range:
Follower range | Breakout multiple |
|---|---|
0–1K | 82x |
1–5K | 56x |
5–10K | 55x |
10–25K | 51x |
25–50K | 53x |
50–100K | 44x |
100K+ | 30x |
Breakout multiple = breakout reach (p99) / typical reach (p50). March 2026.
Source: TheShieldIndex.com
At 0–1K, a top 1% post reaches 82 times what a typical post reaches. At 100K+, 30 times.
A viral post from a sub-1K account (13,513 impressions) outreaches a typical post from a 50–100K account (4,471) by 3x.
The multiple doesn't decline smoothly. At 25–50K, it's 53x. Higher than 10–25K (51x). This is the same range that reversed on every metric this month. A typical post barely moved. A viral post jumped. The gap between normal and hit is growing here, not shrinking.
Full reach benchmarks
All 12 follower ranges, March 2026.
Reach rate (% of follower count)
Range | Typical | Strong | Top | Breakout | Eng. Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0–500 | 45% | 113% | 323% | 3,865% | 2.1% |
500–1K | 29% | 71% | 165% | 2,454% | 2.6% |
1–2.5K | 22% | 55% | 135% | 1,091% | 2.6% |
2.5–5K | 15% | 38% | 101% | 848% | 2.4% |
5–10K | 11% | 27% | 68% | 563% | 2.3% |
10–25K | 8% | 20% | 53% | 398% | 2.1% |
25–50K | 6% | 18% | 51% | 329% | 2.0% |
50–75K | 7% | 17% | 45% | 200% | 1.7% |
75–100K | 6% | 17% | 52% | 282% | 1.8% |
100–250K | 6% | 17% | 44% | 177% | 1.6% |
250–500K | 3% | 10% | 22% | 79% | 1.7% |
500K+ | 3% | 11% | 24% | 46% | 1.7% |
Absolute reach (impressions per post)
Range | Typical | Strong | Top | Breakout | Eng. Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0–500 | 102 | 279 | 714 | 9,364 | 2.1% |
500–1K | 216 | 531 | 1,263 | 19,886 | 2.6% |
1–2.5K | 374 | 932 | 2,306 | 17,563 | 2.6% |
2.5–5K | 546 | 1,389 | 3,629 | 30,828 | 2.4% |
5–10K | 757 | 1,896 | 4,949 | 41,736 | 2.3% |
10–25K | 1,177 | 3,025 | 8,344 | 60,563 | 2.1% |
25–50K | 2,186 | 6,141 | 18,065 | 116,146 | 2.0% |
50–75K | 4,203 | 10,462 | 28,500 | 125,034 | 1.7% |
75–100K | 5,132 | 15,554 | 45,957 | 272,843 | 1.8% |
100–250K | 8,327 | 25,272 | 61,619 | 268,328 | 1.6% |
250–500K | 11,034 | 33,554 | 81,728 | 297,022 | 1.7% |
500K+ | 35,074 | 120,764 | 213,604 | 418,418 | 1.7% |
Reach rate = impressions / follower count. Tiers: typical (p50), strong (p75), top (p90), breakout (p99). Source: TheShieldIndex.com — 50,000 posts (Mar 2026).
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