LinkedIn's new features  add to a widening array of tools that marketers can use to measure their web content and social media marketing performances.

LinkedIn recently introduced new features that make it easier for marketers to gauge their social content‘s reach and success. A recent post on the LinkedIn blog announced two new additions, the “Who’s Viewed Your Updates” and “You Recently Visited” options on the right side of the homepage. Armed with real-time feedback about who is reading brands’ social content and whether it’s being shared or Liked, marketers can create and deliver branded content that’s more engaging.

The “Who’s Viewed Your Updates” function allows LinkedIn members to easily see web content they’ve shared over a 14-day period, as well as the number of times it was viewed, Liked and how many people left comments. This metric accounts for 1st degree connections, but also shows how many people in 2nd and 3rd degree networks viewed the posts.

The “You Recently Visited” feature compiles data about users activity on the site, including the profiles they recently viewed, the discussions engaged with as well as they searches performed.

“This makes it easier to retrace your steps, re-engage in conversations or follow-up with that old colleague you intended to connect with,” LinkedIn’s blog post states.

LinkedIn's social monitoring features give marketers more data.

With these faster feedback mechanisms, companies can develop flexible content marketing practices that leverage the real-time capabilities of the web. If they see that target audiences interact most with stat-heavy blogs, but rarely click on how-to articles, they can rework their editorial calendars to publish more content that customers find interesting.

Brafton recently reported that brands will have the most success targeting B2B audiences on LinkedIn by offering easy-to-download educational resources. White papers, research from professional organizations, customer case studies and analyst reports are some of the content types B2B buyers trust most.

The introduction of LinkedIn’s new features highlight the importance of measurement. Marketers delivering a steady stream of sought-after industry insights must track their growth using social monitoring tools on popular networks and content analytics on their brand websites to give their strategies clear direction.

Lauren Kaye is a Marketing Editor at Brafton Inc. She studied creative and technical writing at Virginia Tech before pursuing the digital frontier and finding content marketing was the best place to put her passions to work. Lauren also writes creative short fiction, hikes in New England and appreciates a good book recommendation.