How to Get Access to LinkedIn API for Company Post Engagement Data?

 

Getting LinkedIn company post engagement data (likes, comments, shares) is not straightforward, because LinkedIn tightly restricts access to this data.

Below is a complete, practical, no-confusion guide—covering:

• Official API access (correct way)

• Approval process (what actually happens)

• Working code examples 

• Realistic alternatives 

---

1. Reality Check (Very Important)

You CANNOT access company post engagement data with basic API access.

You need:

• Marketing Developer Platform (MDP) access

• Approval for organization-level APIs

Without approval, endpoints for:

• Company posts

• Likes

• Comments

• Shares will NOT work.

---

2. Correct Process to Get Access

Step 1: Create App

Go to:

• LinkedIn Developer Portal

Create app under your company page.

---

Step 2: Request Products

You must request:

🔹 Required Product

• Marketing Developer Platform

This unlocks:

• Organization posts

• Social engagement APIs

---

Step 3: Request Permissions (Scopes)

You need:

r_organization_social
rw_organization_admin
r_organization_admin

Optional:

w_organization_social

---

Step 4: Submit for Review

LinkedIn will ask:

• Use case (VERY IMPORTANT)

• Business justification

• Screenshots / demo

• How you will use data

Example justification:

We are building a social analytics dashboard for internal company use
to track engagement metrics (likes, comments, shares) on our LinkedIn posts.
Data will not be redistributed externally.

---

3. Approval Reality

• Approval is manual

• Takes days to weeks

• Many requests are rejected

 LinkedIn prefers:

• Official partners

• Marketing platforms

• Agencies

---

 4. APIs You Will Use (After Approval)

4.1 Get Company URN

GET https://api.linkedin.com/v2/organizations?q=vanityName&vanityName=your-company

Response:

{
  "elements": [
    {
      "id": 12345678
    }
  ]
}

URN:

urn:li:organization:12345678

---

4.2 Get Company Posts

GET https://api.linkedin.com/v2/shares?q=owners&owners=urn:li:organization:12345678

---

4.3 Get Engagement Stats

GET https://api.linkedin.com/v2/socialActions/{shareURN}

Example:

GET https://api.linkedin.com/v2/socialActions/urn:li:share:123456789

Response:

{
  "likesSummary": {
    "totalLikes": 120
  },
  "commentsSummary": {
    "totalComments": 45
  }
}

---

5. Complete Python Example

import requests

ACCESS_TOKEN = "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"

headers = {
    "Authorization": f"Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}",
    "X-Restli-Protocol-Version": "2.0.0"
}

# Step 1: Get posts
org_id = "urn:li:organization:12345678"

url = f"https://api.linkedin.com/v2/shares?q=owners&owners={org_id}"
response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)

posts = response.json()["elements"]

for post in posts:
    share_urn = post["id"]

    # Step 2: Get engagement
    stats_url = f"https://api.linkedin.com/v2/socialActions/{share_urn}"
    stats = requests.get(stats_url, headers=headers).json()

    print("Post:", share_urn)
    print("Likes:", stats.get("likesSummary", {}).get("totalLikes"))
    print("Comments:", stats.get("commentsSummary", {}).get("totalComments"))
    print("------")

---

 6. OAuth 2.0 Authentication Flow

You must implement OAuth:

Step 1: Authorization URL

https://www.linkedin.com/oauth/v2/authorization

Params:

response_type=code
client_id=YOUR_CLIENT_ID
redirect_uri=YOUR_REDIRECT_URI
scope=r_organization_social

---

Step 2: Get Access Token

POST https://www.linkedin.com/oauth/v2/accessToken

---

 7. If You Are NOT Approved

👉 This is where most developers get stuck.

You will face:

• 403 Unauthorized

• Missing permissions

• Empty responses

---

 8. Alternative Approaches (Realistic Options)

Option 1: Use Official Partners

Tools like:

• Hootsuite

• Sprout Social

(They already have LinkedIn approval)

---

Option 2: Web Scraping (NOT Recommended)

• Violates LinkedIn ToS

• Risk of IP ban / legal issues

---

Option 3: Manual Export

From LinkedIn Page Admin:

• Analytics → Export data

Good for:

• Reports

• Internal dashboards

---

Option 4: Use Zapier / Integrations

• Limited automation

• No deep analytics

---

9. Best Strategy (Practical Advice)

If you're an individual developer:

Chances of approval = LOW

Better approach:

• Build system API-ready

• Use mock/sample data

• Apply later with:

  • Business website

  • Real product demo

---

10. Data You Can Access Without Approval

Basic APIs allow:

• Profile data

• Limited sharing

But NOT:

• Company analytics

• Engagement metrics