What is LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is a professional social network that brings together people from different fields of work. Unlike Instagram or Facebook, where you are immediately bombarded with ads and pictures of babies, food and animals, LinkedIn is a network filled with inspiration and job opportunities.
LinkedIn used to be a method used when looking for a new job. Today, it is turning into a business platform where people share their stories, work achievements and know-how. Many are looking for new clients, employment or building a personal or company brand.
Who’s on LinkedIn?
Globally, up to 60% of LinkedIn users fall into the 25-34 age group. One in five users is American and one in ten is Indian.
Is your target group also on LinkedIn?
In general, marketers, traders, people from IT, HR, management, consulting companies, education and finance have the largest representation. That means it’s people who work with other people and with computers.
As such, LinkedIn is an ideal place for effective B2B marketing or a smart psychologist or physiotherapist.
At the same time, however, it is true that statistically, LinkedIn users have roughly twice the purchasing power compared to other social networks. These are people who work and have money.
Why create a LinkedIn account?
It is still not overcrowded
Even if you work in an industry that has a small presence on LinkedIn, or you’re one of the other CEOs or marketers, don’t be discouraged.
Anyone who wants to expand their network of contacts, is looking for a better job, wants to learn or inspire other smart people can register on LinkedIn. A smart professional with an active approach (through activity, commenting, writing posts and making contacts) can gain visibility quite quickly.
LinkedIn as one of the most trusted social networks
This platform is dominated by professional posts. People take much more care with them compared to posting on Facebook or Instagram. Of course, in their profiles they present not only themselves, but also their company or their employer.
At the same time, posts on private profiles of the most influential CEOs contain, in comparison to boring PR articles, a large chunk of humanity.
The algorithm favours organic reach
The LinkedIn algorithm is very advantageous, because the vast majority of posts are from people rather than companies.
A chance for companies to support the brand
For a company, LinkedIn is a place where it can find new employees or share job vacancies. However, this is far from its full use. LinkedIn is not the right hand of a recruiter, but a place where a company builds a brand and makes itself visible.
All business profiles are automatically public and, unlike private ones, have access to paid-for advertising.
What are the types of profiles on LinkedIn?
Free profile
If you’re just getting started with LinkedIn, the basic version is free and includes all the most important features. You establish contacts with new people, as well as those you know, and connect with each other. You can write blog posts, search and view profiles of other users, follow different groups or hashtags.
LinkedIn Premium
In addition to the free account, you can pay extra for one of the premium accounts. The cheapest premium account is LinkedIn Premium Career, with which:
- you can find out who viewed your profile. In the past, it covered data for the last three months, nowadays you can see the last 365 days.
- you can send 5 direct messages to people you are not currently connected with. If you get a reply, LinkedIn will refund you your message credit, if not, you only have four left.
- you have access to over 21,000 courses on LinkedIn.
Another broader package is LinkedIn Premium Business with which:
- you can search for new profiles more or less without limits,
- you can send up to 15 messages (InMails),
- you can see who is viewing your profile.
- You will gain access to more detailed data and market research.
The last two types of accounts are Sales Navigator and Recruiter, which comes with a special user interface in English. These are primarily used for recruiting new people and advanced filtering of candidates. The number of sent messages also increases to 20-30.
There are also Recruiter Professional Service and Recruiter Corporate add-ons, which we will not cover in depth in this article. They are primarily used by HR professionals for branding rather than by individuals and companies.
What is the price for LinkedIn Premium?
| Premium account type | Price per month including VAT* |
| Career | €29.74 |
| Business | €33.71 |
| Sales Navigator Core | €87.26 |
| Recruiter Lite | €123.96 |
*the listed prices apply to monthly payments, as with an annual subscription the prices are slightly lower.
Why should you set up a business page on LinkedIn?
The functionalities of company websites are constantly changing, and every year a lot of new things are added. As a business, you have a much better organic reach on LinkedIn compared to other social networks.
The only thing that determines the reach of posts is their quality and the size of the network of contacts and followers you build. Thanks to this, LinkedIn is also suitable for very small or single-person companies.
LinkedIn results also appear in Google searches, often towards the top, thereby improving your SEO.
At the same time, the profile also gets viewed by potential clients or employees. You can use paid advertising, but it is a bit more expensive compared to other social networks.
Proven LinkedIn strategies
The profile must be useful
A believable profile photo, a recognisable face – this is the absolute basis. LinkedIn is about people, and your face needs to be clear – even on a mobile device. The combination of cover photo and profile photo should immediately communicate who you are and what you do.
Always set the visibility of your profile photo in such a way that it is visible for people you don’t have in your network of contacts. In the basic information, state what you do, for whom, how and what benefits you bring.
Don’t forget to use the “Featured” section, where you can pin the best posts, such as podcasts, interviews or case studies.
In the “About me” section, write about yourself, but keep in mind that the reader will scan this section first, so structure the text, add a call to action and capitals. Adapt the text to whether you are writing from the perspective of the company or the employee.
Quality content attracts attention
‘Create quality content’ might sound like a cliché, but it is especially true when it comes to LinkedIn. Don’t promote a product or service. Instead, share values and inspire.
Content that’s tailored to your audience will attract people organically. And, you will avoid having to send boring anonymous messages without any prior interaction.
Keep adding posts, but don’t forget about nice photos. They should ideally be oriented vertically. Comment on other users’ posts, give them advice and build your expertise.
Are you a company? Engage your employees
Your employees are a treasure for LinkedIn company pages, because they can help you to gain additional contacts. Co-create content with them so that they are motivated to comment and share it, which will give the posts a much wider reach.
Don’t forget that each employee can invite 30 followers per month to the company page.
Publish regularly and at the right times
Post timing is key on LinkedIn. If you want to gain new followers, post when your audience is most active. For some brands, posting in the morning hours during business hours works well, for others it’s Sunday evenings.
Analyse the post via LinkedIn Analytics and watch how the engagement of the post develops over time. Notice how it grew and when it got the least attention.
If you publish regularly, you will learn how to improve your posts and create better ones over time. However, don’t forget about the unwritten rule – do not delete posts. Even those less successful ones. Once the last post is deleted, the next one will automatically have a lesser reach.
More customers and clients thanks to LinkedIn?
Boring profile and missing information? This is not how you get new leads. LinkedIn is still growing, but only a few people use it to its full potential.
Get in touch and together we will turn your profile or company page into a magnet for new customers.
