"The majority of marketers (70%) think LinkedIn delivers a positive ROI for their organisation, according to an August 2023 Hootsuite survey," our analyst Minda Smiley remarked on a recent episode of our "Behind the Numbers" podcast. "That put LinkedIn ahead of Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube."
LinkedIn is not just for job postings. It has evolved into a platform that offers brand-safe engagement, smart audiences, and an expanding set of advertising options. Here's why you should be paying attention on LinkedIn.
1. Knowledge is shared there
While public sharing is declining on other platforms, "On LinkedIn, there's still a lot of public sharing happening and that's growing really rapidly," said our analyst Jasmine Enberg. Users shared 41% more content in spring 2023 than in the same period in 2021, according to LinkedIn.
That environment expands the chances for brands, leaders, and influencers to build important audiences.
2. It has a news-focused audience
According to Smiley, LinkedIn is focusing on news, while Facebook and X are turning away. According to Pew Research Centre, 60% of users receive news on a regular basis through the network.
"They have a pretty big editorial team, and … you can see curated news every day from LinkedIn," stated Smiley.
However, the type of news being shared is what truly raises the dialogue. "It's not necessarily hard news, but really people offering their takes and their perspectives on things that are going on in the world," Enberg stated.
3. Brand-safe and on topic
While interactions on other social media platforms can be poisonous, LinkedIn has evolved into a venue where people are not only professional, but also more engaged and communicative. "I've talked to so many marketers who just say people are just having more fun on LinkedIn," stated Smiley. "They're kind of treating it like how we used to treat Facebook back in the day, just sharing life updates."
According to SimilarWeb, the average time spent on LinkedIn each visit among US desktop and mobile users was approximately 8 minutes in March, an 11% increase over the previous three years.
Because users are connected to their coworkers and employers, they are more likely to act appropriately.
4. Expanded ad options
"LinkedIn itself has just become savvier for advertisers," Smiley stated. "They're introducing ad formats that I think are making the platform more attractive to advertisers." Among these new styles are Thought Leader advertising, which let businesses to promote posts from executives or users.
Though still overshadowed by Meta's share (74.5%), LinkedIn will earn 5.2% of US social ad revenues in 2024, totaling $4.51 billion.
"I think when we saw all the turmoil at X over the past couple of years, a lot of users moved over to LinkedIn, sometimes begrudgingly, and LinkedIn was able to pick up a lot of the business and news content that Twitter was known for," Enberg said.
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