LinkedIn isn’t going anywhere. If other social networking platforms emerge, even those catering to B2B professionals, it’s unlikely any will displace LinkedIn’s network size.
As a platform for corporate leaders to put a human face to the ideas and philosophies that guide their brands, there’s still no more popular place online. Whether your followers number in the single digits or the millions, it’s the ideal platform for a variety of communication strategies, from thought leadership to messages about your business and brands that might not otherwise be discovered.
If you haven’t already, here are a few reasons why it’s not too late to join LinkedIn.
A forum for authentic messaging
People join social media platforms to be social, not to be marketed to. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter/X often present a stark contrast between posts from familiar friends and unfamiliar brands. LinkedIn, by nature, strikes a more authentic balance, since both promoted and unpromoted posts cater to career-focused professionals.
For those interested in B2B marketing, this creates a unique opportunity. LinkedIn offers corporate leaders a place to share news, represent their company’s values, and meet like-minded individuals—all with a human face attached. Whether via written or visual content, it’s a great forum for authentic messaging, without the veneer of marketing that others might gloss over when it’s not attached to a human face.
Regardless of whether your LinkedIn account meets its KPIs―or even has any—it’s a place to experiment, particularly for those with few followers. For those who have not published blogs or vlogs before, LinkedIn allows its users to find modes of communication that suit their style.
A pathway to making your brand more visible
While much of the above might apply to other social-networking platforms, LinkedIn’s network reach is larger. As of this spring, LinkedIn boasts more than 1.15 billion monthly active users, making it the world’s largest professional networking platform. Its base of active monthly users is up to 310 million and continues to grow, adding roughly two new members every second to reinforce its global influence.
For individuals, LinkedIn offers unparalleled reach for job seekers, freelancers, and professionals looking to build their personal brand. More than 140 job applications are submitted every second, and users with complete profiles are 40 times more likely to receive opportunities. The platform’s algorithm prioritizes engagement, meaning consistent activity can expand visibility far beyond one’s immediate network.
For businesses, LinkedIn is a powerful marketing and recruitment tool. More than 65 million decision-makers use the platform, and 97% of B2B marketers leverage it for lead generation. Company pages with regular content see twice the engagement, and LinkedIn Ads can precisely target professionals by industry, job title, and company size.
Other mediums offer corporate leaders and rank-and-file employees opportunities to share their thoughts about their brand or its industry writ large—a native blog on the company website, a newsletter for email subscribers, or even an independent blogging platform. Compared to LinkedIn, however, these forums are less likely to catch the attention of anyone previously unaware of your company and the work it’s doing.
Beyond the numbers, LinkedIn networks and groups offer targeted audiences because they’re organized around specific industries. Members can engage with others doing similar work, making it an ideal place to form relationships with potential B2B clients and customers. These are especially useful networking strategies for startups with little to no digital footprint. Even seasoned industry leaders looking for a forum to share their thoughts can use LinkedIn as a pathway to make their brand more visible or to connect with others they might do business with in the future.
External communications
LinkedIn exposes leaders to people whose resumes and ideas make them attractive hires. When adding like-minded people to your network, both recruiters and job seekers might discover areas of overlap between their wants and others’ needs. For both parties, having a robust LinkedIn profile can save a lot of time and effort.
Some corporate leaders might welcome the chance to promote your company as a good place to work through PR and messaging. If someone on Glassdoor wrote a terrible review of your company, and you don’t have a presence on LinkedIn, what are others left to conclude? Having a personal or corporate LinkedIn page can help combat negativity, correct misinformation, or fill a void of information. If your business doesn’t have a LinkedIn page, people who have never done business with you might wonder if your company is legitimate.
That’s why it’s never too late to join the site. As a forum for ideas, LinkedIn serves a variety of purposes—particularly for businesses and corporate leaders with a small or nonexistent digital footprint. Look around, see what content speaks to you, what others are doing in your space, and dive in.
Meagan Saxton is a social media specialist at ddm marketing + communications. She has several years of experience creating content and managing social media accounts for healthcare, higher education, and financial services organizations.
Photo courtesy Tobias Dziuba via Pezels