LinkedIn, grow your business

LinkedIn by the Numbers to Grow Your Business

LinkedIn is often considered “unworthy” for growing a business. It’s not as “sexy” as Twitter or as “friendly” as Facebook. But LinkedIn is still made up of people. And it’s designed to help those people do business with other people interested in doing business. Which means, unlike Facebook where most people are interested in cute cat videos, LinkedIn is for people ready to buy, sell or deal.

Whether you’re a newbie or an experienced LinkedIn connecter, here are some LinkedIn numbers to keep in mind as you ponder your LinkedIn strategy.

Number 3 of the “big 3”

The “big 3” refer to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. LinkedIn comes in third for average usage but beats the other two when it comes to business to business (B2B) effectiveness. The beauty of LinkedIn is you are often dealing with the decision maker and not the gatekeeper. Any salesperson who’s sat in an office staring at the administrative assistant understands why this is so important.

Over 660 million accounts

That sounds like a lot, but they aren’t all active. Monthly active users are just under half of that at 310 million. And just around half of active users – 165 million – are in the U.S. Among those accounts, it’s interesting to note every Fortune 500 company has a representative with a profile. Oftentimes, it’s the CEO themselves. See above as to why this is noteworthy.

Average regular user has 400 connections

For comparison sake, 348 is the average number of Facebook ‘friends.’ Fifty-four is about how many LinkedIn connections you need before you start seeing any benefit. Want to get the gold? Get to 100 connections. The “gold” is the power of your connection’s connections. LinkedIn calls them your 2nd connections. They are how you grow your referral stream and expand your network. Here are some tips on how to use LinkedIn as a networking tool.

LinkedIn gains a new member every 2 seconds

High School students and college graduates are the biggest driver of this but there are other professionals who are just now joining LinkedIn. Unfortunately, many of those professionals are job seeking. Not to burst your bubble but job seeking is not as simple as creating a LinkedIn profile. Hiring is still about relationships and connectivity. A couple of years ago I worked with someone who had over 1700 connections. When he was abruptly downsized, he was excited about all his connections helping him land a job. It was harder than he anticipated. Beyond accepting connection requests, he hadn’t been deliberate about engaging with his connections. He didn’t post or share anything and didn’t acknowledge anniversaries or birthdays. It felt disingenuous when he did come looking for their help.

Average user spends 17 minutes a month on LinkedIn

In just 17 minutes a month you can do a lot. To really reap the rewards, spend 10 minutes a day. Start by liking, commenting, and acknowledging your connections birthdays, anniversaries and job changes. If 17 minutes a month is average, imagine how 10 minutes a day (or even 10 minutes a week) will skyrocket your LinkedIn impact! Start by connecting with me.

Want more numbers about LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is a powerful tool to grow your business. And one you can’t ignore anymore. Best part? You can manage it over your morning cup of coffee!

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