In the diverse universe of social networks, trends are always good to be observed. And this is even truer for professionals: being ready for any news and change is the best way to confirm one’s expertise.
[Article published on 30/09/2020 and uploaded on 01/08/2024 with new information, editor’s note.]
Seems like yesterday that Google Plus should have signed Big G’s win in the competitive field of social media. And yet, we all know how it ended up.
Nothing like the destiny of TikTok, which, just a few years made so much noise around itself that it is now impossible to ignore its existence and influence. Like it or not, numbers are all on its side and, as a consequence, its impact on companies and even on global geopolitics is now undeniable. Ask Donald Trump, just to name one.
Just the same way, LinkedIn too is experiencing a staggering growth, that does not seem to stop.
According to Statista Microsoft’s social network is going to grow far more even than predictions (source: https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1147197/linkedin-users-in-the-world).
LinkedIn numbers
There are 5 billion active profiles on social media, with an increase of 5,6%, compared to last year (source: https://wearesocial.com/us/blog/2024/07/digital-2024-july-global-statshot-report/).
LinkedIn is indisputably the largest professional network in the world, with more than 1 billion users around the world. (source: https://blog.hootsuite.com/linkedin-statistics-business/)
Its professional networking possibilities make the platform suitable for any kind of business: from paper goods to engineering, from digital agencies to food industry, anyone gets everyday more chances to connect.
As published in WeAreSocial and HootSuite‘s Digital Report 2020, LinkedIn is now growing fast in many countries, reaching the specific audience of experts and B2B business (source: https://wearesocial.com/digital-2020).
52,2% of all LinkedIn users is male, while 47,5% is female. Interesting to notice how women usually apply for jobs 20% less than males, which mirrors a lower presence of females in the job market, both on social media and in real life.
As to the age of users worldwide, a number of LinkedIn users – 60%, to be precise – is between 25 and 34 years old. People over the age of 55 are only 2,9% of all users, followed by 21,7% of 18-24 years old users.
Success among young people
And right among people who are between 18 and 24 years old, LinkedIn is gaining more success, and more rapidly. It’s no coincidence then that, among job offers, it is everyday more frequent to find internships, vocational trainings and post-graduate classes.
Just to give you an idea, half of all US graduates are LinkedIn users (source: https://digiexe.com/it/blog/linkedin-statistics/).
Being more familiar with social networks, and the increasing digitalization of Gen Z, makes younger users approaching the job market, such as newly graduates, the perfect audience for LinkedIn.
Not only is the social network popular among people seeking for new jobs, but also for companies: more than 58 million listed companies are already on the platform. (source: https://blog.waalaxy.com/it/statistiche-linkedin/)
In fact, LinkedIn primary goal – such as any other social network’s – is basically to confirm and reinforce online presence, allowing people (and companies), in this case, to show themselves as professional as possible. Plus, if it is easier to reach a company’s buyer persona on Facebook or Instagram, it is a bit more complicated when it comes to finding the most suitable professional.
And here comes LikedIn into play: being specifically designed for jobs and careers, it makes it much easier for companies to get in touch with the perfect professional.
That is why today registered companies are posting over 20 million job offers on the platform. (source: https://digiexe.com/it/blog/linkedin-statistics/)
Traffic and devices
Currently, the most part of online surfing happens on smartphones and other mobile devices, and LinkedIn is no exception: about 60% of its traffic is mobile sourced (source: https://digiexe.com/it/blog/linkedin-statistics/).
Why is LinkedIn so appreciated by users?
- Content and information are, for the most part, of high quality and far better than other social media’s;
- It is the link between experts and companies, through which they both can show a highly professional profile;
- It is a great tool for branding, for both people and businesses, thanks to the possibility of displaying education, job experience and soft and hard skills (which, furthermore, can be confirmed by other users);
- Skill-evaluation tests are of great use to stand out among professionals;
- It is a great place where seeking and finding new job opportunities, which gives users a real benefit , primarily offline.
LinkedIn and Advertising
Academic background and, more in general, the good or even high cultural level of the audience, is one of the key factors to be considered while planning an advertising campaign.
LinkedIn does have a great potential in respect to advertising: latest statistics show that more than 660 million people can be targeted through specific advertising.
Among such 660 million, United States are the largest audience with about 160 million users (24% of all users).
Another fact to take into account is the enormous role that social media play when it comes to buying decisions.
It is assessed that 71% of buyers are being influenced by social media when deciding to purchase products or services (source: https://www.invespcro.com/blog/social-media-influences-purchase-decisions/)
And LinkedIn makes no exception: 52% of buyers describe it as the most influent channel during the search.
Talking numbers, Statista refers that LinkedIn will gain 7,82 billion dollars of advertising revenues in 2025, growing of 32,4% up to 10,35 billion dollars in 2027 (source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/275933/linkedins-advertising-revenue/)
And it’s not by chance that LinkedIn advertising revenues and related forecasts are strongly growing.In this very historical moment in which, also because of economic implications due to the pandemic, an increasingly high number of people is searching for new job opportunities. So, as the audience increases, it makes even more sense to invest on advertising on LinkedIn.
In a world such as social media’s in which entertainment is king, LinkedIn seems to be the exception that proves the rule: being ready for such a change is one of the most exciting challenges of the near future, if not of the present.
