Driving B2B growth is becoming more challenging and complex as the digital landscape and customer behaviors evolve. Marketers need to show up for their audiences across an ever-expanding universe of channels and platforms. Through it all, the world’s largest online professional networking hub remains an essential cornerstone. LinkedIn is the place to B2B.
The global community of members on LinkedIn recently surpassed 1 billion, as the professional world continues to congregate online for content, conversations and connection. Is your brand getting in on the action? To help you reach the right people and drive engagement, LinkedIn is relentlessly focused on developing new tools, technologies and features for marketers.
Read on for a rundown of the latest stats around LinkedIn usage, engagement and opportunities. Here’s how we’re partnering with brands to fuel growth.
Growth on LinkedIn, in a Nutshell
- As of March 2024, 67 million companies have a LinkedIn Page. (LinkedIn internal data)
- Almost two-third of marketing leaders (65%) say they expect their usage of LinkedIn to grow in the coming year. (B2B Marketing Benchmark 2023)
- LinkedIn’s revenue as a business surpassed $15 billion for the first time in Q4 FY23. (LinkedIn internal data)
- 2.7 million of Pages post at least weekly.
- The LinkedIn Pages that post weekly have 5.6x more followers than Pages that post monthly, and their following grows 7x faster than Pages that post monthly.
- LinkedIn members are viewing 22% more Feed Updates in 2022 YoY. (LinkedIn internal data)
- LinkedIn members are having 25% more public conversations on LinkedIn YoY. (LinkedIn internal data)
- Between June 2020 and June 2022, LinkedIn members shared 25% more public content YoY. (LinkedIn internal data)
- LinkedIn members are scheduling 176% more LinkedIn Live events YoY. (LinkedIn internal data)
- There is a 75% increase in the number of spontaneous LinkedIn Live events YoY. (LinkedIn internal data)
- LinkedIn members created 150% more annual virtual events in 2021 than they did in 2020, and 231% more members attended these events. (LinkedIn internal data)
They say a rising tide lifts all boats, and that rings true as LinkedIn’s success is buoyed by that of our customers, who constantly inspire us with the ways they creatively use the platform’s marketing and advertising tools to connect and engage with members.
If you haven’t yet caught the wave, there’s still time to hop aboard.
As your organization makes key decisions about where and how to invest confidently for maximum growth and ROI, here is an evidence-based case for why LinkedIn should be a strategic priority in your plans for 2024, 2025 and beyond.
Why B2B Companies Should Lean on LinkedIn Right Now
At a time when companies of all types need to invest where it counts most, the numbers make a strong case for LinkedIn: It works, it’s trusted and it spans the breadth of B2B audience segments.
LinkedIn is where the business world connects – and it’s connecting like never before
- LinkedIn is inhabited by 1+ billion members in more than 200 countries and territories. (LinkedIn internal data)
- 65 million people use LinkedIn to search for jobs every week. (LinkedIn internal data)
- There are more than 41,000 professional skills listed on LinkedIn member profiles. (LinkedIn internal data)
- 28 million people have added #OpenToWork frames to their profiles, signaling that they are open to opportunities from talent-seeking brands. (LinkedIn internal data)
- Marketers can access up to 9x more monthly touchpoints for LinkedIn members who are more active on the LinkedIn Audience Network. (January 2022)
- LinkedIn Conversation Ads drive 4x higher open rates and 4x higher engagement rates than traditional email and twice the engagement as Message Ads. (April 2022)
- LinkedIn Sponsored Messaging drives twice as high open and engagement rates as traditional email. (April 2022)
- After their ads were seen on LinkedIn, brands experienced an average of 10 to 15% lift in short-term ad performance. (LinkedIn Internal data)
- 40% of LinkedIn visitors engage with a Page organically every week. (LinkedIn internal data)
- LinkedIn members interact with LinkedIn Pages more than 2 billion times per month. (LinkedIn internal data)
- There are more than 36,000 newsletters actively published on LinkedIn, including newsletters from influencers like Melinda Gates, Ariana Huffington, and Richard Branson, as well as publishers like The Economist. As of April 2022, 29 million unique people were subscribed to at least one LinkedIn newsletter. (LinkedIn internal Data)
As the world’s largest online professional network, LinkedIn is inherently B2B-centric. It’s where professional relationships are forged, careers are developed and business is done. As a result, the platform is nearly ubiquitous as a content marketing channel for B2B marketers, used by 96% for this purpose according to Content Marketing Institute's 2023 research.
The same research from CMI found that LinkedIn is easily the most popular platform for paid social media in B2B, with 89% of respondents describing these efforts as extremely, very or somewhat effective. More recent data from CMI reveals that 84% of B2B marketers cite LinkedIn as the platform that provides most value to their organization.
A trusted and professional brand environment
- LinkedIn has captured at least 40% of all B2B display ad spending since 2021. (eMarketer)
- LinkedIn is the most used social platform for B2B marketing, named by 80% of B2B leaders. (B2B Marketing Benchmark 2023)
- 72% of B2B content marketers said they increased their use of LinkedIn as an organic marketing platform over the past 12 months. (Content Marketing Institute, October 2023)
- 48% of companies on LinkedIn now rely on skills filters to identify candidates, as job candidates and employers alike prioritize skills to more efficiently find and source work. (LinkedIn internal data)
- Brands were perceived to be “more professional” (92%), "more intelligent" (74%), “higher quality” (59%), and “more respectable” (59%) when their ad was seen on the LinkedIn platform. (Nielsen study)
- LinkedIn Ads were more effective at driving Brand Lift than other top platforms for both B2B and B2C brands. (Nielsen study)
We’re living in a time where accurate and credible information has never been more valuable, nor harder to find. Trust is in peril, the business landscape is in flux, and the stakes are high. LinkedIn offers a setting where professionals and businesses alike can ground themselves and find reliable insight.
Credible across verticals and industries
- In technology, LinkedIn generated 2-5x higher Return On Ad Spend than other social media platforms (Analytic Partners Study)
- In financial services, LinkedIn generated 7x more incremental customer sign-ups than display media (Analytic Partners Study)
- In education, LinkedIn was 2-4x as effective as other display media (Analytic Partners Study)
The 1 billion members on LinkedIn span a vast array of professions, interests, functions and career paths. Best of all, these details are readily available through profile information and content engagements, enabling marketers to understand who they should be trying to reach, and what matters to them.
The industry-specific stats above show that B2B marketers are tapping into this potential, driving fantastic results by zeroing in with the right members and resonating through on-point creative.
You can do the same. Find your audience on LinkedIn, learn about them and achieve your marketing objectives – whatever they might be. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!
If you’re ready to get rolling, log into Campaign Manager and whip up something great.