LinkedIn statistics look a little different than they do for some of the other social networks. It’s not the biggest social network, or the one with the largest reach. Some of the numbers are smaller. At first glance, they may not seem as impressive for marketers looking to make a big impression.

But the 38 LinkedIn stats below prove that theory wrong. They show that this business-oriented network is in fact a must for marketers of both B2B and B2C products and services.

When you understand the ways both LinkedIn members and other brands use this network, you gain insights into how you can better incorporate LinkedIn into your social marketing plan for 2021.

General LinkedIn statistics

1. LinkedIn turns 18 years old in 2021

The network officially launched on May 5, 2003: nine months before Facebook launched at Harvard. LinkedIn is the oldest of the major social networks still in use today.

2. LinkedIn has 33 offices and 15,800 employees

Those offices are located in more than 30 cities worldwide, including nine in the United States.

3. LinkedIn is available in 24 languages

This allows many global users to access the network in their native language.

4. Remote jobs on LinkedIn increased 2.5x from March to October 2020

And 15% of all job applications in the U.S. went to remote jobs in November 2020. These LinkedIn stats capture how the way we work changed in 2020.

With more business decision makers and potential new hires working from home, online connections have become increasingly important for business this year.

5. LinkedIn is the most trusted social network in the U.S.

73% of social media users at least somewhat agree that LinkedIn protects their privacy and data. Compare that to just 53% for Facebook.

LinkedIn user stats

6. LinkedIn has 722 million members

To put that number in context, Instagram currently has 1 billion users, and Facebook has 2.74 billion. It’s not the largest of the social networks, but with a specific business focus, it’s an audience worth noticing.

7. 57% of LinkedIn users are men, and 43% are women

Men significantly outnumber women on LinkedIn overall, but you’ll need to do some research to understand the makeup of your specific LinkedIn audience.

Note that LinkedIn does not report any genders other than male or female.

8. 76% of LinkedIn’s users are outside the U.S.

While the U.S. is LinkedIn’s biggest market at 174M users, the network has gained traction around the world.

LinkedIn’s members live in more than 200 countries. This includes 163 million users in Europe (including the UK), 196 million in Asia Pacific and 107 million in Latin America.

Source: LinkedIn

9. 27.1% of all Internet users in Canada use LinkedIn each month

And 44% of all Internet users in Canada have an account on this social platform. That’s lower than Facebook (83%) and Instagram (51%), but higher than Twitter (42%) and Pinterest (40%).

Source: eMarketer

LinkedIn reports a total of 17 million users in Canada.

10. 59.9% of LinkedIn’s users are between 25 and 34 years old

It’s not a surprise that more than half of LinkedIn users are in the age group that is starting and growing their careers. It’s a professional network, after all.

Source: Hootsuite & We Are Social

This is an important group for brands: 41% of older millennials—aged 26 to 35—have decision-making responsibilities.

11. 40% of LinkedIn users change their job, company, or industry every 4 years

The potential market for your product is always shifting. Ad targeting is good, but targeting your ads too narrowly means you miss out on potential future decision makers.

12. Bill Gates penned 50% of the 10 most engaging LinkedIn articles in November 2020

In fact, Gates often appears in the list of most engaging articles shared monthly in the LinkedIn Water Cooler Series. Yes, he benefits from name recognition. But he’s also known for tapping into the issues people care about right now.

Why should marketers care about Bill Gates’ success on LinkedIn? It’s a good opportunity to model success. Take a look at some of his content to see what you can learn from his approach.

LinkedIn usage stats

13. 40 million people use LinkedIn to search for jobs each week

If your company is hiring, your LinkedIn Page can be a key source of potential new employees.

When hiring managers can’t screen potential new hires in person, tools like LinkedIn are even more important. And 81% of talent professionals say that virtual recruiting will continue when the pandemic is over.

14. 3 people are hired through LinkedIn every minute

If that last LinkedIn stat didn’t convince you it’s worth having a solid presence on this network, this one should. Any company planning to hire new employees in 2021 needs a polished LinkedIn Page.

15. LinkedIn saw a 55% increase in conversations among connections in 2020

That’s a year-over-year calculation for Q1 of the 2021 fiscal year. With connections unable to meet in person, they’re messaging each other more than ever on this business social network.

16. Content creation on LinkedIn increased 60% in 2020

Companies and individual LinkedIn members have ramped up their LinkedIn content to stay in touch with professional contacts and colleagues in this unprecedented year.

(Phew, we made it all the way to stat 16 before saying “unprecedented.”)

17. LinkedIn Live streams increased by 437% in 2020

That’s a year-over-year calculation for October 2020.

LinkedIn Live launched in February 2019 but really took off during this year of finding alternate ways to connect. The number of LinkedIn Live streams increased 89% from March to June alone.

18. 57% of LinkedIn’s traffic is mobile

This percentage hasn’t changed since 2018, so take it with a grain of salt.

However, it makes sense that LinkedIn’s user base would be more likely to use the network from a computer, since they may be browsing during working hours, or for work purposes.

19. LinkedIn has 15x more content impressions than job postings

Nine billion content impressions, to be precise.

LinkedIn has transitioned from being “just” a recruitment platform to being a professional network where people educate and inform themselves and learn about other companies in their industry.

20. 30% of a company’s engagement on LinkedIn comes from employees

This makes a lot of sense: your company’s employees are the people who care most about seeing your brand succeed.

Boosting brand reputation via employee advocacy is a winning strategy for companies that develop a comprehensive program.

21. Employees are 14x more likely to share content from their employers than other types of content on LinkedIn

This reinforces the LinkedIn stat above. Your employees are an important part of your LinkedIn marketing strategy.

If you’re not sure where to get started on employee advocacy, check out Hootsuite Amplify.

22. LinkedIn posts with images get 2x higher engagement

Larger images do even better, with 38% higher click-through rates than other images. LinkedIn recommends 1200 x 627 pixels.

Not sure what kinds of images to post with your LinkedIn updates? Check out these free stock photo sites.

23. LinkedIn users are 20x more likely to re-share a video post

Video is the most re-shared form of content on LinkedIn. If you want other LinkedIn members to help spread your message for you, video is the way to go.

LinkedIn advertising statistics

24. An ad on LinkedIn can reach 13% of the world’s population

That is, 13% of people over the age of thirteen. While this isn’t the highest reach among social networks, LinkedIn has the advantage of a self-selected user-base that cares about their work.

25. LinkedIn’s ad reach grew by 25 million people in Q4 2020

That’s a 3.5% increase from Q3.

26. LinkedIn ads offer more than 200 targeting characteristics

From job experience to education to firm industry and size to interests, there are plenty of ways to make sure your ad matches the right audience.

27. Ad exposure on LinkedIn can increase purchase intent by 33%

As we said earlier, LinkedIn is not just about recruiting anymore. Ads can boost purchase intent, leading to more sales down the road.

LinkedIn business statistics

28. 4 out of 5 people on LinkedIn “drive business decisions”

The platform’s chief selling point for marketers is its ability to target an audience by their job, not just their demographics.

This allows B2B marketers in particular to reach the people who make the buying decisions.

29. There are 61 million “senior-level influencers” on LinkedIn

These are not influencers in the sense of influencer marketing. Instead, they are top decision makers or decision impactors within organizations.

30. 55 million companies are on LinkedIn

It’s no wonder, as this network allows brands to reach both consumers and B2B prospects, as well as new hires.

31. LinkedIn has more than 10,000 B2B software Product Pages

Product Pages are a new LinkedIn feature for 2020. Use them to highlight specific products with ratings and reviews, generate leads, and incorporate custom call-to-action buttons.

32. 96% of B2B content marketers use LinkedIn for organic social marketing

This makes LinkedIn the top network for B2B content marketers, followed by Twitter and Facebook (82% each).

This is not surprising, given that LinkedIn offers a context in which people expect and seek out business-related content.

Source: Content Marketing Institute

33. 80% of B2B content marketers use LinkedIn ads

It’s not a shock that the top organic social network for B2B marketers is also the top paid social network. Facebook comes in next at 67%, followed by Twitter at 27%.

If you’re new to using paid features on LinkedIn, we’ve got a whole guide to LinkedIn ads to get you started.

34. 33% of B2B decision makers use LinkedIn to research purchases

LinkedIn ranks behind Facebook and Instagram for B2B purchase research, but ahead of Twitter and Pinterest.

But remember from the LinkedIn stats above that LinkedIn reaches some of the top decision makers out there, so those who do use it for purchase research represent a very valuable audience.

35. Brands get 7x more reactions and 24x more comments on LinkedIn Live streams than regular video

We already saw that LinkedIn video posts get more engagement than regular posts. But Live video takes things up a further notch, with impressively high engagement levels, especially for comments.

That high comment rate shows people are engaged during the live video stream and waiting to interact with the participants.

36. Companies that post weekly on LinkedIn see a 2x higher engagement rate

Don’t think you can just let your LinkedIn Company Page sit there idle. You need to regularly share updates if you want to maintain a high engagement rate on LinkedIn. The good news is you only need to post once a week to achieve that higher engagement level.

Our research shows that the best day to post on LinkedIn is Wednesday for B2B brands, or Monday and Wednesday for B2C brands.

37. Companies with a complete, active LinkedIn Page see 5x more page views

They also get 7x more impressions per follower and 11x more clicks per follower. Like the LinkedIn company page statistic above, this shows the value of keeping your LinkedIn page up-to-date and active.

38. More than half of U.S. marketers will use LinkedIn in 2021

This is the first year that LinkedIn will pass the 50% milestone, according to eMarketer estimates.

Source: eMarketer

Note that this specifically excludes companies using LinkedIn only for recruiting purposes. This represents marketing efforts on LinkedIn. If you’re not marketing on this network, you’ll be in the minority by the end of this year.

Easily manage your LinkedIn Page alongside your other social channels using Hootsuite. From a single platform you can schedule and share content—including video—engage your network, and boost top-performing content. Try it today.

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