Latest Microsoft Results Show LinkedIn Is Flying

Once largely the domain of annoying recruiters, ninjas and cheesy business development people, LinkedIn has within the past 24 months finally started to come good.

17 years after launching.

According to Microsoft's latest quarterly results, released last week, LinkedIn user sessions are up 30% year on year, fuelled by record levels of engagement in the feed and content shared across the platform.

Now with 610 million registered users on the platform and time-on-site improving monthly, LinkedIn is a channel which is front and centre for many marketers in 2019.

With a new LinkedIn Page rolled out recently, featuring a  host of content marketing updates, LinkedIn is more user-friendly and feature-rich than ever before.

Likewise, its ad products are regularly improving within LinkedIn, and its greater tie-in with the revamped Microsoft Audience Network offers good upside for adventurous advertisers in 2019.

LinkedIn Will Move Beyond Just Business To Business

As is often the way, LinkedIn is likely to pique the interest of some verticals in 2019 more than others, at a minimum in the following areas:

• Enterprise verticals
• Corporate communications
• Public affairs
• Financial services
• Employer branding
• Personal branding

Like many social channels, LinkedIn suffers from the stigma of being a business to business (B2B) play only. Much like Facebook suffered previously, and Instagram suffers now, that they are pure business to consumer (B2C) plays.

Sadly, as a legacy of out-dated media planning, many communicators fail to realise that no network is really B2B or B2C, rather they are just an ‘interest’ thing. Facebook is awash with highly successful B2B accounts/content, and in time LinkedIn will be the same for B2C.

People like what they like, irrespective of channel.

Some New LinkedIn Numbers Worth A Look  

Although LinkedIn claims 610 million registered users, that does not mean there are 610 million active users.

Since LinkedIn is part of Microsoft, it does not need to disclose performance data in the same way that other networks do. Its key metrics often get buried with Microsoft’s broader business data.

Not dissimilar to how Google (i.e. Alphabet) has been reluctant to break out YouTube’s independent performance data. Something analysts were hoping for this week, but, alas, we didn’t really get. Again.

However, in a comprehensive, new LinkedIn white paper released this week the platform sheds a bit more light on user behaviour.

Here are SMK’s top five takeaways:

1. 40% of LinkedIn members visit daily
   • Implies 244 million daily active users (DAUs)
   • Puts LinkedIn just ahead of Snapchat, Pinterest and probably Twitter
2. Comments, Likes and shares up 60% yoy
3. 45% of LinkedIn article readers are in upper-level positions (managers, Directors and C-Level)
4. 130k LinkedIn articles created weekly
5. Feed views up 60% yoy

It just goes to show, good things do come to those who wait.

You can download LinkedIn’s latest paper here.