First off, let me start off by saying WELCOME to another article by The Online Genius, your one-stop-shop for everything related to the online business world.
In this article, we will break down whether or not it is really beneficial to have a LinkedIn account in 2020! So if you’re still on the fence about taking that first step and creating that LinkedIn account read this article to the end.
Now let’s get straight to business!
Table of Contents
The History of LinkedIn
Before we dive into whether or not having a LinkedIn Account is really beneficial to your professional life, let’s take a look at the history of LinkedIn from where it began to where it is now.
On May 5th, 2003 Ried Hoffman launched LinkedIn out of his garage! Just kidding, it was his living room but nevertheless LinkedIn was born. It was just one month after full operation and launch mode that LinkedIn reached a total of 4,500 members in the network!
This was no surprise as Reid had an amazing track record with being on the board of Google, E bay and PayPal which made the first round of funding so much easier.
At the start of 2004 membership skyrocketed to over 1.2 million! This was thanks to the new features LinkedIn was implementing making it more appealing.
In 2005 membership was now at 4.1 million and this was the time paid subscriptions were implemented.
In 2006 LinkedIn now had over 5 million members and it was in this great year LinkedIn got a profit!
At the start of 2007 LinkedIn had reached over 17 million members.
In 2008 LinkedIn opened both French and Spanish versions of the platform to a now 33 million members.
In 2009 LinkedIn 55 million members, it was at this time that Jeff Weiner, the new President, and CEO were introduced.
In 2010 LinkedIn soared to over 85 million members and reached over 1000 employees.
In 2011 LinkedIn boasted of over 135 million members with a listing on the New York Stock Exchange of $45 per share.
It was in 2012 that the whole interface changed under the management of Weiner as he was focused on making LinkedIn simpler in order to provide steady growth. Membership was now at 186 million at the start of 2012.
In 2013 LinkedIn celebrated 10 years of existence with over 225 million international users!
In 2014 LinkedIn reach over 2000 + full-time employees with offices in 27 cities! S Imply incredibly.
Fast forward to June 13th, 2016 Microsoft acquired LinkedIn for $196 a share, making it the largest acquisition made by Microsoft to date!
Today LinkedIn has over 15,000 employees with over 630 million members!
The Benefits Of LinkedIn
Yes, I know, we haven’t even answered the question we asked. So is having a LinkedIn account really worth it in 2020? Well, the short answer is YES. Why is it then still worth it and relevant in 2020? Keep reading as we break down the benefits of being apart of the world’s largest professional network. Here we go!
- Valuable Connections – So we’re starting with the obvious, being that LinkedIn is the biggest network for professionals it’s no secret that once you’re on this platform you will have access to some of the world’s top CEOs and executives. Regardless of what industry you’re in the value of being able to connect with the leaders in your field is INCREDIBLE! So if you’re looking for a job or trying to find your ideal client LinkedIn is the platform for you.
- B2B Optimised – LinkedIn was made specifically for business professionals so it’s expected that it would be fully B2B oriented. So if you’re in the Business To Business space then you would definitely be able to use LinkedIn to your advantage, for example, let’s say you own a marketing agency and you’re looking for your next real estate client, LinkedIn makes it incredibly easy to get in touch and connect with them. This makes LinkedIn one of the best platforms for organic lead generation.
- Job Opportunities – There are countless HR professionals and Job Recruiters on LinkedIn looking for their next applicant, by simply connecting with these professionals and remaining active and keeping track of their activity I’m almost 110% certain a job opportunity would open for you. It also works vice versa, if you own a company that is looking for new, qualified and excellent employees, simply just keep a list of open jobs attached to your company’s page. Oh yeah, I nearly forgot, LinkedIn is an international platform so your profile will be seen by industry leaders all over the world.
- Company and Competitor research – Alright, so we know that most professionals, executives, HR professionals, and CEOs are on LinkedIn. LinkedIn also has a business setting where company pages can be set up. This gives the job seeker the opportunity to research the company they are interested in applying to before they make that leap. It also works perfectly if you’re doing market research on your competitors and you want to see what they’re up to and want to see what techniques they’re using to grow their LinkedIn network.
The Cons of having a LinkedIn account
Okay, we must admit, having a LinkedIn account is not all sunshine and rainbows despite the benefits outweighing the negatives, here we have a list of the cons we have come across through years of LinkedIn experience. Let’s get right into it.
- The paid packages can get quite pricey – The paid packages on LinkedIn are apart of LinkedIn Premium, give our article “Is LinkedIn Premium really worth it in 2020” a read for more details. Although some of the plans begin at just $29.00 per month, they can go as high as $150.00 USD per month. However, if used correctly, LinkedIn Premium can skyrocket your growth and place you in front of the right people at the right time. For more information on LinkedIn Premium click here.
- Lack of reach – This is a problem we have found a lot of people facing on the social platform, let’s say you have 2000+ connections, if you make a post, the chance of it reaching even an eighth of your network is incredibly low. However, the more interactions that post gets the more reach it will get so remember to always create valuable content with a call to actions!
How To Get the Most out of having a LinkedIn account
By now you should have a brief understanding of why having a LinkedIn account is a smart move regardless of whether you’re looking for a job or looking for clients. But how can you really make the most out of LinkedIn?
Well, firstly start by increasing your connection base, give our article “7 Amazing LinkedIn Tips To Get The Most Out Of LinkedIn 2020” a read. We outlined our best tips that when implemented correctly would take your profile to the next level.
In order to make the most out of LinkedIn, you have to be willing to put in the work in the front end to create a great profile in order to position yourself as a market leader on LinkedIn.
It’s critical that if you want to make the most out of LinkedIn that you have a plan in place. Create a plan stating who you plan to connect with, why you want to connect with them and how you’re going to add some value to their network. Remember that your network is your net worth so connect with people with the intention of growing your professional database.
Most importantly, stay CONSISTENT with your plan and you will begin to see results.
