LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 800 million members. With its huge reach and engaged user base, it presents a major opportunity for individuals looking to build their personal brand and establish themselves as an authority in their industry. But can you really become an influencer on LinkedIn? Let’s break it down.
What is a LinkedIn influencer?
A LinkedIn influencer is an individual who has built up a large, engaged following on the platform and is seen as a thought leader in their field. They create content that provides valuable insights, inspiration, or education to their audience. Their content and activity on LinkedIn gives them the ability to shape opinions, inspire actions, and drive engagement from their followers.
Some key signs of a LinkedIn influencer include:
- Large follower base – Typically over 10,000 and often exceeding 100,000+ followers.
- High engagement – Their posts consistently receive lots of likes, comments, and shares.
- Thought leadership – Seen as an expert in their industry with insights others look to them for.
- Strong personal brand – Have built a recognizable brand and reputation on LinkedIn.
Influencers use LinkedIn as a platform to publish original articles, share career insights, post video content, engage in discussions, and highlight their work and achievements. In doing so, they are able to attract more followers, connections, and amplification for their personal brand.
Why do people aspire to become LinkedIn influencers?
There are several potential benefits to becoming a LinkedIn influencer:
- Thought leadership – Being seen as an industry expert can boost your professional reputation and credibility.
- Career opportunities – Increased visibility and personal brand can lead to speaking, writing, or consulting opportunities.
- Business development – Position yourself or your company as a leading voice in your niche.
- Network expansion – Connect with more professionals, clients, and partners.
- Market validation – Gauging interest for products or services by sharing your insights.
Essentially, being viewed as a LinkedIn influencer can open doors and elevate your status – both online and off. It’s a way to grow your audience, gain leverage, and expand your reach in your industry.
How to Become a LinkedIn Influencer
Becoming a LinkedIn influencer doesn’t happen overnight. It requires consistency, value, and patience. But by implementing the right strategies, it is possible to build influence on LinkedIn over time. Here are some tips.
Craft a strong personal brand
Your LinkedIn profile is the foundation for your personal brand. Make sure it is complete, professional, and optimized to clearly communicate who you are, what you do, and your areas of expertise. Include relevant background summaries, media, skills, accomplishments, and recommendations.
Provide value to your network
Focus on consistently creating and sharing content that educates, inspires, or entertains your target audience. Offer insights, advice, case studies, data, tips, and more through posts, articles, videos, and comments. Provide value without overly self-promoting.
Engage with your connections
Comment on others’ posts, participate in discussions, and share feedback and advice. Be helpful, thoughtful, and respectful in your interactions. Engagement is key for building relationships and expanding your audience organically.
Leverage topics and hashtags
Join popular LinkedIn groups related to your industry. Follow relevant hashtags and
contributeyour insights on trending topics. This expands your reach beyond your existing network.
Partner with brands and businesses
Look for partnership opportunities with complementary companies or brands. Offer to create co-branded content, cross-promote, or sponsor LinkedIn Live videos. Strategic partnerships can introduce you to new audiences.
Post multimedia content
Incorporate visual content into your posts and articles, such as images, infographics, slides, and video. Multimedia engages audiences and helps concepts resonate. Video content can be especially helpful for building a personal connection.
Content Type | Examples | Benefits |
---|---|---|
Articles | Expert advice, case studies, how-to guides | Position yourself as a thought leader by educating your audience |
Videos | Live videos, recorded presentations, interviews, podcasts | Engage audience with your personality;Videos have high visibility |
Images | Infographics, photos, illustrations | Make your posts stand out visually in the feed |
Track your metrics
Measure your follower growth, post engagement, profile views, and other analytics. Review insights to refine your strategy and capitalize on what resonates most with your audience. Gradually grow your influence by delivering more of what people respond to.
Leverage LinkedIn tools
Take advantage of LinkedIn’s built-in tools to extend your reach. Use native video and articles to gain more views. Utilize paid advertising options like Sponsored Content and Sponsored InMail to get your content in front of more targeted members beyond just your existing network.
Mistakes to Avoid
It’s easy to make missteps when trying to build your influence. Be sure to avoid these common mistakes:
- Buying fake followers or engagement
- Aggressive self-promotion
- Automated, disingenuous activity
- Recycling the same content
- Only sharing your own content
- Spamming people’s messages and posts
- Publishing overly promotional or offensive content
Focus on organic growth, quality over quantity, and relationship-building. Artificial tactics can actually hurt your reputation and get your account restricted. Authenticity is key when establishing yourself as an authority.
Requirements for the LinkedIn Influencer Program
LinkedIn officially designates select members as LinkedIn Influencers based on meeting certain benchmarks. Here are the published requirements per LinkedIn to be considered for its invite-only Influencer program:
- 50,000+ LinkedIn followers
- High member engagement on updates
- Valuabledomain expertise and unique perspectives
- Professional brand aligned with LinkedIn’s image
- Original, useful, engaging content
- Consistent activity on LinkedIn
Designation as an official LinkedIn Influencer provides benefits like increased amplification to your posts, advanced analytics about your LinkedIn audience, and being featured more prominently on the platform.
Very few LinkedIn members reach the benchmarks to qualify for invitation to the program. However, you can employ similar strategies even without being in the official Influencer group to build your influence.
Examples of Top LinkedIn Influencers
Here are some standout examples of influential executives, thought leaders, and entrepreneurs using LinkedIn effectively to build large, engaged audiences:
Richard Branson
– Founder of Virgin Group
– 19M followers
– Shares inspirational business and leadership insights
Bill Gates
– Microsoft founder
– 17M followers
– Discusses philanthropy, global issues, innovation
Sallie Krawcheck
– CEO of Ellevest
– 1.5M followers
– Leadership, professional development, networking advice tailored to a female audience
Bernard Marr
– Tech entrepreneur & author
– 700K followers
– Expert commentary & insights on digital transformation, AI, big data, strategy
Guy Kawasaki
– Former Apple evangelist
– 700K followers
– Shares big ideas & lessons learned on startups, leadership, innovation
These individuals shape professional discourse in their respective domains by leveraging LinkedIn as their platform. They provide a mix of valuable content, engage with their audience, and optimize their personal brand on LinkedIn.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to become an influencer on LinkedIn?
It takes consistency and patience over an extended period. Most LinkedIn influencers spend years building their followings by frequently sharing content and engaging their networks. Allow for a timeline of 6-24+ months to build up an audience andestablish thought leadership.
What is the minimum number of followers needed to be an influencer?
While there are no official thresholds, most consider 10,000+ followers as a starting point for having “influencer status” on LinkedIn. However, high-quality engagement and respect within your niche is more important than follower count alone.
Is being an influencer on LinkedIn profitable?
Top LinkedIn influencers are able to monetize their audiences through sponsored content, consulting, speaking engagements, selling products or services, and partnerships. However, most who build influence on LinkedIn do so for credibility first – monetary gain tends to follow influence rather than lead it.
How do I get featured by LinkedIn as an influencer?
You will need to organically grow your LinkedIn presence and demonstrate your thought leadership over time. LinkedIn curates and invites influencers selectively. Focus on building an audience and delivering value vs trying to get officially designated.
As a company, how do we leverage influencer marketing on LinkedIn?
Identify and partner with relevant industry experts and thought leaders on branded content campaigns. This provides a means to expand your reach to new audiences by tapping into their existing follower base. Make sure partnerships align with your brand.
Conclusion
Becoming viewed as an industry influencer on LinkedIn is achievable but requires playing the long game. You need to put in consistent work over months and years to provide value to your connections, build your expertise, and develop an engaged audience. While inorganic follower growth is possible, focus on quality over quantity. Gradually build your personal brand and cement your reputation as a thought leader to take your career or business impact to the next level through LinkedIn.