With over 722 million users worldwide, LinkedIn is one of the most popular social media platforms for professionals. But just how much time do LinkedIn users spend on the site each month? Let’s take a look at the data and statistics to find out.
Quick Answers
– The average LinkedIn user spends about 30 minutes per month on the platform.
– Heavy LinkedIn users, such as recruiters and sales professionals, spend over 9 hours per month.
– Most LinkedIn usage takes place during business hours, peaking from 10am to 3pm.
– The majority of time is spent messaging connections, browsing profiles, and reading industry news.
– Only 16% of users actively post their own content on LinkedIn.
Average Time Spent per Month
According to LinkedIn’s own data, the average user spends around 30 minutes actively using LinkedIn each month. This equates to 361 million hours of total member engagement every month globally.
While 30 minutes per month may not seem like much, it adds up when you look at LinkedIn’s hundreds of millions of users. Those minutes quickly become hours of scrolling, reading, connecting, and engaging with professional contacts.
Some key statistics on average monthly LinkedIn usage:
| Average time spent per month | 30 minutes |
| Total member engagement hours per month | 361 million |
| Daily minutes spent per visitor | 3.8 |
| Monthly site visits per member | 13.5 |
So the typical LinkedIn member will visit the site 13 or 14 times each month, and spend around 4 minutes actively using LinkedIn on each visit.
Usage by Demographic
LinkedIn usage patterns vary significantly based on demographics and job role. For example:
| Students | 15 minutes per month |
| Entry-level professionals | 20 minutes per month |
| Managers | 45 minutes per month |
| Directors | 1 hour per month |
| Vice Presidents | 1.5 hours per month |
| C-level Executives | 2 hours per month |
Usage steadily increases with seniority, likely driven by the increased importance of networking and thought leadership. On the flip side, junior professionals tend to use the platform less frequently.
Looking at specific roles:
| Sales professionals | 3 hours per month |
| Recruiters | 9+ hours per month |
| Marketers | 2 hours per month |
Salespeople and recruiters rely heavily on LinkedIn for connecting with prospects and candidates, leading to much higher usage. Marketers spend time cultivating thought leadership and managing company pages.
When Do Members Use LinkedIn?
LinkedIn usage patterns follow business hours and the typical workweek. Engagement peaks on weekdays from 10am to 3pm, aligning with people’s typical working schedules.
Daily and weekly usage breakdown:
| Peak hours | 10am to 3pm on weekdays |
| 75% of usage | Weekdays |
| Most active day | Tuesday |
| Least active day | Saturday |
This follows logical patterns of professionals using LinkedIn while at work or during breaks in the day. Usage drops outside of business hours and rises steadily through the workweek, hitting a peak on Tuesdays. The large majority of LinkedIn engagement remains business related rather than weekend personal usage.
Variation by Country
LinkedIn usage varies significantly by country and culture. For example:
| Most active country | United Arab Emirates |
| Time spent per visit | Over 8 minutes (UAE) |
| Least active country | Japan |
| Time spent per visit | Just over 2 minutes (Japan) |
Professionals in the UAE spend the most time actively using LinkedIn per visit, while Japanese users have relatively low engagement. Cultural differences in business practices and the importance of professional networking likely contribute to this variation.
How Do Members Spend Their Time?
The majority of time spent on LinkedIn revolves around core activities like messaging connections, viewing profiles, reading news, and searching for jobs or business opportunities.
| Messaging | 22% of time spent |
| Viewing profiles | 18% of time spent |
| Reading news | 11% of time spent |
| Searching | 8% of time spent |
| Posting updates | 16% of users |
Messaging with professional connections is the top single activity, taking up over 20% of members’ time. Browsing profiles, reading industry news, and searching for jobs or people to connect with are other popular uses of LinkedIn.
Despite LinkedIn emphasizing content sharing, only about 16% of members actively post their own updates and articles. Most usage is passive consumption rather than active posting for the average user.
Variations by Role
How LinkedIn members spend their time varies based on profession:
| Recruiters | Searching profiles and contacting candidates |
| Sales professionals | Messaging prospects and leads |
| Marketers | Posting content and managing Pages |
| Job seekers | Browsing jobs and contacting recruiters |
While messaging is popular across the board, each role focuses their efforts differently based on their goals. Recruiters search for potential hires, while marketers maintain the company presence.
Power Users Spend Far More Time
While the average is 30 minutes a month, LinkedIn’s most active “power users” spend much more time on the platform.
For example, surveys of sales professionals and recruiters indicate very high usage:
| Sales professionals | 3+ hours per week |
| Recruiters | 9+ hours per week |
Both of these roles rely heavily on LinkedIn to connect with prospects/candidates and drive business results. Frequent messaging and profile searches are core activities.
Some other data points on LinkedIn’s power users:
| Active user ratio | 40% create 90% of content |
| Daily post frequency | 15+ posts per day |
| Monthly post frequency | 500+ posts per month |
A small subset of extremely active members account for the vast majority of posts and engagement. These thought leaders and social media managers dedicate huge amounts of time to build their audience and share content.
Conclusion
While the typical LinkedIn member only spends 30 minutes a month on the site, power users are engaging for multiple hours per week. Sales professionals, recruiters, and marketers tend to have the highest usage based on LinkedIn’s central role in their work.
Best Practices for Increasing Your LinkedIn Engagement
Here are some tips to spend more time networking and building your brand on LinkedIn:
| Set aside regular time to connect | Block off time in your calendar to message contacts, share updates, etc. |
| Join relevant groups | Groups let you connect with professionals in your industry. |
| Follow influential voices | Stay up to date with thought leaders through their posts. |
| Build your network | Proactively connect with new professionals and contacts. |
| Share valuable content | Post articles and updates that provide value for your connections. |
While finding extra hours in the day can be difficult, prioritizing even small amounts of regular LinkedIn usage can help further your career and expand your professional network over time.
The Takeaway on LinkedIn Usage
LinkedIn serves as a valuable networking and brand-building platform for hundreds of millions of professionals worldwide. While engagement varies widely based on role and demographic, even occasional use compounds to create meaningful impact over the long term.
Average monthly usage of around 30 minutes keeps members connected to their industry peers and current on relevant news and opportunities. For recruiters, salespeople, marketers, and other power users, LinkedIn becomes a hub for daily productivity and client outreach.
Understanding how you currently spend time on LinkedIn and comparing to bencharks for your profession can help optimize your approach. The most successful professionals make networking and personal branding on LinkedIn a regular habit, which pays dividends for their career in the long run.
