LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional social network with over 722 million users worldwide. LinkedIn Premium is LinkedIn’s paid subscription that unlocks additional features beyond the free version. With Premium, you get access to features like InMail messaging, profile badges, expanded search filters, learning courses and more. But is the paid version worth the cost for users in the UK? Here we’ll examine the key benefits of LinkedIn Premium and whether it provides good value to justify the price tag.
What Does LinkedIn Premium Offer?
LinkedIn Premium comes in three different packages – Career, Business and Sales Navigator. Each tier builds on the features of the one below it. Here’s an overview of what you get with each version:
LinkedIn Premium Career
– InMail Messages: Send direct messages to anyone, even if you’re not connected. Great for reaching recruiters or potential clients. Get 25 credits per month.
– Profile Badges: Display badges like “Open to Work” to stand out and get noticed by recruiters.
– Extended Profile Statistics: See more insights into who’s viewed your profile and how you rank against other applicants.
– Professional Learning Courses: Access over 15,000 expert-led video courses to build your skills. Popular subjects include leadership, marketing, software and more.
– Salary Insights: View salary ranges for positions to benchmark and negotiate better. See real salary data based on location, experience level and company size.
– Premium Profile Branding: Add a customizable background photo to your profile. Display up to 3 featured media items to showcase your work.
LinkedIn Premium Business
Includes all Career features plus:
– Larger InMail Credit Allowance: Get up to 150 InMail messages per month to reach more prospects.
– Business Profiles: Create a company page to increase brand awareness and attract talent.
– Employee Engagement Insights: View data on content sharing, follower growth and engagement by your employees.
– Company Follower Insights: See follower demographics and growth analytics for your company page.
– Talent Pool Reports: Discover and track passive candidates interested in jobs at your company.
LinkedIn Premium Sales Navigator
Has all Career and Business features plus:
– Expanded Search Filters: Use advanced filters like company size, job function and years of experience to laser target prospects.
– Contact List Management: Organize prospects with custom tags and folders. Easily track your outreach.
– TeamLink Collaboration: Share contacts and accounts with colleagues to avoid overlap. Enable team selling.
– Auto-Generated Lead Recommendations: Get recommendations for relevant prospects based on ideal customer profile.
– Conversation Insights: View stats on response rate, average time to respond and optimal timing for InMail messages.
– Newsfeed Post Targeting: Target posts to only show for certain followers based on tags and filters.
What Are the Main Benefits of LinkedIn Premium?
Upgrading to LinkedIn Premium provides several advantages that can benefit different types of users in the UK, including:
For Job Seekers
– Reach recruiters directly with InMail messages instead of just applying online
– Stand out with profile badges highlighting you’re open to work
– Gain insider info on salaries and competitor applicants
– Access career-boosting courses for free
For Business Owners
– Increase brand visibility with a company page
– Attract and engage followers with boosted content
– Recruit quality candidates by engaging passive talent
– Uncover insights to improve employee advocacy
For Sales Professionals
– Find ideal prospects with advanced search filters
– Quickly segment and organize contacts
– Enable team collaboration around accounts
– Automate lead recommendations based on ideal customer profile
– Optimize timing and response rate for outreach
What Are the Costs of LinkedIn Premium in the UK?
LinkedIn Premium is paid monthly or annually, with discounted rates for paying per year. Here are the current UK prices as of September 2023:
Monthly Subscription
– LinkedIn Premium Career: £24.99/month
– LinkedIn Premium Business: £59.99/month
– LinkedIn Premium Sales: £64.99/month
Annual Subscription
– LinkedIn Premium Career: £219.88/year (£18.32/month)
– LinkedIn Premium Business: £479.88/year (£39.99/month)
– LinkedIn Premium Sales: £539.88/year (£44.99/month)
So paying annually provides savings of around 26-30%. There are also sometimes promotional offers available, such as 25% off for the first year.
Is LinkedIn Premium Worth the Money in the UK?
Whether LinkedIn Premium offers good value depends on your specific needs and how much you would utilize the additional features.
Here are some considerations on the value proposition of each version:
LinkedIn Premium Career
The Career version can be worthwhile for active job seekers by enabling direct communication with recruiters and providing insider hiring information. The expanded profile views and learning courses also deliver value.
However, more casual users may not need these extras. The annual price of £219.88 may be hard to justify if you are already employed and not urgently looking.
LinkedIn Premium Business
This mid-tier plan is best suited for business owners, managers and marketing professionals actively utilizing LinkedIn for lead generation and branding.
The company page, employee engagement insights, and expanded content targeting provide strong value in attracting and communicating with followers. But the £479.88/year price tag is hard to rationalize for more casual business use of LinkedIn.
LinkedIn Premium Sales Navigator
For sales professionals actively prospecting and managing lots of leads, the Sales Navigator plan can easily provide a positive ROI.
The ability to precisely target ideal prospects and automatically receive recommendations is extremely valuable. And team collaboration features enhance productivity.
The £539.88 annual cost is high, but can easily pay for itself in terms of new pipeline generated for a salesperson earning commission.
Best Uses of LinkedIn Premium in the UK
Based on the premium features and typical use cases, here are examples of where upgrading to LinkedIn Premium can be most worthwhile in the UK:
For Job Seekers
– Recent graduates looking to land their first role in a competitive field
– Career changers transitioning to a new industry
– Laid-off professionals needing to quickly secure a new job
– Passive candidates open to new roles but not urgently looking
For Businesses
– Startups seeking to establish brand credibility
– B2B companies using social selling to generate leads
– Organizations hiring for many open roles
– Businesses with large sales or marketing teams
For Sales Professionals
– Prospectors responsible for generating their own pipeline
– Account executives managing multiple complex B2B sales cycles
– Sales leaders and managers overseeing teams and territories
– Sales development reps focused on outbound prospecting
Tips for Getting the Most from LinkedIn Premium
To maximize the value from a LinkedIn Premium subscription, here are some best practices:
Set Specific Goals
Be clear on what you want to accomplish – a new job, more leads, increased brand awareness, etc. Use Premium tools purposefully to achieve those goals.
Fully Complete Your Profile
Your profile serves as your digital resume and credibility builder. Make sure to showcase your skills, experience and accomplishments.
Engage Consistently
To see results in your feed views, followers and engagement, post updates regularly. Comment on others’ content to grow your network.
Track Performance
Use the insights tools to see your follower growth, engagement rates, page views and response rates. Tweak your strategies based on what works.
Automate Searches and Alerts
Leverage tools like auto-tagging, search alerts and lead recommendations to automatically surface ideal prospects.
Personalize InMail Outreach
When messaging directly avoid generic outreach. Personalize each message to the recipient’s profile and role. Follow up persistence pays off.
Conclusion
The value of upgrading to LinkedIn Premium greatly depends on how actively you use LinkedIn and your specific goals. Casual users may not benefit enough to justify the costs. But for job seekers, sales professionals, and companies using LinkedIn strategically as a business driver, the additional capabilities can deliver a strong return on investment.
Overall, Premium is most worthwhile for these cases in the UK:
– Job seekers in an urgent or competitive search
– Businesses that rely on LinkedIn for sales leads or talent recruitment
– Sales professionals tasked with independently generating new business
The investment is harder to justify for those not actively leveraging LinkedIn as an essential productivity tool. But strategic users can certainly unlock enough value from Premium to warrant the expense.