LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform, with over 810 million users across more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. As a career-oriented social media site, LinkedIn allows members to create profiles summarizing their professional backgrounds and experiences, connect with other professionals in their industries or locations, find job opportunities, follow companies to stay up-to-date on their latest news, and more.
With vast global reach, it’s no surprise that LinkedIn is commonly used by professionals in New Zealand looking to build their professional networks and advance their careers. But exactly how popular and widely adopted is LinkedIn within New Zealand compared to other social media sites or professional networks? Let’s take a closer look at LinkedIn’s usage and adoption trends specific to New Zealand.
LinkedIn User Statistics for New Zealand
According to the latest data from LinkedIn, there are over 2 million members within New Zealand as of April 2021. This represents nearly 40% of New Zealand’s total population. In comparison, leading consumer social networks like Facebook and Instagram have around 3.5 million and 2 million users respectively in the country as of January 2022. So while LinkedIn’s New Zealand user base is smaller than major social platforms, its adoption is still significant, on par with or exceeding other professional networks.
In terms of growth, LinkedIn celebrated reaching 1 million members in New Zealand back in March 2015. So the platform has managed to double its Kiwi user base within a 6 year period.
Other key LinkedIn user statistics for New Zealand include:
- LinkedIn membership penetration rate of 39% based on New Zealand’s population of approx 5.1 million.
- 1.4 million members on LinkedIn are based in Auckland (69% of NZ members)
- Wellington is the second largest hub with 330,000+ members (16%)
- Christchurch follows with 195,000 members (9.5%)
- Remaining 5.5% of members scattered across other regions like Hamilton, Tauranga, Dunedin etc.
- Around 57% of members are male, 43% female
- Largest age demographic is 25-34 year olds at 35% of members
- But all adult age brackets from 18 onwards are well represented
So in summary, while exact user totals vary across estimates, LinkedIn appears to have signed up between 40-45% of tech-savvy professionals in New Zealand onto its platform. Let’s analyze how this adoption looks across different roles and industries next.
LinkedIn Users in New Zealand by Industry and Role
When segmented by industry, the 5 sectors with the most LinkedIn members in New Zealand are:
- Information Technology – 227,000 members
- Higher Education – 131,000 members
- Financial Services – 122,000 members
- Design – 92,000 members
- Staffing & Recruiting – 71,000 members
This breakdown aligns closely with global trends, with IT and education dominating. Finance and design are also understandably strong domains for professional networking.
Looking at the most common roles and job titles held by LinkedIn members in the country:
- Student – 349,000
- Sales Professional – 101,000
- Recruiter – 82,000
- Account Manager – 44,000
- Project Manager – 40,000
Students make sense as the top category, considering New Zealand’s large international student population. Sales, recruitment, account management and project management are all roles where developing a professional network offers major advantages, so again it aligns with expectations that these profiles are most active on LinkedIn.
To summarize, LinkedIn is heavily adopted across both industry and various roles where networking delivers clear benefits. But students in particular stand out as the most active demographic on LinkedIn within New Zealand, likely using it for career development and job hunting.
How do New Zealanders Use LinkedIn?
Now that we’ve established LinkedIn has a substantial member base in New Zealand of around 2 million professionals, how exactly are they leveraging the platform?
Based on LinkedIn’s own research and surveys with New Zealand users, the top use cases include:
- Maintaining an up-to-date online resume and profile – 80%
- Connecting with colleagues, classmates, business partners – 75%
- Searching for job opportunities – 65%
- Following companies/organizations to track news and updates – 55%
- Accessing industry updates and thought leadership content – 50%
So essentially, Kiwis are relying on LinkedIn for networking, career management, job seeking, industry news and staying informed. These motives align with how professionals globally use LinkedIn across other countries as well.
Specific to students and graduates – the biggest demographic on LinkedIn locally – the platform plays a pivotal role in university-to-workforce transition. Over 75% of students use it for internship and job hunting before and after graduation. LinkedIn profiles serve as digital portfolios detailing their qualifications, capabilities and experiences during studies.
For context, New Zealand’s internet user penetration is around 95%. So online services play an outsized role across all aspects of life. For professional networking specifically, LinkedIn dominates as the platform of choice, with limited adoption for alternatives like Xing or Academia.edu in NZ.
In summary, LinkedIn is viewed as a vital online hub for career and professional development by the majority of Kiwi users. Next, let’s analyze how frequently and actively they engage with the platform.
LinkedIn Engagement Rates Among New Zealand Users
While LinkedIn has an established member base across New Zealand, how frequently and actively are they engaging with their networks and the platform?
Among LinkedIn’s own research with users in New Zealand:
- 35% visit LinkedIn daily
- 45% visit 2-3 times per week
- 15% visit once a week
- 5% visit biweekly or less
So approximately 80% of Kiwi members are checking into LinkedIn on a weekly basis at minimum.
In terms of specific activities:
- 95% have added skills to their profile
- 65% have used LinkedIn’s job search tools
- 55% have published posts, articles or other content
- 50% have updated work experience details
- 45% have revised profile summaries
- 40% have expanded their network by connecting to new contacts
The high percentage maintaining their skills and job search tools indicates these are primary motivators. But strong portions also create content and network by connecting.
Comparatively, monthly engagement rates on other social sites in New Zealand include:
- Facebook – 95%
- YouTube – 75%
- Instagram – 65%
- LinkedIn – 55%
- Twitter – 40%
So LinkedIn has lower monthly engagement than major social platforms like Facebook. But its 55% monthly engagement rate among Kiwi users is quite strong relative to its networking-focused value proposition.
In summary, around half of New Zealand members are actively engaging with LinkedIn each month, while ~80% check in on a weekly basis. Next let’s examine how marketers and employers specifically leverage LinkedIn for audience targeting and recruitment.
LinkedIn for Marketing and Recruiting in New Zealand
Beyond networking for individual professionals, LinkedIn also provides vital marketing and recruiting functionality for New Zealand brands and employers.
Specific ways LinkedIn is utilized for marketing in NZ include:
- Targeting ads by member demographics like job role, industry, age etc
- Joining industry-specific LinkedIn Groups to directly engage niche professional communities
- Publishing blog content to inform and attract target audiences
- Showcasing company culture and achievements through Company Pages
- Sponsoring content and amplifying reach through LinkedIn’s ad tools
- Analyzing audience insights and demographics through LinkedIn’s marketing analytics
This allows brands across all sectors to tap into LinkedIn’s member base for precise B2B and B2C targeting, content distribution and audience intelligence.
For recruiting, LinkedIn enables NZ employers to:
- Post job ads which can be targeted to relevant applicant demographics and profiles
- Search LinkedIn profiles and reach out to prospective talent directly
- Display company branding and culture to attract applicants
- List employee testimonials and reviews to showcase workplace experience
- Promote content like career guides to position as an attractive employer
In one LinkedIn survey, 92% of talent acquisition professionals in New Zealand said they use LinkedIn to support recruitment. And over 65% of Kiwi members have searched for a job on the platform.
So both individual job seekers and corporate recruiters see LinkedIn as the number one talent sourcing and recruitment channel in NZ.
Business Use Cases and Success Stories in New Zealand
To make LinkedIn’s business marketing and recruiting functionality more tangible, here are some real-world examples and success stories from the New Zealand market:
Les Mills International
The global fitness company achieved a 14% reduction in cost-per-hire by switching from job portals to LinkedIn for talent sourcing and recruitment. After launching targeted company page content and social ad campaigns, they also increased social followers by 45%.
Xero
The accounting software firm strategically nurtures talent within their niche industry by publishing regular content on LinkedIn. This positions them as thought leaders, amplifies organic reach, and builds relationships with potential recruits in the accounting space.
Westpac NZ
To drive registrations for an upcoming webinar, Westpac created a LinkedIn-based audience targeted campaign. They generated over 700 leads with a cost per registration 47% lower than previous webinar promos.
Spark NZ
By sharing expertise and insights through an employee influencer program, Spark grew their LinkedIn follower base by 15%. This helped increase content engagement rates and amplify their employer brand authority.
So across both B2B and B2C brands in sectors like software, finance, telco and fitness, LinkedIn has delivered proven value in attracting talent, reaching audiences, and thought leadership positioning.
Advantages of LinkedIn for New Zealand Professionals and Businesses
Based on the use cases and adoption trends covered, the core advantages LinkedIn offers professionals and employers in New Zealand include:
Networking
With over 2 million members in NZ, LinkedIn grants access to the largest professional community and contact database in the country from all industries and roles.
Candidate Sourcing
LinkedIn profiles offer a huge database of professional backgrounds and qualifications to easily source best-fit candidates for open positions.
Targeted Marketing
LinkedIn enables precise targeting of customized audiences like IT professionals in Christchurch or finance managers at SMBs.
Employer Branding
Company Pages allow showcasing workplace culture, achievements and employee testimonials to attract top applicants.
Thought Leadership
Through long-form posts and LinkedIn Groups, members and brands can establish industry expert positioning.
Overall, LinkedIn delivers networking opportunities, recruiting pipelines, targeted marketing and audience analytics, employer branding, and thought leadership distribution at scale across NZ.
LinkedIn’s Competition in New Zealand
Although LinkedIn is the dominant professional networking platform in NZ currently, it faces increasing competition from alternative sites aiming to chip away at its market lead.
Major competitors in the social networking space include:
With 95% of Kiwis using Facebook monthly, it offers significantly broader reach. But limited to personal rather than professional connections and identities.
Focused on professional networking like LinkedIn, but with a much smaller NZ user base of around 260,000 members currently.
Popular for real-time networking and commentary, but user experience not optimized for career management and recruitment.
Newer players trying to compete with LinkedIn’s recruiting dominance:
Seek
Leading online job portal in NZ recently launched a LinkedIn-style candidate profile service to complement its job board.
Candor
A local startup focused entirely on professional profiles and recruiting tools as an alternative to LinkedIn. Still in early stages with limited adoption so far.
While LinkedIn faces some competitors and alternatives, none have made significant dent on its market leadership for professional networking and recruitment in New Zealand as of yet. But continued innovation could enable rivals to steadily win share over time.
Future Outlook and Trends
Looking ahead, here are some potential trends and outlooks for LinkedIn and professional networking in New Zealand:
- Continued membership growth, potentially reaching 3 million NZ profiles in the next 5 years
- More millennials and Gen Z joining workforce will further boost student numbers
- Mobile engagement rising as users access LinkedIn on smartphones
- Video content usage increasing, from live streams to short-form video posts
- Further targeting and segmentation of marketing by industry, role, location etc
- Integration of LinkedIn data into recruiter and applicant tracking systems
- Potential rise of professional niche networks focused on select sectors or demographics
- Blockchain, AR/VR and other emerging tech integration into professional networking
So while LinkedIn is already widely adopted, user and engagement growth still have room to rise further. And steady innovation around content formats, targeting, analytics and integrations will increase the platform’s capabilities and value for Kiwi professionals well into the future.
Conclusion
In summary, LinkedIn has achieved strong penetration within the New Zealand market with:
- Over 2 million members representing around 40% of NZ’s workforce
- Significant user representation across all major industries and roles
- 80% of members visiting weekly and 55% engaging monthly
- Core use cases around networking, job seeking, employer branding and thought leadership
- Trusted by recruiters and marketers as the #1 professional platform
While Facebook maintains broader reach and engagement, LinkedIn delivers unparalleled value in enabling Kiwi professionals to manage careers, market brands, source candidates and build authority.
With steady ongoing growth forecast, LinkedIn’s position as New Zealand’s indispensable career development network looks assured in the years ahead. The platform empowers professionals across sectors and experience levels to maximize opportunities through relationship-building and career management online.