LinkedIn Premium is LinkedIn’s paid subscription service that provides enhanced features and perks beyond the free basic account. For business owners and professionals, LinkedIn Premium can be a worthwhile investment to boost your brand’s presence and get more out of LinkedIn.
Some key advantages of LinkedIn Premium for businesses include:
- Increased profile views and expanded network reach
- Unlimited InMail messages
- Premium search filters and contact info
- More profile customization options
- Expanded analytics and insights
- Post boosting
- Learning courses and professional coaching
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the key benefits and features of LinkedIn Premium for businesses and professionals looking to get more out of the platform.
Increased Profile Views and Network Reach
One of the main advantages of LinkedIn Premium is the ability to greatly expand your professional network and get your personal brand and content in front of many more people.
With a Premium account, your profile gets highlighted in search results, which means you can get up to 30% more profile views compared to a basic account. You’ll also show up higher in “People Also Viewed” suggestions.
In addition, Premium allows you to contact anyone through InMail messages (more on this below), rather than just being limited to your 1st-degree connections. This makes networking and prospecting much easier.
According to LinkedIn, Premium members get up to 8x more search appearances than basic members. That increased visibility can translate into more connections, leads and opportunities.
Putting Your Best Profile Forward
To maximize your Premium profile’s reach, be sure to thoroughly complete your profile with relevant keywords, an engaging headline, an “About” summary, rich media, and recommendations. The more optimized your profile, the more likely you are to be discovered organically.
Regularly updating your status and posting interesting content will also help keep you active in the feed algorithm.
Unlimited InMail Messages
One of LinkedIn Premium’s most valuable features is unlimited InMail messages.
InMail is LinkedIn’s internal messaging system that allows you to contact any member directly, even if they are not within your connections network.
With a free account, you only get a handful of InMails per month. But with Premium, you can send unlimited messages to build relationships with prospects, connect with industry influencers, and more.
InMail messages have open rates well above email, and can be a great way to:
- Intro yourself to leads and prospects
- Thank contacts for connecting
- Follow up after meetings and conversations
- Reach out to subject matter experts
- Request informational interviews
- Inquire about job opportunities
The key is to personalize your messages and add value for the recipient. With good InMail etiquette, you can build strong relationships that boost your brand and opportunities.
InMail Best Practices
To get the most from your Premium InMails:
- Personalize each message with the recipient’s name and why you are reaching out
- Be clear and concise about your purpose
- Offer a specific ask or next steps (chat, connect, interview)
- Proofread before sending to avoid errors
- Follow up if you don’t hear back after a week
- Use thoughtfully and selectively
Premium Search Filters and Contact Info Access
LinkedIn Premium also upgrades your search capabilities, allowing for more advanced filtering and sorting options.
Some key search upgrades include:
- Keyword filtering – Search by keywords within profile text
- Location filtering – Target a specific region or radius
- Company size filtering – Search by number of employees
- Industry filtering – Target a specific industry vertical
- Relationship filtering – Prioritize 1st-degree connections
- Sorting – Sort by name, connections, relevance, etc.
In addition, Premium members can access full contact information in search results, including email addresses, phone numbers, and social media profiles.
This allows for more direct outreach and cuts down on the back-and-forth messaging needed to eventually connect.
Overall, the robust search makes networking, prospecting, and recruiting much more efficient. You can laser focus your efforts on the buyers, partners, and talent you want to reach.
More Profile Customization Options
To showcase your brand and expertise, LinkedIn Premium provides increased customization capabilities.
Some of the additional profile features include:
- Profile highlight – Pin a customizable module to the top of your profile
- Expanded “About” section – Increase your word count limit from 2000 to 30,000 characters
- More profile modules – Add sections for articles, projects, courses, and more
- Profile stats – Display your profile view counts
- Featured media sections – Highlight videos, SlideShare, etc.
With Premium, you can really tailor your profile into an engaging digital portfolio showcasing your skills, experience, media content, and brand.
This helps position you as an industry thought leader when prospects come checking out your profile.
| Feature | Basic | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Profile highlight | X | ✔ |
| Expanded “About” section | 2000 characters | 30,000 characters |
| Additional profile modules | Limited | Articles, projects, courses, etc. |
Expanded Analytics and Insights
Understanding your LinkedIn analytics is key to maximizing your brand’s impact and reach.
Premium unlocks a trove of advanced analytics:
- Who’s viewed your profile – See the companies and titles of who’s interacting with your brand
- Content analytics – Views, likes, comments, and more for your posts
- Search appearance insights – See how you rank for profile searches
- Profile demographic data – Where your visitors are located, what they do, etc.
- Audience targeting tools – Optimize who sees your posts and ads
These insights can help you fine-tune your content strategy and better understand your LinkedIn audience. You can see what types of posts and topics resonate most with your target demographic.
The analytics allow you to course correct in real-time if certain content pieces are not getting engagement. You can also gauge your key competitors’ reach and activity.
Ultimately, the Premium analytics equip you with the data needed to improve results over time.
Premium Analytics Examples
- See that most of your profile views come from software engineers at top tech firms. Tailor your profile content accordingly.
- Learn that webinar promo posts drive 50% more engagement than whitepaper downloads. Craft social strategy based on this.
- Discover your CTO #thoughtleadership posts get the most likes and shares. Emphasize this personal branding.
Post Boosting
With LinkedIn Premium, you can “boost” your posts to expand their visibility beyond just your direct connections.
Boosting posts means paying to promote them in the LinkedIn feed algorithm to reach a broader, more targeted audience for a limited time period.
This can be extremely valuable for:
- Promoting time-sensitive content like events, webinars, and offers
- Amplifying important company announcements
- Expanding thought leadership articles
- Driving traffic to websites, blog posts, and offers
- Raising awareness for causes and nonprofits
According to LinkedIn, boosted posts see on average a 3-5x increase in engagement.
The key is targeting your boosts based on relevant demographics like job title, industry, company size, and more. Well-targeted boosts can significantly expand your reach at a reasonable cost.
Best Practices for Post Boosting
To maximize your LinkedIn post boosts:
- Strategically choose which posts to boost
- Target boosts based on relevant audiences
- Test different boost durations (1 week, 1 month, etc)
- Analyze results and optimize based on performance
- Set a reasonable monthly boosting budget
- Use boosts to complement larger campaigns
Learning Courses and Professional Coaching
Lastly, LinkedIn Premium provides a vast library of professional development courses and expert coaching sessions.
With over 16,000 courses and new content added daily, you can master hard skills, leadership abilities, and more.
Some examples of course topics include:
- Business analytics
- Graphic design
- Web development
- Marketing strategy
- Sales techniques
- Management and communication
- Personal productivity
LinkedIn Learning provides bite-sized video lessons and downloadable materials developed by real-world practitioners.
The platform also offers one-on-one coaching and mentoring with experienced professionals who can provide personalized guidance tailored to your goals. Coaching sessions may cover topics like career growth, resume building, communications, and more.
For organizations, LinkedIn Learning is a great professional development benefit to offer employees. Team members can proactively build skills that make them (and your company) more productive and marketable.
Getting the Most from LinkedIn Learning
To fully capitalize on LinkedIn Premium’s learning content:
- Take assessments to identify your top skill gaps
- Follow curated learning paths for your role and goals
- Set weekly learning time in your calendar
- Practice and implement the skills
- Earn certifications to showcase on your profile
- Give feedback on courses you take
Investing in continuous learning pays dividends in boosting team performance and capabilities over time.
Conclusion
LinkedIn Premium provides a wide range of advantages that can significantly boost your brand, reach, and success on the platform. The expanded network visibility, advanced messaging, analytics, and learning make it a worthwhile upgrade for professionally-minded individuals and organizations.
To recap, core benefits include:
- More profile views and connections
- Unlimited InMail outreach
- Robust search and contact access
- Customizable profile branding
- In-depth analytics
- Targeted post boosting
- On-demand learning content
While Premium costs range from $30-$120 per month based on plan, the long-term dividends often justify the investment for active LinkedIn users.
Before upgrading, think critically about your LinkedIn goals and how the Premium tools can help you accomplish them. The advanced features allow savvy professionals and brands to get much more value out of the platform.
At the end of the day, LinkedIn is about building relationships and visibility. Premium empowers you to do this far faster and more efficiently.
What aspects of LinkedIn Premium seem most valuable for your personal brand objectives and business needs? How might you capitalize on the expanded capabilities?
