In the modern business world, professional networking sites have become an invaluable tool for finding jobs, recruiting talent, promoting brands, and expanding professional connections. With so many sites to choose from, determining the #1 professional networking platform can be a difficult task. However, when considering membership numbers, active user engagement, site features, and overall utility, one platform stands out from the crowd: LinkedIn.
The Case for LinkedIn as the Top Professional Network
With over 560 million members as of 2019, LinkedIn hosts the world’s largest professional network on the internet. Founded in 2002, LinkedIn pioneered the concept of online professional networking. While other sites like Facebook focus on personal connections, LinkedIn specifically targets business users. Today, LinkedIn is available in over 200 countries and used in 24 different languages.
LinkedIn membership skews heavily towards more educated, affluent professionals. According to 2019 user demographics, over 50% of members have a bachelor’s degree or higher. Additionally, 39% of users earn over $75,000 in individual income. With millions of experienced professionals across all industries using the platform, LinkedIn offers unparalleled access to high-value connections. Whether looking to network, prospect for business, or hire team members, the depth of LinkedIn’s membership base gives it a significant competitive advantage.
User Engagement
In addition to having the most registered users, LinkedIn also excels at user activity and engagement. According to LinkedIn’s internal metrics, their members have an average of 9.8 profile views per month. With over 560 million members, this translates to over 5.5 billion profile views monthly. LinkedIn also notes that their average member spends 17 minutes actively using their platform each month.
This active engagement allows for vibrant discussions in LinkedIn’s forums and groups. With over 1.7 million groups, LinkedIn members can connect with professionals in their industry and discuss topics ranging from job strategies and industry news to niche interests. Furthermore, LinkedIn reports hosting over 100,000 active help-wanted listings. For job seekers, this creates ample opportunity to network with companies and recruiters through LinkedIn’s platform.
Site Features
LinkedIn offers users an array of features designed to maximize professional networking and recruiting. Some of the platform’s most notable features include:
- Profiles – Members can build a professional profile showcasing their background, skills, accomplishments, recommendations, and media content.
- Feeds – An activity feed shows users relevant content and updates posted by their connections.
- Groups – Users can join groups focused on professional subjects, locations, schools, and companies.
- Jobs – LinkedIn’s job portal allows users to search positions, receive recommendations, and apply through their profile.
- Messaging – Members can communicate via direct messaging and InMail messages.
- Articles & Posts – Users can publish long-form and short posts, which appear in their network’s feeds.
- Notifications – Members receive notifications when their network makes a connection, endorses a skill, shares an article, and more.
- Search – Advanced search filters and preferences assist users in finding relevant profiles and jobs.
This expansive suite of networking features propels active engagement on the site. By incorporating so many diverse utilities under one platform, LinkedIn provides immense value to its members.
The Network Effect in Action
A key reason why LinkedIn stands above rival professional networks is due to the network effect. In situations where a good or service becomes more valuable as more people use it, the network effect applies. LinkedIn, like other social networks, benefits tremendously from the network effect.
As more users join LinkedIn, the platform automatically becomes more useful and engaging. With a greater number of members, users can make more beneficial connections, search more career opportunities, and access richer content. This self-reinforcing cycle attracts even more users, continuing the growing value of the network.
LinkedIn unlocked this network effect early on, achieving dominance in the professional networking sphere. Competitors have struggled to attract enough users to provide value. They cannot replicate LinkedIn’s critical mass of active members, preventing the network effect from taking hold.
The result is that LinkedIn continues to be the “go-to” professional network year after year. Its leadership position builds continually through the network effect, and competitors have found it impossible to catch up.
The Stats on LinkedIn’s Dominance
Looking beyond membership counts and anecdotal data, third-party research confirms LinkedIn as the leading professional networking platform. According to 2020 data from Statista, LinkedIn commanded 50% of global market share in the professional networking sector. Facebook’s LinkedIn competitor, Facebook Professional, trailed far behind with 11% market share.
Additionally, 79% of professionals surveyed by Future Workplace in 2019 chose LinkedIn as their most-used external professional networking tool. This dominant mindshare demonstrates how thoroughly LinkedIn has become the default networking choice for business professionals.
Further demonstrating LinkedIn’s leadership, 98% of Fortune 500 companies have a presence on LinkedIn. Recruiters and sales professionals view LinkedIn as virtually mandatory for connecting with the business world. As the digital hub of the professional space, LinkedIn offers access to decision-makers at elite companies. Competitors again have no answer for LinkedIn’s broad penetration across the corporate landscape.
The Data in Summary
In summary, key LinkedIn data points confirm its standing as the #1 professional network:
560 million | Total members |
50% | Global market share of professional networking |
79% | Professionals who say LinkedIn is their most-used networking tool |
98% | Fortune 500 companies with a LinkedIn presence |
Alternatives Come Up Short
Very few professional networking platforms can even approach LinkedIn’s dominance. However, some alternatives aim to differentiate themselves in certain niches.
Facebook Professional
With over 2.5 billion monthly users, Facebook dwarfs LinkedIn in terms of total membership. However, most Facebook users focus on personal connections rather than professional networking. In 2016, Facebook launched a LinkedIn competitor called Facebook Professional. The platform allows users to highlight their work experience, skills, and accomplishments in a professional profile separate from their personal Facebook profile.
However, Facebook Professional lacks many of LinkedIn’s critical networking capabilities. The platform has not achieved meaningful user adoption outside of Indonesia. Even with Facebook’s vast resources, they have failed to dislodge LinkedIn as the go-to professional network.
Founded in 2003, Xing provides professional networking and job recruitment services, primarily focused on German-speaking countries. With over 16 million members, Xing enjoys strong penetration in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. The platform offers features similar to LinkedIn, including profile building, messaging, and groups. However, Xing’s geographic limitations have prevented significant growth outside of German-speaking regions.
Viadeo
Based in France, Viadeo operates professional networking services primarily across Europe and China. The platform has 65 million global members, making it one of the larger LinkedIn alternatives. Viadeo allows users to maintain a professional profile, search jobs, network with colleagues, and more. The site is available in 8 languages but has not expanded significantly beyond core European markets.
Kwiziq
Kwiziq provides a unique, video-based approach to professional networking and recruiting. Users can record and share video profiles highlighting their professional skills and experience. The platform uses machine learning technology to match candidates with relevant job opportunities based on their video profiles. However, Kwiziq remains in beta testing, and its unconventional model has limited adoption so far.
The Outlook for the Future
Looking ahead, LinkedIn appears poised to continue dominating the global professional networking space. However, demographics may shift the optimal platform over time.
For example, younger professionals entering the workforce often favor networking on sites like Facebook and Instagram over traditional platforms. As new generations comprise a growing percentage of the workforce, alternative networking models could arise. However, LinkedIn has scale and network effects that will be extremely difficult for upstarts to overcome.
International markets also offer an area for potential innovation. Domestic platforms like China’s Maimai or Brazil’s f123 have found success in local markets. Expanding globally requires overcoming network effects powering established platforms like LinkedIn. However, localized solutions could chip away at LinkedIn’s dominance in select international regions.
Barring a major technological disruption, LinkedIn remains the decisive leader in professional networking. For the foreseeable future, LinkedIn is primed to maintain its position as the number one platform for online professional connections and recruitment.
Conclusion
When considering LinkedIn’s massive membership base, high engagement metrics, breadth of features, and brand dominance across metrics, it clearly stands as the world’s top professional networking platform. Competitors like Facebook Professional and Xing have failed to keep pace with LinkedIn’s network effects fueled growth.
For connecting with clients, recruiting talent, researching companies, and expanding professional opportunities, LinkedIn provides unmatched access and utility. The platform has become synonymous with professional networking for a reason. For these reasons, LinkedIn remains the undisputed #1 professional networking site as we head into the 2020s and beyond.