The LinkedIn influencer program is an exclusive program offered by LinkedIn that gives thought leaders and industry experts a platform to share their professional insights with the LinkedIn community. The goal of the program is to foster thoughtful dialogue, spark innovation and spread cutting-edge ideas on important workplace topics.
What are the benefits of being a LinkedIn influencer?
Here are some of the key benefits of being a LinkedIn influencer:
- Reach a huge professional audience – As a LinkedIn influencer, you can leverage LinkedIn’s membership of over 690 million members across the globe. Your content and ideas will be pushed out to a targeted audience interested in your expertise.
- Build your personal brand – The program provides a way to establish thought leadership and boost your professional brand. Sharing your insights regularly positions you as an industry expert.
- Amplify your voice – Your posts have increased visibility in the LinkedIn feed and Recommended sections. This expanded distribution helps you get your message and ideas out to the audiences that matter most.
- Connect with other experts – The program gives you an opportunity to connect and engage with other leaders, luminaries and professionals at the top of their field.
- Partner with brands – Some influencer content is sponsored by brands as part of broader marketing campaigns. This presents potential commercial opportunities.
What are the requirements to become a LinkedIn influencer?
To be accepted into the invite-only LinkedIn influencer program, you need to meet the following criteria:
- Have an established professional brand – You should be recognized as a thought leader in your industry with expertise that professionals value.
- Have a sizeable LinkedIn audience – You’ll need a robust 1st degree network with thousands of connections.
- Be a regular content contributor – You should have a track record of posting engaging long-form content frequently.
- Have content that generates strong engagement – Your posts should consistently receive likes, comments and shares indicating an engaged audience.
- Be aligned to LinkedIn’s mission – Your expertise and focus should map to topics and issues relevant to LinkedIn’s member base.
Essentially, LinkedIn looks for seasoned professionals who actively share valuable insights and already have a loyal audience on the platform. You need to be contributing the kind of high-caliber content LinkedIn wants to amplify to a broader audience through the program.
How do you become a LinkedIn influencer?
Here is the process for how to become a LinkedIn influencer:
- Build your professional brand – Establish expertise in your field through publishing, speaking engagements, media coverage, an engaged social media presence and other brand-building activities.
- Grow your LinkedIn presence – Optimize your LinkedIn profile, actively network and connect with other professionals, join relevant LinkedIn groups and consistently post engaging long-form content.
- Catch LinkedIn’s attention – Reach out directly to someone on the LinkedIn Editorial team, get nominated by an existing influencer or have your content recommended to LinkedIn editors by other LinkedIn members.
- Get invited to apply – If your expertise, audience and content meet their criteria, LinkedIn will invite you to formally apply to the program.
- Submit an application – You’ll need to fill out an application form highlighting your professional credentials, content strategy and ideas for influencing LinkedIn’s member base.
- Become an influencer – LinkedIn carefully vets all applications and selects new influencers based on platform needs, audience fit and content quality. If accepted, you’ll sign an influencer agreement.
It can take substantial time and effort to get on LinkedIn’s radar for consideration. Consistently creating high-value content optimized for LinkedIn’s audience is key. For maximum visibility, promote your posts, actively engage your network and leverage LinkedIn Groups related to your specialty.
How many LinkedIn influencers are there?
The exact number of current LinkedIn influencers is not publicly disclosed. However, some estimates put the figure at between 1,500 to 2,000 influencers globally.
The program started in 2011 and was quite small at first, with an estimated 150 initial influencers. But it has expanded significantly over the past decade to encompass professionals from a broader range of industries, company sizes, geographic locations and areas of expertise.
While the total number of influencers is relatively small compared to LinkedIn’s hundreds of millions of members, it is an exclusive group made up of the platform’s most prominent thought leaders and content creators. Becoming a LinkedIn influencer puts you at the very top of the LinkedIn ecosystem in terms of professional brand visibility and reach.
What topics do LinkedIn influencers cover?
LinkedIn influencers provide insights and advice across a wide spectrum of professional issues and workplace topics important to LinkedIn’s member base.
Some common topics covered include:
- Leadership – Inspiration, management strategies, leadership styles, organizational culture.
- Career development – Job search tips, resume/interview advice, networking, upskilling, switching careers.
- Workplace skills – Productivity, time management, communication, critical thinking, problem-solving.
- Industry trends – Sharing insights into developments in various professional fields.
- Entrepreneurship – Starting a business, marketing, growth strategies, leadership, funding.
- Workplace diversity & inclusion – Addressing biases, equitable practices, diversity benefits.
- Future of work – Workplace automation, remote work, gig economy, the role of AI.
- Wellbeing & self-improvement – Mental health, mindfulness, stress management, self-care.
Influencers tap into their specific expertise to provide advice, strategies and best practices on the workplace issues that engage and resonate most with LinkedIn members. Content spans practical tips to high-level thought leadership.
Examples of top LinkedIn influencers
Here are some current standout influencers across different industries and areas of expertise:
| Influencer name | Profession/area of expertise |
|---|---|
| Bernard Marr | Business intelligence, data science |
| Guy Kawasaki | Entrepreneurship, marketing |
| Sallie Krawcheck | Financial services, women in business |
| Bill Gates | Technology, business leadership |
| Jeff Weiner | Leadership, management, technology |
| Dr. Travis Bradberry | Emotional intelligence, leadership skills |
| Melanie Curtin | Productivity, time management, wellbeing |
| Meghan M. Biro | Talent management, HR, future of work |
As this diverse list of thought leaders illustrates, LinkedIn looks to cultivate influencers who can speak to a wide spectrum of professional interests and issues. The common thread is their ability to deliver original perspectives, valuable insights and practical, actionable advice grounded in their respective areas of expertise.
What makes for a successful LinkedIn influencer?
The most effective LinkedIn influencers typically exhibit the following qualities and strategies:
- Niche expertise – They establish deep domain expertise in a specific field or topic area.
- Strong point of view – They share a unique perspective and vision vs. generic thought leadership.
- Engaging writing – Their content is lively and conversational while still being professional.
- Multimedia – They incorporate visuals like images, charts, video and presentations to create engaging posts.
- Consistent publishing – They post new long-form content frequently to stay top of mind.
- Promotion – They amplify their posts through social media, email newsletters, their website and other channels.
- Interaction – They actively respond to comments and messages to further the discussion and build relationships.
- Business focus – While personal brand building is a motivation, they tie their insights to practical business impact.
- Member advocacy – They showcase how their advice can directly help LinkedIn members achieve their professional goals.
In summary, successful influencers find the sweet spot between promoting their unique perspective and catering content to the wants and needs of the LinkedIn audience. They focus both on establishing their expert personal brands and on serving the LinkedIn community.
Examples of popular LinkedIn influencer posts
Here are a few examples of widely-shared LinkedIn influencer posts that drove significant engagement:
The Future of Remote Work by Melanie Curtin
Melanie Curtin leveraged data-driven insights to give practical predictions on how the remote work trends accelerated by the pandemic will persist into the future. The post generated thousands of likes and comments.
12 Daily Habits of Exceptional Leaders by Dr. Travis Bradberry
Using his emotional intelligence expertise, Dr. Bradberry outlined specific leadership habits readers can cultivate for professional success. The actionable advice struck a chord with the LinkedIn audience.
Will A Robot Take My Job? by Bernard Marr
Bernard Marr examined concerns about AI’s impact on jobs to provide research-backed reassurance and tips on working effectively alongside automation. The timely analysis was widely shared.
The Bravest Leadership Decision You Can Make Today by Sallie Krawcheck
Sallie Krawcheck argued that promoting workplace diversity requires courageous leadership vulnerable to criticism. The post ignited a provocative discussion on a complex issue.
Introverts, Here Are Some Tips For Being Heard In Meetings by Melody Wilding
Do LinkedIn influencers get paid?Most LinkedIn influencers participate in the program for the brand-building benefits rather than direct compensation from LinkedIn. Becoming an influencer does not entitle you to receive payment for your posts.
However, there are a few potential ways for influencers to monetize their LinkedIn status:
- Sponsored content – LinkedIn may sponsor an influencer to create branded posts as part of a paid partnership with advertisers. These opportunities are selective and managed by LinkedIn.
- LinkedIn Publisher program – Influencers can enroll in this program to add ads alongside their posts and earn a share of ad revenue.
- Consulting/advisory services – Being a LinkedIn influencer can lead to consulting gigs, advisory work and professional speaking engagements.
- Increased book/product sales – The expanded reach can boost an influencer’s book sales, training course enrollments or other product purchases.
- Partnership deals – Some brands may offer compensation for co-marketing partnerships with influencers outside of LinkedIn’s native ad offerings.
But for most influencers, the amplified brand visibility and ability to reach a large professional audience are the primary rewards of the unpaid role. Only a minority of influencers generate significant direct income through the program itself.
Conclusion
The LinkedIn influencer program empowers a select group of industry experts to engage audiences, spark discussion and spread innovative ideas aligned with LinkedIn’s mission. While informal thought leadership occurs across LinkedIn everyday, being an official influencer grants your professional insights increased visibility and distribution.
If you have established yourself as a leading voice in your field and actively cultivate your network through high-quality content, pursuing influencer status can significantly amplify your brand and impact. But be prepared to put in substantial time interacting with your community and delivering posts that meet the high bar expected of program participants.
With LinkedIn’s invaluable reach, being able to inspire and inform professionals worldwide is an opportunity without parallel. For those able to achieve it, becoming a LinkedIn influencer represents the pinnacle of thought leadership on the world’s largest professional networking platform.
