LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 722 million users worldwide. It’s a great platform for building your professional brand, connecting with colleagues, finding jobs, promoting your business, and more. One of LinkedIn’s paid features is LinkedIn Premium, which offers additional benefits beyond the free version, such as expanded profiles, unlimited search history, messaging capabilities, and analytics.
One of the key questions around LinkedIn Premium is whether it can help increase the number of views your posts get. Views are important on LinkedIn because it shows your content is reaching and engaging your target audience. More views make you look popular and influential. It also helps increase the chances of your posts going viral.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll dive into whether LinkedIn Premium is worth it for increasing post views and engagement.
What is LinkedIn Premium?
LinkedIn Premium is LinkedIn’s paid subscription plan. There are three tiers of LinkedIn Premium:
– Premium Career – $29.99/month
– Premium Business – $49.99/month
– Sales Navigator – $79.99/month
With LinkedIn Premium, you get additional features such as:
– Profile branding customization
– Larger profile photo
– More search filters
– Unlock full profiles
– See who’s viewed your profile
– Contact info for premium subscribers
– Unlimited profile views
– InMail messages
– Advanced analytics
The Sales Navigator plan is specifically tailored for sales professionals, with features like saved leads and customized sales recommendations.
Premium Career and Premium Business plans are best suited for individuals focused on networking and growing their professional brand versus selling. We’ll focus on these two plans in this article.
Does LinkedIn Premium Increase Post Views?
The short answer is yes, LinkedIn Premium can help increase post views. Here’s why:
1. Broader reach for your posts: With Premium, your posts can reach a larger audience because you can view the entire LinkedIn network. The free version only shows your posts to your direct connections.
2. See post analytics: Premium unlocks a broader analytics dashboard so you can see impressions, engagement, clicks, reactions, comments, shares, etc. for your posts. This allows you to optimize your content strategy.
3. Improved search visibility: Premium profiles show up higher in LinkedIn’s search results. Since you can be discovered by more people, your posts have a better chance of being viewed.
4. Contact info for premium subscribers: Premium members can view each other’s contact info, allowing you to further build relationships and get post views from new connections.
5. Larger profile photo: Premium allows a larger customizable profile photo to stand out and look more influential. A strong profile drives more users to click through to your posts.
Premium vs Free Post Views
Several studies have compared how many more post views you can get with LinkedIn Premium compared to the free version. Here are some key statistics:
– 2x more post views: Premium accounts get on average twice as many post views compared to free accounts, according to Social Insider.
– 10x more content views: LinkedIn’s own marketing states Premium can drive up to 10x more content views.
– 3x more profile views: Premium results in 3x as many profile views vs free accounts, helping get more eyes on your posts.
– 61% more engagement: In a study by Social Insider, Premium accounts had 61% higher engagement overall.
The exact lift you’ll see depends on your industry and content quality. But in general, Premium provides a significant boost in post reach.
Tips to Increase Post Views with Premium
While Premium can help, simply having it won’t automatically increase your views. You need an effective content strategy. Here are some best practices to maximize your post views with Premium:
Leverage Your Expanded Network
Since Premium lets you search beyond your own connections, actively connect with new professionals in your target demographics. This gives you a larger audience to promote your posts to.
Send personalized InMail messages to invite new connections. Share that you admire their work and would value their professional insights on your posts.
Optimize Your Posts
With Premium’s analytics, you can see which post types, topics and formats resonate best with your audience. Experiment across long form articles, short posts, videos, images, quotes, Q&As, polls, etc. See what content gets the highest click through rate and engagement.
You can also A/B test posting at different days and times to see what drives the most views. then build your editorial calendar around these learnings.
Engage With Your Connections
Don’t just broadcast content through your feed. Actively participate in your connections’ conversations and posts. Like, comment, share, and add value. This raises your visibility and gets more eyes on your own posts.
Respond to any comments or messages about your posts to further the dialogue. This also signals to the LinkedIn algorithm that your posts are generating interest.
Follow Up With New Connections
When you connect with new professionals through Premium, don’t stop there. Follow up with them after the initial outreach. Share that you just posted an insightful article you’d love their take on. Or ask them a thoughtful question related to their work.
This helps transition them from a passive connection to an engaged audience member.
Promote Your Posts Externally
In addition to promoting your posts natively within LinkedIn, also amplify them outside LinkedIn. Share them on Twitter, Facebook, and other channels. Email them to your subscriber list.
The more external visibility your posts get, the more it signals authority to LinkedIn’s algorithm, which may show your posts to more users on the platform.
Limitations of LinkedIn Premium for Views
While Premium can drive more post views, it isn’t a silver bullet. Here are some limitations to be aware of:
– You still need quality content – no amount of distribution can make up for low-value posts that don’t resonate with your audience.
– Competition is still high – LinkedIn’s feed algorithm surfaces the most engaging posts. Premium helps you compete but doesn’t guarantee virality.
– Slow organic growth – don’t expect your views to explode overnight. Growing your reach and authority takes time and consistency.
– Lower ROI for certain roles – the boost Premium provides may not be worth the cost for some job functions like software engineers.
– Limited social proof – having lots of connections doesn’t necessarily translate into more post views if those connections aren’t actively engaged.
So Premium can provide a meaningful advantage but needs to fit into a holistic content strategy tailored to your goals.
Is LinkedIn Premium Worth It for Views?
Based on the potential lift in post views, here’s an assessment of whether Premium may be worth the investment:
**For Individual Brand Building**
LinkedIn Premium can be worth it if you are focused on aggressively growing your professional brand and reach. The ability to search beyond your network and messaging tools can help get your posts in front of many more relevant eyes.
Just be realistic about the time commitment required to cultivate those relationships and continuously create valuable content.
**For Sales Prospecting**
The Sales Navigator plan provides the highest ROI for views and engagement. The customized recommendations and saved leads features maximize your ability to connect with high potential targets and get your posts in front of them.
**For Passive Networking**
If you only occasionally post and passively consume content, Premium may not make sense. Stick to the free plan and focus on nurturing the connections you already have.
**For Social Selling**
Premium isn’t essential but can be a useful add-on. Focus first on building authority and creating shareworthy content. Then Premium provides supplemental distribution and analytics capabilities to amplify your organic efforts.
**For Additional Income**
For freelancers, consultants, and coaches who monetize their expertise through LinkedIn, the extra brand visibility Premium provides can directly translate into more business opportunities and income.
Conclusion
LinkedIn Premium can be a worthwhile investment if you have an active presence on LinkedIn and are strategic about leveraging the expanded capabilities.
For most professionals focused on thought leadership and brand building, Premium is likely worth the extra cost. However, the free version may still be sufficient depending on your goals.
The key is setting clear objectives, creating high-quality content tailored to your audience, and executing an engagement strategy that brings consistent value to your connections. If Premium fits into that broader plan, it can provide a meaningful boost in maximizing your post views and reach.