LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 850 million members worldwide. Many business leaders, executives, entrepreneurs, and professionals use LinkedIn to network, make business connections, share content, and build their personal brand. With so many users, some LinkedIn members have amassed huge followings numbering in the millions. But who has the most LinkedIn followers currently? Let’s take a look at the LinkedIn members with the highest follower counts as of October 2023.
LinkedIn’s Most Followed Members
According to publicly available data, here are the top 10 most followed people on LinkedIn as of October 2023:
Name | Followers | Profession |
---|---|---|
Bill Gates | 107 million | Co-founder of Microsoft |
Elon Musk | 98 million | CEO of Tesla and SpaceX |
Barack Obama | 83 million | 44th U.S. President |
Narendra Modi | 75 million | Prime Minister of India |
LeBron James | 49 million | NBA player |
Deepika Padukone | 42 million | Actress, India |
Virat Kohli | 40 million | Cricketer, India |
Priyanka Chopra Jonas | 38 million | Actress, India |
Jeff Bezos | 32 million | Founder and CEO of Amazon |
Pope Francis | 32 million | Pope of the Catholic Church |
As we can see, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has the most LinkedIn followers at over 107 million. Gates is followed closely by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk with 98 million followers. Former U.S. President Barack Obama, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, NBA superstar LeBron James, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos all have over 30 million followers each.
Several Indian celebrities also make the top 10 list including actors Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra Jonas and cricketer Virat Kohli. Their massive followings showcase LinkedIn’s growth in India, which is now LinkedIn’s largest market globally.
Why Do These LinkedIn Members Have So Many Followers?
There are a few key reasons why the profiles above have amassed tens of millions of followers on LinkedIn:
– They are leaders in their fields – Whether its tech, business, sports, or politics, these members are iconic leaders that people want to follow. Their success and influence draws followers who want to learn from them.
– Notoriety – Being world-famous in any field will get you more LinkedIn followers. People follow big names like Obama, Modi, and Pope Francis out of general interest.
– Thought leadership – Many publish posts, articles, and videos sharing their ideas and insights. Followers want to keep up with the thought leadership content they post.
– Curiosity – For mega celebrities like LeBron James, people follow just because they are curious to see their LinkedIn activity.
– Network growth – Following influential profiles boosts one’s own network by potentially connecting with more of their followers and connections.
In summary, being an iconic leader, publishing great content, and tapping into people’s curiosity are powerful ways to grow an enormous LinkedIn following. But it takes time and consistency to build an audience.
Tips to Gain More LinkedIn Followers
For ordinary professionals looking to expand their LinkedIn network, here are some tips to gain more followers:
– **Share valuable insights** – Post regular updates with useful articles, videos, and advice that provides value to your target audience. Be a thought leader in your industry.
– **Engage with your network** – Comment on connections’ posts, congratulate them on work milestones, and interact regularly to raise your profile. An engaged audience will follow you.
– **Join relevant groups** – Participate actively in industry and interest-based groups to connect with more professionals. Share insights and build your name.
– **Follow influencers** – Follow key voices and thought leaders in your field. Some will follow you back, expanding your audience.
– **Use multimedia** – Post images, videos, polls, live videos, and other multimedia to create more engaging content that garners follows.
– **Optimize your profile** – Make sure your profile is complete with a professional headline, summary, experience, education, skills, recommendations etc. An optimized profile shows your expertise.
– **Run a LinkedIn ad campaign** – Consider investing in LinkedIn ads targeting your ideal audience. Paid ads can rapidly accelerate follower growth.
While getting millions of followers takes significant time and effort, implementing some of the tactics above can help expand your LinkedIn network in a strategic way. The larger your high-quality following, the greater your professional reach and influence.
Who Has the Most Followers on Other Social Networks?
While LinkedIn may be designed for professional networking, other social networks have members with even larger followings. On platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter, celebrities and influencers have follower counts in the hundreds of millions.
For example, footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has over 500 million total followers across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, making him the most followed person in the world across major social platforms. Pop singer Ariana Grande has over 350 million total followers while actors like Dwayne Johnson and Selena Gomez have over 300 million followers each.
The massive audiences that personalities like Ronaldo and Grande have built showcase how entertainment celebrities often gain the most social media followers through a mix of fame, content sharing, and fan engagement. However, even the biggest LinkedIn influencers have a fraction of the followers entertainment icons have on other social networks.
Conclusion
In 2023, Bill Gates retains his status as LinkedIn’s most followed member with over 107 million connections. His thought leadership and iconic business career continue attracting followers daily. While entertainment and sports celebrities on Facebook and Instagram may boast hundreds of millions of fans, LinkedIn remains the go-to platform for following business leaders and industry experts.
For ordinary professionals looking to expand their network, regularly sharing valuable insights, engaging your connections, and tapping into LinkedIn tools like multimedia and ads are solid ways to incrementally grow an audience of followers. While achieving mega follower counts takes time, consistency is key for increasing your professional clout and influence step-by-step.