Executive Summary

Considered a slow follower when pitted against Facebook, LinkedIn has made strides in recent years. New offerings across organic, paid and sales can help brands reach and engage LinkedIn’s audience of professional users.

How many people use LinkedIn?

We forecast that LinkedIn will have 62.1 million adult users in the US in 2020, up 6.2% from 2019.

What are LinkedIn Pages?

For marketers looking to build an organic strategy on LinkedIn, Pages serve as a starting place to gain followers, build a community, and share relevant company updates and content.

Which companies use LinkedIn ads?

Though LinkedIn isn’t the most popular social network for advertising, nearly half of agency and marketing professionals worldwide invested their ad budget into the platform, according to May 2019 research from Hanapin. In 2020, LinkedIn will net $1.59 billion in US ad revenues, according to our October 2019 estimates. B2B companies are more likely to use LinkedIn, but some B2C brands with a high consideration period or lifetime value are finding success on the platform.

How do advertisers target audiences on LinkedIn?

LinkedIn generates audiences for advertisers based on campaign objectives. But advertisers can also build their own audiences and layer in various attributes to customize the segment with demographic, firmographic and behavioral data. When targeting professionals, interviewees said LinkedIn has the most unique data on professional audiences.

How can companies best use LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator?

Sales Navigator is a paid tool that companies purchase for their sales teams to research and engage with prospects on LinkedIn. Sellers should use this tool as a supplement to a CRM and other marketing communication and automation tools within a larger B2B sales strategy.

WHAT’S IN THIS REPORT? This report will cover best practices for organic, paid and sales strategies on LinkedIn.

KEY STAT: Half of US marketers from companies with more than 100 employees will use LinkedIn this year, according to our January 2020 estimates.