Marketer Zain Kahn says he makes more than $1 million a year in advertising revenue, thanks largely to his hundreds of thousands of social media followers.
However, he doesn’t promote products to fans on TikTok and Instagram. Kahn is one of a new generation of “influencers” on an entirely different platform: LinkedIn.
Kahn amassed 772,000 followers on the site in about a year. He doesn’t make money directly from LinkedIn, but uses it primarily to promote his artificial intelligence newsletter, thereby attracting advertisers. “Audiences on LinkedIn are more valuable than other platforms,” he said.
The Microsoft-owned professional social platform, once purely a job hunting and networking platform, has become overwhelmed with many of its 930 million users sharing career-focused and often aspirational content, hoping Can attract a large number of followers.
Initially the domain of select business titans like Richard Branson, today it’s the realm of lesser-known marketers, tech entrepreneurs and even creatives like US rapper Snoop Dogg are all trying to take advantage of the platform.
They managed to attract a large following and caught the attention of some high-profile CEOs, who are now trying to build their personal brands and boost their corporate profiles on the platform.
“We get a lot of questions about, how do I show up as a C-suite executive in a way that brings aura to my company?” said Dan Shapero, chief operating officer at LinkedIn. “The demand for advice continues to grow . . . Executives recognize that their company’s brand often has a lot to do with how people view them.”
A market for help has sprung up, with consultants, agencies, in-house consultants and PR experts advising CEOs on how to leverage LinkedIn.
Craig Mullaney, a partner at press relations firm Brunswick Group, said LinkedIn has proven to be the most powerful communication channel for some of the executives he works with. “In a crisis, CEOs often have the hardest time expressing their views, especially if the media disagrees with them. So (LinkedIn) acts as a direct conduit to their employees and investors.”
For example, last year, a mass shooting occurred at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, in which an employee targeted a co-worker, the retailer’s CEO Doug McMillon Join LinkedIn Provide support to those affected and reassure employees.
Another benefit of having a platform on LinkedIn is the ability to engage employees. According to a 2022 Brunswick report, when applicants research a business they might join, they first look at the company’s website and then the CEO’s LinkedIn page.
Since the number of “influencers” (also known as creators) is relatively small, it becomes easier to build a profile on the platform, making it less competitive. At the same time, the user base was promised. “No one is going to challenge LinkedIn because our entire network is there,” said Lou Paskalis, an advertising veteran and CEO of AJL Advisory.
While CEOs’ primary goal on LinkedIn is to build their corporate identities, they seek advice from influencers and are turning the platform into a means of livelihood, through brand deals, speaking engagements, and ad-supported newsletters. and courses indirectly make money for the audience.
Kahn calls himself an “AI expert,” and he often shares practical advice in the form of checklists on how professionals can take advantage of new AI trends and tools. One of his most popular posts, “15 Powerful ChatGPT Tips That Will Save You 15 Hours Every Week,” has received over 15,000 likes, as well as hundreds of comments and shares.
One of the reasons he chose LinkedIn was user profiles. On X (formerly Twitter), his audience tends to be younger and less professional. But on LinkedIn, “they have a certain income threshold, so they have the purchasing power, and they are the decision-makers,” he said. “Building an audience takes you from a state of chasing an opportunity to a state of them chasing you.”
For baseball player-turned-entrepreneur Sahil Bloom, LinkedIn is also the largest source of subscribers for his newsletter, earning him $60,000 to $70,000 per month through advertising. It also generates leads for his other businesses, which include a personal branding agency and web design.
“LinkedIn is in the earliest stages of realizing its power as a social network,” Bloom said.
According to users, LinkedIn offers a safer space than competitors like X for those who want to be famous online without suffering the trolling and vitriol that comes with it.
“As someone who prides himself on growing his platform by sharing positive content without inciting negativity, anger or controversy, this is particularly appealing to me,” Bloom said.
Best-selling author Gretchen Rubin, who writes about self-management and career and has nearly 3 million followers on the platform, said she has “never been attacked or had a similar negative experience.” She describes the platform as “a great free resource” for her work, adding: “I feel like the world is my research assistant.”
Still, LinkedIn isn’t for everyone.Some complain about a lack of user experience and analytics, but it’s home to sophisticated scammers, prompting warn From the FBI.
At the same time, some users’ tendency to post flowery corporate rhetoric and gushing motivational mantras has prompted criticism that this is what social media is all about. “toxic positivity”.
A popular formula emerged, in which users describe how they overcame adversity and achieved success, often with a succinct inspirational closing line, prompting sarcastic versions from comedians and derision from X accounts, such as “LinkedIn status.” Users of a Reddit forum dedicated to “outrageous” LinkedIn content were hesitant to launch Snoop Dogg on the platform.
LinkedIn, whose revenue grew 8% this year, is encouraging creators. It’s always adding new features and formats, such as audio, instant video, and newsletters. It has a news and creative team of more than 200 reporters and editors, led by Dan Roth, former editor-in-chief of Fortune, who helps promote and curate professional conversations.
Recently, it launched an initiative to use artificial intelligence to generate conversation starters and then ask relevant experts to add their own comments and contributions.
“What’s really unique about LinkedIn is they have editorial capabilities,” Mullaney said. “When executives hear important news, if they work with LinkedIn and the editorial team, there are all kinds of levers the team can use to have real impact.” He cited examples such as including creators in recommendations, push notifications and News tags etc.
Other users, like clothing designer Jason Mayden, applauded the platform for promoting diversity and black entrepreneurs, while others failed.
“What I found on LinkedIn was that because there was a level of intelligence in what I was doing, the platform allowed me to showcase that and not be pigeonholed,” said Mayden, one of LinkedIn’s so-called “Top Voices.” , he posted on his 10,000 feeds. Followers learn about his creative process and career path. “On other platforms, you’re governed by algorithms that put you into a certain category.”
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