40 Terrific Linkedin Demographics

Social media sites each have a niche to which they market. For LinkedIn, that niche happens to be the business professional. It is a place where employers, marketers, executives, and those searching for work can all come together and speak about their experiences.

There are currently more than 400 million active users on LinkedIn right now.

What makes the social media site unique in its demographics is that they are just about equal across the board. The only exceptions are that rural households are less likely to use the site, as are people in the 65+ age demographic. On average, out of all internet users, about 1 in 4 people will actively use LinkedIn in some way.

Who is The Average LinkedIn User?

• 26% of men and 25% of women who identify themselves as an internet user state that they use LinkedIn.
• Caucasians/Whites are the most likely to use LinkedIn, with 26% of internet users in this demographic category being active. 22% of African-Americans/Blacks and 22% of Hispanics who use the internet also use LinkedIn.
• People in the 30-49 age demographic are the most likely to use LinkedIn, with 32% of internet users in this category being active on the site. Next is the 50-64 age demographic, with 26% of internet users being active on LinkedIn.
• Just 9% of internet users with a high school diploma/GED or less use LinkedIn. In comparison, 46% of internet users who have graduated with a 4 year degree or better are on the site.
• When people are employed, they are 3x more likely to use LinkedIn compared to those who are unemployed.
• About 1 in 3 internet users who live in an urban environment use LinkedIn. For rural internet users, it’s a usage rate of just 1 in 10.
• Just 1.5% of minors at a working age [14-17] have visited LinkedIn.

Because LinkedIn is so focused on business development, employment, and other related opportunities, it makes sense that people in rural areas and those in the retirement age bracket would be less likely to be active on the site. They have less of a need to be connected to others in such a way. What stands out the most, however, is that the people who would benefit the most [diploma/GED or less] from the experiences being shared on the site are the least likely to be on it.

LinkedIn Is More Popular Than Twitter

• 19% of US adults state that they have used Twitter at some point in their lives. 22% of US adults say that they have used LinkedIn.
• LinkedIn is the only top social network to feature higher penetration rates in the 50-to-64 age bracket than in the 18-to-29 age group.
• When looking at HHI, more people [23%] are actively engaged on LinkedIn making less than $30k per year than people making more than $75k per year [21%].
• There is a new LinkedIn member joining the social media site every half a second.
• 70% of the LinkedIn community lives outside of the United States.
• The average amount of time a user spends on LinkedIn per month: 17 minutes.
• “Motivated.” This is the most common descriptive term that people use to describe themselves on this social media site.
• 8.3% of LinkedIn users will use the social media site when they are at work.

The LinkedIn demographics have some curious discrepancies within them. For example: more people with lower incomes are on the site, but there is a higher saturation in the 50+ age category than the 18-29 age category where incomes are generally lower. Even though there is a large amount of users who have connected to this social media site [some estimates say that 3 billion people have used LinkedIn at least once], the average user spends less than 20 minutes per month on the site. This indicates that people are interested in its concepts, but aren’t really taking advantage of the site’s benefits.

Location Matters When Using LinkedIn

• 28% of Australian social media users state that they use LinkedIn on a regular basis.
• For those working in Washington DC, 79% of users say that they regularly use this social media site.
• 59% of the active profiles on LinkedIn have never worked for a company that has more than 200 employees.
• LinkedIn accounts for 5% of North America’s social sharing internet traffic, which is 2.5x higher that the total social sharing traffic that Europe sees from the site.
• Just 1 in 10 LinkedIn users say that they log into their profile at least once per day.
• 61 million LinkedIn users live in Asia, yet account for just 1% of Asia’s social sharing traffic.
• In Japan, just 2.8% of internet users say that they have a profile on LinkedIn.
• Just 4% of US users say that they have shared a blog post they enjoyed on LinkedIn.
• Despite this lack of traffic, more than 130k long form posts are shared on LinkedIn per week and more than 19 million SlideShares have been uploaded.
• The top destination for recent graduates on LinkedIn: Paris, France.

LinkedIn seems to be treated as an “insurance policy” when it comes to how content is being generated and shared. People will post content or share thoughts, but they don’t stick around to engage the people who might interact with that content. This may be what is contributing to the perception that this social media site is less popular than it really happens to be. People are sharing their experiences and knowledge, but they seem to be doing it as a way to prove their own talents and skills rather than trying to improve the skills of others who might encounter their content.

How Gender And Employment Position Play a Role on LinkedIn

• The average number of connections for US women on LinkedIn: 101.
• The average CEO or executive with a profile on LinkedIn has 900+ connections on the social media site.
• The average number of connections for accounts that have published long form content: 1,049.
• 83% of people who use LinkedIn state that they do not use Pinterest. In comparison, just 13% of LinkedIn users say that they don’t have a Facebook profile.
• 90% of LinkedIn users say that they are responsible for making all of their household decisions.
• 41% of people worth at least $1 million say that they use LinkedIn.
• The estimated value of each LinkedIn user to the site: $84.

Look at the difference that women can have with their connections simply by publishing long form content. Even CEOs and executives receive a boost when they produce content that others would see as beneficial. It boils down to the value proposition that someone is willing to provide on the site. Content makers are posting on LinkedIn as a way to build connections. Content consumers are following the people or corporations that are creating valuable content that can be used right away. What gets lost in the middle of all this is the actual social connection that people could be making. In a way, LinkedIn is very much like a retail store. People offer content in return for connections, followers, and skill verification in a cycle that never seems to end.

Who Takes Advantage of a LinkedIn Presence The Most?

• The finance industry has the largest presence on LinkedIn, accounting for 12% of total profiles that are available. The medical industry is a close second place, also with 12% of total profiles. Education and high tech follow behind at 10% respectively.
• The #1 position listed for a LinkedIn profile is “operations,” yet 18% of LinkedIn users are engaged in either sales or some form of entrepreneurship.
• 48% of LinkedIn members have some form of a decision-making position where they work. 9% of people in a decision-making role list themselves as the owner of their own business.
• The average LinkedIn user will joint at least 7 different groups as a way to consume content, make connections, or share content to others.
• 47% of LinkedIn members are employed by an organization which has hired more than 10,000 employees.
• 88% of members will check-in about once per week on the site. Just 1% of users say that they check their LinkedIn profile just once every 2-3 months.

With more than 200 million groups available, there are plenty of ways to get engaged on LinkedIn. It may be geared more toward the business professional who wants to establish their own expertise in some way, but there is something for everyone on this site. You can apply for jobs, make sales, and even freelance on the site if you wish. The bottom line is this: LinkedIn cannot be ignored as a social media option. In many ways, it really should be considered the #2 social media site instead of that position going to Twitter.