Can LinkedIn Influencers Actually Help Your Brand?

Social media influencers have become synonymous with platforms like Instagram and TikTok. But the idea of users with large followings promoting products and services for a fee is gravitating to everyone’s favourite professional networking platform, LinkedIn.

As the platform grows and becomes more popular, its value and potential as a promotional tool is becoming harder to ignore. One reason for this is that LinkedIn thrives on professional authenticity and engagement in ways that are very attractive—i.e., credibility-building—to businesses and CEOs. Many LinkedIn users have been on the platform for years, growing their following through organic methods such as sharing insights and opinions. Another reason is that, compared to its more image-oriented cousins, LinkedIn hasn’t been overwhelmed with cross-promotional content.

That may be about to change. In the meantime, the question is, can LinkedIn influencers help your brand?

What is a LinkedIn influencer?

A LinkedIn influencer shouldn’t be confused with a LinkedIn Influencer. This exclusive club is limited to 500 CEOs (mostly) with large followings who are active on the platform.

A LinkedIn influencer (lower-case), on the other hand, is generally someone with a following in the tens or hundreds of thousands. These influencers are respected for their expertise in a certain area. When they post, an audience is willing and eager to listen and engage.

Unlike other social media platforms, where influencers promote products to consumers, LinkedIn influencer campaigns are typically B2B. But, like a cosmetics or lifestyle influencer or Instagram, influencers on the business platform are getting paid. The amount and type of compensation—products or a flat fee or commission—depends on the agreement between the business and the influencer.

According to Jafar Ershadi Fard, who works in something called “influencer marketing,” a LinkedIn influencer “with 100,000 followers can expect to make anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars for a single post.” The site’s high rate of engagement makes it attractive to companies like HootSuite, which recently launched a creator campaign to ballyhoo the findings of its 2023 social media career report.

As in any social media campaign where money is changing hands, LinkedIn influencers should be transparent. In the examples of sponsored content below, you’ll see that the influencers have included hashtags such as #ad, #sponsored, ZendeskPartner,#tealpartner, and #HootsuitePartner.

Should you partner with a LinkedIn influencer?

For businesses, reasons to partner with a LinkedIn influencer include credibility and audience reach. A LinkedIn influencer is already trusted by many. Using their voice to amplify your company, product or brand will add authenticity and build credibility. As well, they can reach LinkedIn users who might not be aware of your company or product, or had no reason to care previously.

In the last year, companies have partnered with LinkedIn influencers to:

• Promote events: Intel partnered with Aishwarya Srinivasan, a senior AI advocate and a LinkedIn Top Voice in Data and AI. Srinivasan posted about attending the 2023 Intel Innovation conference with a recap video and a CTA to Intel’s Internet of Things page. Her post garnered just over 200 reactions.

• Share information: Dorie Clark, a Columbia Business professor and WSJ bestselling author, shared some findings from a 2023 Zendesk report on customer service to his nearly 400k followers. He included a link to the report and a video breaking down the information. His post received 241 reactions.

• Promote a product: Teal, a personal career growth platform, and Linda Le, a recruiter with over 500,000 followers, joined forces to spotlight the company’s AI Resume Builder “to revolutionize matching candidates to job descriptions based on their qualifications with AI.” The post received nearly 2000 reactions and 104 comments.

• Alert people to industry trends: Following its 2023 Social Media Career Report, Hootsuite contacted Jon-Stephen Stansel, a social media strategist with over 33,000 followers. Stansel posted findings from the report, such as the fact that 24% of social media professionals planned to leave the field in the next twelve months, and a link to the report.

Pros and cons of using a LinkedIn influencer

Partnering with an influencer who aligns with your campaign’s focus can have benefits. In the Hootsuite campaign, the software company teamed with social media managers, directors, and freelancers who have audiences of other social media professionals. In total, the campaign earned “more than 1.2 million impressions, some 5,600 link clicks, and more than 18,800 engagements.”

A successful partnership includes matching the format with what resonates on LinkedIn, tying into a relevant trend, and creating a detailed creative brief, according to Fast Company. This brief should include not only the brand’s objectives and expectations for what they’d like the creator to contribute, but also requirements like disclosure.

Although there seems to be little sign of influencer backlash on LinkedIn, that could change. The platform’s reputation as a trusted professional networking site is more fragile than the go-go consumerism of Instagram and TikTok, not to mention the bedlam of Twitter/X. Brands, CEOs and companies considering partnership deals with LinkedIn chieftains should keep in mind that users may soon come to resent ads masquerading as business insights showing up in their feeds.

Outside of its boilerplate advertising policies, LinkedIn seems to have no set guidelines when it comes to sponsored content on the platform.