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LinkedIn Premium: Worth the Money?

At Focus Marketing & PR we often get questions from our clients about using LinkedIn and recently we have been talking more about more about LinkedIn Premium.  Many people want to know if they should upgrade their account to the paid version and whether they will see any benefits from shelling out some dough for social media – something that is typically free.

In case you haven’t heard, LinkedIn now offers a paid version of their product called LinkedIn Premium. Just to add complexity, there are several levels within LinkedIn Premium that can be considered. The first is Premium Business, up from that is Business Plus and at the peak is Executive. They range in price from $24.95 per month up to $99.95 per month. (If want a slightly lower monthly rate they offer a yearly subscription plan that will lower the cost per month but you are locked for the whole year.)

So, what does this money actually get you? Well, it basically gives you access to more information that is currently hidden from the average LinkedIn “free user”. You are able to see more information about people who are not currently in your immediate network.  (Meaning that currently you can see limited information about someone who is a second-degree connection but with an upgraded account you can see information about people who are second-degree connections and beyond.) Think about it this way: if someone else has a premium account and you don’t, they can see a lot more of your information than you can see of theirs. You can also “see” more when it comes to searching within LinkedIn’s database – the more you spend the more you can find.

The other main benefit of a paid subscription to LinkedIn is use of “InMail”. If you have a paid subscription to LinkedIn you are able to send emails within the tool to people you don’t know. (You can’t do this with the free version unless you are already connected with them.) Depending on which level you select, you have a designated number of emails that you are allowed to send per month.

In addition to InMail access, paid LinkedIn users can use other organizational tools within the system, get sneak peeks to new products and a few other perks. But, is it worth it?

Well, depending on what you are trying to do with an upgraded account this could be well worth your time. For example, if you are a recruiter or you are trying to fill some job openings within your company, an upgraded account would be great because you would get more exhaustive search results more effectively. If you are a salesperson and you are trying to build up your pipeline you are going to potentially have better access to the people you need to talk to. And if you are out there looking for a new job an upgraded account will get your name to the top of the list when people are searching for candidates. (Each of these could be paired with tailored premium packages called Talent Finder, Sales Navigator and Job Seeker Premium respectively.)

So, our advice to you is that if you are looking to solve a problem that is more short-term (fill a position, build up your pipeline, find a job), try out a premium level for a month or two and see if it helps. We also encourage small businesses to try LinkedIn Premium when they are trying to get their business off the ground. The additional features available on the paid version could certainly help with networking efforts.

Coming up next week: How can you get your social media and search efforts to jive?

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