Is LinkedIn Really More Than an Online Recruiter?

Social networks do best when they tap into one of the seven deadly sins. Facebook is ego. Zynga is sloth. LinkedIn is greed.

Reid Hoffman

I’ve been on LinkedIn since the beta stage. It was an interesting concept and in my opinion never lived up to its promise as a business networking site. LinkedIn has become a recruiting site and that’s not just my opinion; it’s LinkedIn’s opinion too. According to Reuters, “Expanded offerings helped boost revenue from the company's Talents Solutions business, which connects recruiters and job seekers, by 46 percent in the third quarter. The business accounted for nearly two-thirds of LinkedIn's total revenue”.

Having a LinkedIn profile is viewed as a necessity. It’s used as an online business card, business overview, resume and content management system but rarely as a business networking tool. The groups have become no more than locations for shameless self-promotion. 100% of the unsolicited emails I receive from LinkedIn members are solicitations. In fact, a cottage industry has sprung up around LinkedIn with a plethora of companies offering to help you create a LinkedIn profile that will stand out from the crowd, build your business brand, etc.

I recently had coffee with an old friend who was the one who introduced me to LinkedIn in the beta stage. I asked him if he still used LinkedIn. He said that he uses it to keep track of people, but nothing more. I asked my friends on LinkedIn if they've generated any net new business from LinkedIn or found any benefit at all from a business perspective. The answer across the board was no, except for one friend who's a recruiter. This is the one category of professionals that derives a great deal from LinkedIn.

LinkedIn’s demographic doesn’t speak well for its longevity in the long run. According to Pew Research Center, in 2014 among online adults, the highest percentage of LinkedIn users were the 50 – 64 demographic and the lowest percentage of LinkedIn users was the 18 – 29 demographic. In fact it’s the only online platform where those ages 30-64 are more likely to be users than those ages 18-29.

Online platforms come and go and eventually LinkedIn will be replaced by the new latest and greatest, as will Facebook and Twitter. In the meantime it’s likely to keep growing as an online recruiter. But, like everyone else, I’ll keep my profile updated; for what purpose, I have no clue.

You can buy attention (advertising). You can beg for attention from the media (PR). You can bug people one at a time to get attention (sales). Or you can earn attention by creating something interesting and valuable and then publishing it online for free.

David Meerman Scott

Make someone smile today.

Geri