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Executives are more active on LinkedIn than you think

by | Sep 21, 2015 | Public Relations, Social Media

A new primary research study, conducted by marketing strategy consultancy FrogDog, found that the majority of C-level executives across companies of all sizes do find time to be active users of LinkedIn, primarily to take advantage of the business-oriented social media platform’s networking opportunities.

“We wanted to find out exactly how C-level professionals used LinkedIn, and if they did use it at all,” said Leslie Farnsworth, FrogDog founder and CEO, when asked why her team decided to pursue this research, according to a news release. “LinkedIn’s primary features, which support recruiting and sales efforts, don’t seem like they would appeal to this population. By gaining an understanding of how executives use LinkedIn, we can more effectively target this audience as marketers.”

Of C-level respondents, three fourths reported logging into LinkedIn multiple times per month or more, with the majority of respondents claiming they mainly connect with colleagues and research other professionals on the site. Another interesting finding showed that LinkedIn use is inversely proportional to company size—execs at smaller companies are more likely to use more features more often than their counterparts at larger organizations.

FrogDog’s finding that the majority of respondents read articles on LinkedIn’s publishing platform showed the success of the social media giant’s efforts to incorporate thought leadership into its offerings. Most especially, LinkedIn’s publishing platform may be an effective channel for reaching executives at the largest corporations. Unlike their peers at small and midsized companies, about one fifth of respondents at large companies claimed to primarily use LinkedIn to read articles.

Other interesting findings from FrogDog’s LinkedIn study include the following:

  • LinkedIn ads are not a good way to approach this group: 72.8 percent of survey respondents said they “rarely” or “never” click on ads.
  • The majority of C-suite executives (84.4 percent) do not pay for premium accounts. Executives at small companies are the most likely to purchase this feature.
  • While C-suite executives see LinkedIn as a good communications channel for people they know, the majority (52.3 percent) “rarely” or “never” reach out to professionals that they do not know using the social media platform.

Overall, the report examines how C-level professionals as a whole use LinkedIn and then zeroes in on how company size affects how this group uses the platform.

Download the complete report here.

Source: Business Wire; edited by Richard Carufel

Richard Carufel
Richard Carufel is editor of Bulldog Reporter and the Daily ’Dog, one of the web’s leading sources of PR and marketing communications news and opinions. He has been reporting on the PR and communications industry for over 17 years, and has interviewed hundreds of journalists and PR industry leaders. Reach him at richard.carufel@bulldogreporter.com; @BulldogReporter

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