3 Reasons LinkedIn Premium May Be Worth the Money

When it comes to professional networking as a business owner, connecting with potential customers, vendors, or strategic partners is important. Using the social media tools can help build your reputation or extend your brand to new audiences, but how can you leverage social networks to grow your business?

LinkedIn is the biggest social network focused on companies and doing business. While most popular social networks are free to use other than fee-based advertising opportunities, LinkedIn adds on a freemium subscription model. While a basic account and company page are free on the network, LinkedIn provides additional features based on the paid plan you purchase annually.

The fee-based premium plans target two distinct audiences: job seekers and business leaders.

Premium Career is a LinkedIn premium subscription geared toward people looking to get hired.

The LinkedIn premium subscription plans for business leaders are:

• Sales Navigator - helps you generate leads to build your client base.
• Recruiter Lite - for finding talent to hire.
• Premium Business - provides detailed business insights and resources to grow your business.

Another premium subscription plan, LinkedIn Learning, is an educational platform that can benefit both job seekers and entrepreneurs.

The three features that could make paying for LinkedIn Premium worthwhile are:

1. Unlimited people browsing - You can view any profile (up to 3rd degree) from search results. This ability to perform unlimited searches can help you better connect with people with whom you can do business - even if they aren’t within your immediate networks. You can also see who has viewed your profile for the entire year versus 90 days with a Basic account.
2. Expanded InMail - InMail is LinkedIn’s private messaging system that lets you contact people on the platform who are not within your close network of contacts. With a Premium account, you receive 15 InMail credits per month versus the five that come with a Basic account. Being able to make direct contact for networking purposes can help grow your network and your business.
3. LinkedIn Learning - Every business owner can benefit from educational resources. The Learning module of LinkedIn includes on-demand courses that you can take at your own pace. The system makes personalized recommendations for courses that are geared toward your type of business, position, or industry.

   You can learn soft skills such as communication skills, time management, strategic thinking, and problem-solving. You can also learn hard skills including technical ones such as graphic design and web development and financial ones such as basics of accounting. You can spend up to 30 minutes a week taking a course. The LinkedIn Learning subscription plan provides you with unlimited access to courses.

Depending on the subscription you choose, the cost varies. Linkedin Premium Business is $59.99 per month. Linkedin Sales Navigator is $99.99 per month and Linkedin Recruiter Lite is $180/month. You can also opt to pay annually for a slight discount.

Premium Business may be a good investment if you are looking to build your network and grow professionally. If sales are a major aspect of your business, particularly if you hire and train salespeople and are prospecting for customers, Sales Navigator may be a better fit.

Paying for a social network account may be less common given that so many of them are free, but when it comes to business, investing in your own professional growth and the growth of your company could make LinkedIn Premium worth exploring. To get the most out of LinkedIn Premium, first research the specific features so you pick the best one for your business needs. Try Premium on a month-to-month basis for a few months, making a commitment to using those features on a regular basis before you spend money on an annual subscription.