Marketing Masterclass: Is LinkedIn Premium worth the investment?

And, one of the most common questions I hear from my clients is whether they should invest in LinkedIn Premium.

It’s a fair question. After all, investing in LinkedIn Premium is a big ask and that monthly subscription fee can quickly add up.

So, in today’s Marketing Masterclass article, I want to share my thoughts and opinions on the subscription. Let’s call it an unbiased look at whether LinkedIn Premium is genuinely worth the investment.

First of all, let’s discuss the positives.

The most significant benefit of LinkedIn Premium is the ability to see who’s viewed your profile.

For those of us constantly hustling to build our brand and attract new opportunities on the platform, this feature is pure gold. It allows you to identify potential leads, reconnect with old contacts, and gain valuable insights into who’s interested in what you’re doing.

But how many of you reach out to 1st connections who have looked at your profile recently? Or sent connection requests to those who aren’t yet connected to you? You’re missing out on potential opportunities if you’re not doing this.

Another major perk of LinkedIn Premium is its advanced search capabilities. With LinkedIn Premium, you can filter and sort through the platform’s vast network in ways the free version simply can’t match.

Let’s say you want to find all the CEOs and Managing Directors in Jersey. No problem. Need to track down a specific decision-maker at a target account? LinkedIn Premium makes it easy.

And then there are InMail credits.

Being able to message people outside of your network directly can be a game-changer, especially when you’re trying to land a new client. Let’s imagine you’re targeting a new company, and you’re not yet connected to the CMO or CEO. If you had the free version, you could only send them a connection request and hope they accept. Then, once accepted, you could send them a DM. In other words, if they don’t accept your connection request, you may be unable to contact them through the platform.

However, with LinkedIn Premium Business, you can send up to 15 InMails per month. That’s direct messages to people with whom you are not yet connected.

Finally, LinkedIn has recently introduced a new feature. It’s AI writing assistant.

LinkedIn gurus and influencers will all tell you how important engagement is (that’s writing comments on other people’s posts). But it can sometimes be a struggle to think of something cool or compelling to write. Then there’s the fear of being judged by our comments, and we’re in a bit of a kerfuffle.

So LinkedIn Premium users get prompts and guidance when responding to specific posts. I’m lucky that I don’t often get writer’s block when composing a comment, so I haven’t used it yet. But, to be honest, I think the responses sound a bit robotic. So, I’ve not bought into its value yet, but it may improve in time.

Now, to keep this blog as balanced as possible, let’s look at the downsides of LinkedIn Premium.

LinkedIn Premium’s biggest downside is its cost. At up to £79.99 per month, it’s a significant investment, especially for small business owners operating on tight budgets.

Another potential drawback is that some of LinkedIn Premium’s ‘exclusive’ features are slowly making their way to the free version of the platform. Things like seeing who’s viewed your profile, for example, are now available to all users, albeit with some limitations. So, the value proposition of Premium may start to feel a bit less compelling as LinkedIn continues to enhance its free offering.

And then there’s the question of whether all those advanced search capabilities and InMail credits translate to tangible results. Sure, they can be powerful tools in the right hands. But if you’re not strategic and intentional in using them, you could waste a lot of time and money.

So, is LinkedIn Premium worth it?

Ultimately, it depends on your specific goals and circumstances.

If your role involves business development and you rely on the platform to help you generate leads and close deals, the investment could be worthwhile. The ability to laser-target your outreach and stay top-of-mind with key contacts could also be a game-changer.

But if you’re more of a casual LinkedIn user or your primary focus is on building your brand and engaging with your existing network, the platform’s free version may be sufficient.

After all, you can still post content, engage with others, and even send connection requests without a Premium subscription.

The key is to experiment, track your results, and be honest about whether the investment is truly paying dividends. And if it’s not? Well, there ‘s always the option to cancel.

And here’s a final tip, one that I know works. If you want to reduce your monthly subscription fee, go to cancel.

LinkedIn often offers a discount to stay with them, meaning you can save even more. You’re welcome.