LinkedIn wants you to pay for your time on its platform.
And, one of its cash cows is LinkedIn Premium.
Here’s the thing.
We actually advise you to use their premium services.
I know what you’re thinking, but hear us out.
You get access to who’s viewed your profile for the past 90 days, prospecting features, and a bunch of other cool stuff that you can use to drive your growth.
In this guide, I want to break down LinkedIn Premium for you, and show you which one you need to take your brand to the next level.
What is LinkedIn Premium?
LinkedIn Premium is the paid version of LinkedIn that comes with a variety of features tailored to your usage on the network.
Now, we all know that normal, “vanilla” LinkedIn comes with a lot of limitations.
For example, you can’t view one too many profiles before they restrict your account nor are all details of someone’s profile available to a normal user.
Now this is probably done for a few reasons, one being it generates income to encourage people to switch to Premium and it’s also to improve the user experience on the site.
Imagine what it would be like if everybody had access to everyone’s profiles – there would probably be thousands of bots just scraping day and night.
For people that want to shell out for premium features, LinkedIn premium is the way to go.
There are currently four main types of LinkedIn Premium plans available.
Some of the common features that they share are access to video resources, who’s viewed your profile, some form of analytics, unlimited profile viewing options, and an option to send InMail to people.
Premium Career
Premium Career is the option for professionals who are looking to gain an edge in seeking employment.
It allows subscribers to check out who’s viewed their profile and contains its own analytics to benchmark their performance against other candidates.
Since it’s primarily built for people who are looking for jobs, it’s got two specialized features, one that allows applicants to prepare for interview questions, and the other is an interesting search feature that allows them to search for jobs where their skills would make them a top candidate.
Being Premium subscribers, they get access to educational video content and a way to message recruiters directly with three free InMail credits.
(Yes, we know three isn’t that much, but it can be worth it for hard-to-reach employers.)
Premium Business
Linkedin Premium is built for companies who want insights into how their company is doing, and where else they can improve on.
It has no restrictions on search and it allows people to view who’s viewed their profile for 90 days.
Standard access to educational videos courses is included as well as 15 free InMail messages that they can send out.
However, it is worth noting that it has no significant prospecting capabilities apart from unlimited searches.
Sales Navigator
If you’re a LinkedIn growth hacker then you’re probably already using LinkedIn Sales Navigator.
This particular Premium option gives you access to one of the most robust prospecting tools that are officially tied into LinkedIn.
It’s so powerful that even we use it at BAMF.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator’s stand-out feature is its advanced lead searching capabilities that give you access to highly specific filters that can help you drill down prospect lists and come up with highly segmented lead groups.
You can then maintain these lists within Sales Navigator itself, send them over to your CRM for processing, and even create alerts with updates regarding your current leads.
All other usual LinkedIn premium features are activated including access to who’s viewed your profile, video courses, and twenty InMail credits you can use to contact your prospects.
Recruiter Lite
The name says it all, Recruiter Lite is a version of LinkedIn that’s built for recruitment managers and HR professionals to bring in top talent from the network.
Think of it as a less beefed-up version of LinkedIn Talent Solutions.
Subscribers can contact candidates directly, check out who’s viewed their profile, and it’s got LinkedIn limitations lifted for its search services.
It’s built for recruiters because they have built-in candidate tracking – imagine a CRM for recruitment, advanced search functionality, and the utilization of smart suggestions to help recruiters with insights.
They get 30 InMail credits to use with potential candidates.
Which One Should I Be Using?
LinkedIn Sales Navigator.
Hands down, it’s the only type of LinkedIn Premium I recommend to my clients.
Why?
Because it’s designed as a prospecting tool with all the other Premium features thrown in for free.
If you’re a marketing professional, growth hacker, entrepreneur, founder, etc., that’s focused on driving growth, your priority is bringing in more connections and leads.
That’s what LinkedIn Sales Navigator is built for.
LinkedIn Premium Business might be an appealing choice, because of its features and lower price, but it isn’t really built for growth. All its features, except business insights, are already available with Sales Navigator.
If you’re going to spend for LinkedIn Premium, you should be efficient with your resources and pick the one that can take your company to the next level. LinkedIn Premium Business is just too limiting.
I want to learn how to use LinkedIn Sales Navigator like a pro!
9 Benefits of LinkedIn Premium (And, How to Use Them for Growth)
1. Prospecting
Every version of LinkedIn Premium has a prospecting feature.
It’s one of their biggest selling points because people who are interested in Premium want to use it to grow either their brand or their business.
Features like advanced candidate search for LinkedIn Recruiter Lite and highly specialized filters for LinkedIn Sales Navigator make any Premium version of LinkedIn a nice to have.
Even unlocking third-degree networks and removing limitations – more on this in a bit – is enough to guarantee that you can get some prospecting done.
Here’s how to use it for growth:
- We recommend you use Linked Sales Navigator for throrough prospecting and segmentation.
- Utilize LinkedIn search to enrich the data you have on existing and potential leads.
2. Who’s Viewed Your Profile
One of the biggest benefits of switching to LinkedIn Premium is access to who’s viewed your profile.
People who’ve viewed your profile represent prospects who are interested or – at the very least – curious about who you are.
Some of these people can be turned into potential prospects if you play your cards right.
Here’s how to use it for growth:
- You can easily grab a list of the people that have viewed your profile using third-party tools.
- Enrich the data that you have on them, you can use LinkedIn Sales Navigator and other tools for this.
- Grab their email addresses through an email finder service.
- Segment these lists into separate customer profiles.
- Create personalized outreach campaigns for each list.
Who’s viewed your profiles creates a new opportunity for you to do prospecting.
I want to learn more about LinkedIn Prospecting!
3. LinkedIn Open Profile
An open profile gives your profile a “Message” button that allows anyone who lands on your profile the opportunity to contact you in one click.
It’s an option that’s only available to LinkedIn Premium members.
You can think of it as a free version of LinkedIn InMail, where as long as you’re a premium member anyone can contact you without having to shell out money for InMail credits.
Here’s why we love the feature so much.
You make it easier for prospects to contact you.
It’s free, it’s a CTA, and it comes in button form from the platform.
What more can you ask for?
Turning it on dramatically improves the convertibility of your LinkedIn profile.
Here’s how to use it for growth:
After getting a LinkedIn Premium account, make sure you go into settings and turn on the “Open profile” option.
4. Removal of Limitations
One of the problems of basic LinkedIn is the limitations that they set to get you to join Premium.
What hits hard is that they don’t even warn you that you’re approaching your search limitations, so you can end up with the inability to search for people using your account.
By using LinkedIn Premium, you get to eliminate these barriers and use search to your heart’s content.
Yes, it is still advisable to warm up your profile before you do too many actions on LinkedIn.
But knowing that you won’t lose your ability to search is a great thing.
Speaking of search.
Depending on what Premium version you’re working with, you can get different types of search options on the platform.
We highly recommend Sales Navigator because you get access to advanced search with a focus on prospecting capabilities.
Here’s how to use it for growth:
Use LinkedIn search consistently to see how people are connected with each other, leverage the information you have on them to create new opportunities for growth.
5. Network Access
Ever wondered why you can’t fully access the profiles of some people?
Names, photos, and a lot of other details aren’t shown if you’re not a paying member on LinkedIn.
Using LinkedIn Premium is a different experience as it allows you to view the full profiles of your third-degree connections.
Now, this is really useful in prospecting.
By gaining full access to the accounts that you’re targetting, you get access to a wealth of information about them. This allows you to understand your potential customers even more and helps you create personalized campaigns that resonate well with them.
Here’s how to use it for growth:
Since you now hav access to full accounts, prospecting is made easier and more accurate.
6. LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn video courses might not be the feature that you’re excited the most about, but it’s a great resource to have handy if you want to expand your skillset via video courses.
They offer a lot of options covering a wide range of topics, over 16,000 of them, ranging from business to development.
Plus, they come with video tutorials and quizzes so that digital learning can be interactive.
Not all of the Premium plans have them, but if you’re using options such as Linkedin Premium Business, Linked Premium Career, or LinkedIn Sales Navigator, it comes bundled in for free.
Here’s how to use it for growth:
- Use LinkedIn learning to brush on skills that you’re already familiar with or to gain additional complementary skills.
- Add LinkedIn learning completion certificats to your profile and use them as trust signals for prosepcts to see.
7. LinkedIn Profile Badge
Getting a free LinkedIn Profile Badge might seem like a minor benefit, but it definitely looks good on your LinkedIn profile.
Profile badges are considered trust signals because it shows people how serious you are about your activities on the platform.
It’s a signal that you’re active, you’ve invested money, and that you care about your reputation.
Now trust signals are hard to come by, you usually have to include them yourself e.g. on your cover photo, but getting LinkedIn in to tell people that you’re a premium member really works wonders in setting your profile apart from the rest.
Here’s how to use it for growth:
If you combine this with client logos for trust by association, some social proof in your headline itself, a good list of recommendations and endorsed skills, and some good summary copy, you have a recipe for success.
8. InMail Credits
InMail might not always be your first choice, but having 20 credits via Sales Navigator is a good freebie.
The great thing about InMail is that you can’t exactly stop a first-time sender from sending you an InMail making it particularly useful if you can’t find contact information on someone.
InMail is also great for branding.
When you use InMail, the recipient is aware that you’re essentially paying to use the service. In effect, making the prospect feel special that you went through all the trouble to reach out to them.
I don’t recommend buying too many InMail credits because they’re really expensive, but having access to a few credits really helps with your lead generation efforts.
Here’s how to use it for growth:
Use it for hard to contact clients or particular prospects that you want to impress.
9. Insights
As a growth hacker, tracking and monitoring are some of your best friends if you’re rallying for growth.
That’s why having access to insights is always a good thing to have.
LinkedIn Premium gives you access to some form of insights into the campaigns that you’re running, and that’s great for determining if you’re running an efficient campaign.
These insights are dependent on what version of LinkedIn Premium you’ve bought into.
For Sales Navigator, you get access to real-time updates that are happening to your leads so that you can refine your process even more.
Here’s how to use it for growth:
Regularly keep a tab on your insights to maintain efficient campaigns.
Takeaways
LinkedIn Premium is the way to go forward.
This is especially true if you’re aiming to hit influencer status.
The benefits that you get are worth it.
And, you can’t go wrong with any of their freebies.
However, here’s the catch.
Pick a plan that helps you grow.
For us, that would be LinkedIn Sales Navigator.
It can help you bring in leads and make sure that they eventually convert.
When we help our own clients at BAMF plan their LinkedIn marketing strategy, we sometimes advise them to go on LinkedIn Premium.
It’s an investment.
So are you going to invest in yourself?
