The Demographics That Make LinkedIn's Audience So Valuable To Businesses

LinkedIn is perhaps the most overlooked social network. But overall it is actually more popular than Twitter, generally considered the number two social network in the U.S. The latest data shows a higher proportion of U.S. adults on the internet (22%) have used LinkedIn, compared to the percentage who have used Twitter.

LinkedIn is a valuable platform for brands interested in its highly educated, relatively mature, professional audience.

In a new report from BI Intelligence, we unpack data from over a dozen sources to understand how social media demographics are still shifting.

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Here are a few of the key takeaways from the BI Intelligence report:

• LinkedIn is actually more popular than Twitter among U.S. adults. 22% of internet users 18 and older have used it, compared to the 19% who have used Twitter.
• Unsurprisingly for a job-oriented social network, LinkedIn's most notable demographic skew is based on education. Thirty-eight percent of college-educated adult web users are on LinkedIn, compared to only 16% of those with some college education.
• The social network's sweet spot is among 30- to 49-year-olds - old enough to have their careers on track - with 27% of U.S. internet users in this age bracket using LinkedIn.
• In general, LinkedIn has an older user base. LinkedIn is also the only top social network to feature higher penetration rates in the 50-to-64 age bracket than in the 18-to-29 age group.
• LinkedIn skews toward men, it's used by 24% of male internet users versus 19% of female internet users.

The report is full of charts (over 20 charts) and data that can be downloaded and put to use.

In full, the report:

• Looks at overall social networking adoption in the U.S. and globally
• Assesses the most important demographic skews at the top social networks, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, and Tumblr
• Examines whether Facebook is losing out on teen and millennial users as sites like Instagram grow
• Compares how demographics have changed over time as older social networks have matured
• Identifies the social networks that have become more and less gender-skewed in the last year
• Digs into demographics at top social messaging apps, including Snapchat

For full access to all BI Intelligence reports, briefs, and downloadable charts on the digital media industry, sign up for a free trial.