Standard or Premium LinkedIn: How to get the most out of your LinkedIn page

LinkedIn gives you access to over 800 million business professionals worldwide, all for free! Of Course, free is a great deal, but does it give you adequate features to take full advantage of the platform? Can upgrading to Premium Business (hereafter referred to as Premium) be an investment that will pay dividends, or would you be wiser to spend that money elsewhere? Let's dive into these and other questions as we examine the pros and cons of moving to LinkedIn Premium. 

Are you satisfied with where you are?  

If you are a novice to LinkedIn, add-ons or upgrades may only add to your confusion, so you may be better off staying with the standard account for a while. The standard LinkedIn account comes with benefits of its own. It allows you to:  

1. Find and reconnect with colleagues.  

2. Request and provide recommendations.  

3. Search for and view profiles of other LinkedIn members.  

4. Receive unlimited InMail messages.  

5. Save up to three searches and get weekly alerts on those searches.  

If you are a beginner with LinkedIn, start with perfecting your profile, which is easier said than done. Entire articles deal with the dos and don'ts of creating a perfect appearance on Linkedin, including choosing the best profile photo or background image type. Another key factor is optimizing your headline and "about" section to ensure your profile appears in searches. 

These steps can feel overwhelming but remember: Your LinkedIn profile is the centerpiece of your online personal brand, so it is well worth taking the time and effort to get it exactly right. 

LinkedIn is about forming relationships that can lead to business deals, so connect and engage with others online. Read your network's content, like posts, and leave meaningful comments where it is relevant. See how much you can grow your connections by engaging with your contacts. Once you have gotten into the swing of things, revisit the idea of upgrading your account.  

Should I steer toward a Premium page?  

If you are at the point where you feel you have maxed out your current capabilities, you may want to turn in another direction. The five key features that come with a premium subscription are:  

1. Extended LinkedIn network access.  

2. InMail sending.  

3. Who's Viewed My Profile.  

4. Open Profile and Gold Badge.  

5. LinkedIn Learning. 

Extended access eliminates LinkedIn's commercial use limits, which are limitations that can hold you back if you frequently use advanced search to find and connect with prospects. Activities such as searching for LinkedIn profiles on LinkedIn.com and the mobile app or browsing LinkedIn profiles using the "People Also Viewed" section also count toward these limits. Having no use limits is a significant benefit to most businesses.  

The ability to send InMail to everyone is a big plus over the free account, which only lets you send to connections. Having 1,900 characters to explain why you would like to connect is more likely to succeed with someone you do not know than the 300-character limit imposed on free-account connection requests.  

The Who's Viewed My Profile feature sounds like a vanity stat, but it is much more. It can be a myriad of prospects if you work it correctly. Search for your ideal sales targets among your viewers, then send them a connection request with an individualized touch. After all, they already know something about you from scoping out your profile. This feature also helps you analyze your profile views. You can see whether your page traffic increases or decreases, which will help you determine which of your activities raises interest in your page.  
 

The Open Profile tool enables those outside your network to InMail you, thus opening you up to more connections. It also adds a Gold Badge to your profile, which can help attract views and enhance your credibility.  
 

LinkedIn Learning provides access to over 13,000 courses created by industry experts on LinkedIn Learning and Lynda.com. The wide variety of classes and courses is designed to hone your business skills and keep you up-to-date on the latest technology. 

How do you feel about the basic and Premium LinkedIn version? 

Now that we have gone through this list of extras, are you chomping at the bit-to-go Premium? If you are not that impressed, it may be that you do not need a Premium account, or your job duties do not necessitate its use. Deciding whether or not a basic LinkedIn profile is enough for your needs or if the step up to the Premium version is the better solution is a personal decision you can only make after weighing the pros and cons. 

But did you know that there is one more version of LinkedIn accounts? The LinkedIn Sales Navigator Professional is especially helpful for people who are in the business of generating leads. So let us head to the next stop on our LinkedIn account tour. 

Should you become a LinkedIn Sales navigator?  

LinkedIn Sales Navigator Professional gives you Premium benefits plus many additional features. The top added features include:  

1. Sales Navigator advanced search.  

2. Automatic leads and accounts recommendations.  

3. Notes and lead list features.  

4. Notification of job changes.  

Sales Navigator advanced search adds a massive array of 36 filters to the regular search! This feature lets you pinpoint your searches to your exact criteria, saving time and giving you the most accurate search results. 

Automatic leads and recommended accounts are generated by Sales Navigator based on their likeness to leads you have recently saved in your Navigator sales preference settings. In addition, you can also save these new recommended leads and accounts to your account. 
 

Notes and lead lists functions allow you to organize your sales leads. You can add specific notes and profiles to specific lead lists for various relevant categories. This handy tool is an incredible resource you want to take advantage of if you are in the lead generation business.  

Job Change Notifications can come in handy, too. If one of your contacts leaves their job, you will be alerted to find a new contact at that company. You can also see your contact's new position, which might be an additional sales lead for you. 

LinkedIn Standard, LinkedIn Premium, or LinkedIn Sales Navigator – which road should you take?  

There is no doubt that LinkedIn is the premier tool for B2B selling. Whether you use the standard version, the Premium version, or Sales Navigator, your time on LinkedIn is time well spent in terms of business success.  

To make a final decision, you must evaluate your needs and expectations. If you accomplish your goals with the standard service, that is wonderful! You can do many things with your account to gain credibility and followers.  
 

If you get excited at the opportunities you could do with a Premium account, try it! LinkedIn usually offers a free trial for a month to evaluate the service.  
 

Sales Navigator is highly recommended if your job involves business development, lead generation, or sales. As with the Premium account, you can do a free trial for a month to decide if it is worth keeping.  
 

How are you using LinkedIn? Which type of account works best for you? 

If you have any additional questions about LinkedIn account types, we are happy to help! Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts and experiences. 

(Images by BAKR MAGRABI from Pixabay , Patrice Gendreau from Pixabay, richard dos santos Rick from Pixabay, Bob from Pixabay)