The decline in user engagement on X (formerly Twitter) may be driving the rise of LinkedIn as a social discussion platform. Traditionally known for professional networking, LinkedIn has seen a surge in activity, especially across businesses, with thought leaders engaging in conversations on a variety of topics, including marketing, advertising, winter fundraising, unemployment, and more.
When Meta launched Threads, an online social media and social networking service, in July 2023, there was speculation that it would dethrone X. That discussion was popular for a while, but then died down.
Ironically, it was LinkedIn, not Threads, that emerged as a surprising candidate.
Research from data analytics platform SimilarWeb supports this shift. According to them, as of March 2024, LinkedIn's web traffic increased by 10.6% year over year. The other, X, saw a 15.2% decrease, suggesting possible user migration.
According to Shradha Agarwal, co-founder and CEO of marketing agency Grapes, X's popularity has declined because users see less value in it.
“In contrast, LinkedIn has experienced explosive growth. From a professional perspective, users see LinkedIn as a more meaningful platform to project a successful image and establish themselves as a thought leader. Additionally, the emergence of new platforms can open up new opportunities for people who haven't had much success elsewhere, such as on TikTok or Instagram. Marketing professionals who were struggling to get noticed are getting a lot of attention on LinkedIn,” said Agarwal.
Agarwal also highlighted that influencer marketing on LinkedIn initially involved a lot of bartering.
“Users wanted access to CEOs, CMOs, and influential female entrepreneurs. But things have changed, and many influencers now charge a fee for their services. ” she added.
Data from SimilarWeb also suggests that since November 2022, X website traffic has declined by 10%. Elon Musk acquired Twitter in October 2022, and LinkedIn traffic has skyrocketed by 18%.
In March, X recorded 727.6 million unique visitors worldwide, down 7.5 percent year-over-year. LinkedIn, on the other hand, grew quite steadily, with unique visitors reaching 269.2 million, an 11.1% increase over the previous year.
Back in India, the LinkedIn community has 127 million people.
According to LinkedIn, India's revenue has nearly quadrupled in the past six years (FY2017-FY2023), and the number of members in India has nearly doubled in the last four years, from just over 64 million in 2020 to 2024. of 127 million people.
They said the success in India was due to several key factors.
“First, there is a growing recognition among our members, especially young people, of the value of LinkedIn in their professional careers, as evidenced by a 73% year-over-year increase in student registrations.Second. , Top Choices, Job Collection, AI-powered LinkedIn Learning and more, our commitment to leveraging AI to deliver personalized experiences has significantly enhanced the member experience and provided a broader range of tools for engagement and brand building. ” the company said.
“As LinkedIn evolves beyond just a platform for peer-to-peer connectivity, we’ve seen our members embrace learning and knowledge exchange. This has led to a 24% year-over-year increase in content sharing worldwide. Weekly posts to AI-driven collaborative articles increased by 4x,” they added. Looking to the future, the platform focuses on innovations that seek to put the power of AI directly into the hands of its members.
Another ASO tool, app intelligence and analytics platform Appfigures, said LinkedIn's surge in profits and popularity is not a new trend.
“According to our estimates, LinkedIn generated $20 million in net revenue from the App Store and Google Play. Estimated net revenue will increase to $36 million by the first quarter of 2022 and grow to $36 million in 2023. The first quarter of 2024 is expected to reach a whopping $91 million by the first quarter. According to our estimates, LinkedIn generated $119 million. I earned it,” they said.
According to them, X and Snapchat also posted their highest quarterly revenue in history in 2024. However, estimates show that X's net revenue increased by $23 million and Snapchat's net revenue increased by $67 million in the quarter. “Snapchat's impressive growth is true; even when the two are combined, it's still lower than LinkedIn,” they said in their report.
