The Difference Between Free LinkedIn and Premium LinkedIn Accounts
Posted on 20th January 2022
When you sign up for LinkedIn, you have two options – you can either stick with a free account, or upgrade to a premium one. Both offer various features, but which one should you be using? Can you run your personal or business account just on the basic features? Here are some of the differences between using a free LinkedIn account and a premium one.
Both accounts let you create a profile that allows you to show your professional identity. You can list your achievements, your education, and publications you may have and can list previous jobs you’ve done. You are also able to write your own personal statement that will tell the audience a bit about yourself and how you work, what your current line of work requires and what your experience is.
Free LinkedIn accounts are great for beginners who are looking at how to navigate the app and work out all its features. It’s a great tool that you can
easily build a large professional network on without the need to pay for extra features, and if it’s something you or your business isn’t necessarily focussed on, it may be unnecessary for you to purchase the premium option. You can still create connections with people within your business and display yourself as a strong employee. However, free accounts can be quite restrictive when it comes to certain other features that are important for both business and personal accounts.
On a free LinkedIn account, you can’t see who’s viewing your profile, so you don’t have the potential to connect with the people who are looking at your profile and create strong, business leads with them. You can also only save up to three searches. Whilst you can get weekly alerts on these, you don’t have the opportunity to save more which means if you’re actively searching for a range of topics, you won’t be able to be updated on them all so you may miss out on important developments or information.
Premium accounts give you access to the entirety of LinkedIn, and it’s features and allows you to discover elements that were previously unavailable on a free account.
With over 20 million different jobs listed on LinkedIn, having a premium account can help you get hired. LinkedIn job listings have seen people get hired 2x faster than they would if they were to search for a job on another platform, as business owners can directly see your expertise and knowledge with one click of your profile. You can see who is viewing your profile, so you’re able to make a connection. You can see additional details about this person, so you know if they are the right fit for your job search.
LinkedIn also has a feature called InMail, which is like a traditional email service but is centralised to LinkedIn itself. According to LinkedIn’s research, this service is 2.6x more effective than standard emails. You can directly respond to hiring manager’s job listings and communicate with them through this service. This means you’re more likely to get seen as you won’t be sending an email to them which will land in their inbox of other applications and business emails, you’ll be directly in the inbox relating to their listing on LinkedIn.
You will also have access to over 15,000 learning courses so that you’re able to learn from experts about different areas that relate to your industry. This is helpful as it allows you to strengthen your skills and knowledge going into your potential job search.
For business owners, you can connect with new companies and create strong business leads and connections with companies worldwide. The InMail feature will allow you to connect with your employees, potential candidates, other industry leaders and potential business partners all in one place.
LinkedIn Premium has a free 1-month trial available to anyone who wishes to see how it could benefit them and their business or personal account. Where free accounts can provide a surface level of information and will give you the opportunity to start creating your professional profile, premium accounts can expand your network and give you access to powerful tools that could be extremely helpful in your career.
Try it out today and see if it works for you.
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