LinkedIn stats and trends B2B marketers should pay attention to in 2026
Last update: June 2026
LinkedIn has really changed over the last few years. While it was once viewed primarily as ‘a professional networking platform’, it’s now evolved into one of the most important channels for B2B visibility, thought leadership, employee advocacy, creator-led marketing, and professional content discovery.
It’s becoming increasingly shaped by video, AI-generated content, and changing audience expectations around authenticity and expertise.
And for B2B marketers, LinkedIn is no longer simply somewhere to distribute content after it’s published elsewhere. In many industries, it’s now where buying journeys, brand perception, and professional credibility are actively formed.
That means some traditional LinkedIn metrics matter less than they once did.
Follower counts and vanity engagement only ever tell you part of the story. Right now, what matters more is who’s engaging, what content formats Linkedin is prioritises, and how professional audiences are behaving on the platform.
Below, I’ve compiled some of the most important LinkedIn stats, trends, and platform shifts for B2B marketers in 2026.
In this blog:
LinkedIn: the platform and its audience
LinkedIn is becoming increasingly video-first
Employee advocacy is becoming more important than brand pages
Engagement quality matters more than reach
AI-generated content is reshaping LinkedIn
LinkedIn newsletters and creator-led publishing continue to grow
Consistency is becoming more important than virality
Social selling on LinkedIn is becoming more relationship-led
LinkedIn advertising remains expensive, but highly targeted
What B2B marketers should focus on now
FAQs
LinkedIn: platform and audience
LinkedIn remains the dominant professional social network globally, particularly for B2B audiences.
The platform’s value isn’t simply its size, but the professional intent and identifiable nature of its users. Unlike many consumer social platforms, LinkedIn allows marketers to target audiences based on job role, industry, company size, seniority, skills, and business interests.
For organisations selling complex, high-value, or enterprise-focused products and services, this continues to make LinkedIn one of the most commercially valuable social platforms available.
Key LinkedIn audience and platform stats
LinkedIn now has more than 1 billion members worldwide, and is available in more than 200 countries and regions.
40% of its users log in daily.
Approximately 42.8% of accounts are ‘female’ vs '57.2% ‘male’ user accounts.
62% of users report that LinkedIn delivers leads at around 2x the rate of other platforms.
Verified members see up to 60% more profile views and get up to 50% more engagement on posts compared to their non-verified counterparts.
Some estimates suggest LinkedIn generates around 80% of B2B social media leads.
Millions of LinkedIn users hold senior decision-making roles across industries including technology, manufacturing, financial services, retail, healthcare, and professional services.
65 million people use LinkedIn to search for jobs every week.
Nearly twice as many members find industry news content valuable on LinkedIn, as on other sites (41% vs 25%).
LinkedIn is the social platform audiences trust most: two-thirds of members (67%) say they trust the platform not to misuse their information, exceeding all other major social and streaming platforms.
What this means for marketers
LinkedIn’s value has always been rooted in audience quality rather than its scale.
While the platform still offers B2B marketers one of the clearest ways to reach decision-makers, procurement teams, executives, and specialist industry audiences, the way audiences consume and engage with content on LinkedIn is changing quickly.
LinkedIn is becoming increasingly video-first
One of the biggest changes happening on LinkedIn right now is the platform’s growing focus on video and creator-led content. Yes, we’ve known for ages that video is the most impactful media format for marketers using the platform, but LinkedIn itself has also been investing heavily in video advertising, creator partnerships, interviews, live content, and native video experiences in the background.
What’s more, content like executive-led video content is becoming far more common across the platform. Professional audiences now engage differently on LinkedIn than they did even two years ago, with buyers expectations growing in terms of expertise feeling more visible, conversational, and human.
Key LinkedIn video stats
Video creation on LinkedIn is reportedly growing at twice the rate of other post formats.
Video uploads increased by around 36% year-on-year, according to recent LinkedIn reporting.
On LinkedIn, videos are shared at 20x the rate of any other type of post.
78% of B2B marketers report actively using video as part of their social strategy.
Nearly 60% of B2B leaders named ‘video’ the leading brand-building technique.
Reuters recently reported that LinkedIn expects revenue from its BrandLink video advertising programme to nearly triple this fiscal year.
Reuters also reported that CEO video posts on LinkedIn have increased by 68% over the last two years.
Live video generates 24x more engagement.
LinkedIn recommend organic video is between 1 to 3 minutes in length.
LinkedIn say that video content encourages 5x more engagement versus any other type of media.
LinkedIn found that around 79% of videos are watched with the sound off.
Ads with an offer, promotion or deal drive 1.2x the average video (watching) completion rate.
Ads with an offer in the headline text achieve an 8% higher video (watching) completion rate.
Ads with motion graphics are attracting a 3% increase on CTR compared to LinkedIn’s own CTR benchmarks for video ads.
Videos with 4 to 5 lines of intro text suffer worse performance than shorter copy - engagement can also reduce by 7%.
What this means for marketers
All of this doesn’t necessarily mean text-based content is becoming ineffective. Quite the opposite, as thoughtful text-led posts, documents, and carousels can still perform extremely well on LinkedIn, particularly when they’re grounded in genuine subject knowledge.
It does mean LinkedIn is becoming more multimedia-led overall, so brands that rely solely on ‘static’ corporate updates may face an increasing struggle for visibility compared to those using creator-led content, expert commentary, educational video, and more conversational formats.
Employee advocacy is becoming more important than brand pages
Another major LinkedIn trend is the growing importance of employee-led and executive-led content. Again, employee advocacy is nothing new, but audiences appear to engage more readily with people than with Company Pages.
This is one reason why founder-led marketing, executive visibility, and employee advocacy programmes may be becoming significantly more important for B2B marketing strategies.
Key employee advocacy and trust stats
Employees average 10x more connections than their company has followers on LinkedIn.
75% of job seekers consider an employer’s brand before even applying for a job.
Video posts from CEOs have also increased by 68% on LinkedIn over the last two years.
LinkedIn research with Edelman found that 64% of buyers favour thought leadership content over promo and product sheets when it comes to assessing capabilities.
Another 63% said thought leadership is “important in providing proof that an organisation genuinely understands or can solve your specific business challenges.”
94% of B2B marketers surveyed by LinkedIn say that trust is the key to success in B2B marketing.
59% of B2B decision-makers say that thought leadership is a more trustworthy way to assess capability than other marketing materials.
36% of LinkedIn members report that seeing a company committed to sustainability influences their purchase decision.
Companies that appear active on sustainability (on LinkedIn) attract 8x more new followers than those that don’t.
What this means for marketers
It represents a major shift away from highly polished (but impersonal) corporate messaging to posts that exude specialist insight, personality, perspective, lived experience, and/or practical insight.
Organisations are tending to see stronger results from those LinkedIn posts that feature their subject matter experts, technical specialists, founders, executives, and employees than their Company Pages.
Engagement quality matters more than reach
Follower counts and impressions still matter, but they no longer provide the clearest picture of content performance on LinkedIn. Many marketers now believe LinkedIn places greater emphasis on deeper engagement signals such as comments, saves, shares, dwell time, and repeat audience interaction.
This reflects a move away from vanity metrics toward content quality and meaningful interactions.
Key LinkedIn engagement trends
Custom collages of 3-4 images in posts perform especially well for organisations.
LinkedIn members are more receptive to brand content than users of other platforms: 66% are receptive to company videos, 73% to posts by company representatives and thought leaders, and 48% to banner ads.
LinkedIn posts that include images receive twice as many comments as those that are text-only.
LinkedIn research shows that creative content can generate as much as 20x more sales than other types of content.
77% of B2B creative fails to register emotionally or create long-term impact.
55% of B2B marketers are partnering with creators or influencers on LinkedIn.
What this means for marketers
Content designed purely for quick reactions may not perform as well as content that encourages people to stop, read, think, and engage meaningfully.
This is one reason why practical, experience-led content often performs better than highly generic advice.
AI-generated content is reshaping LinkedIn
AI tools have made it dramatically easier to create business content at scale, and we’ve all seen, as a result, that our LinkedIn feeds have become saturated with generic AI-generated thought leadership, ‘formulaic’ storytelling, and superficial advice.
This has created a new challenge for marketers, because, as content volume increases on platforms like LinkedIn, originality and expertise become amongst the most valuable differentiators.
Key AI and content trends on LinkedIn
LinkedIn accounts for about one-third (33%) of the sources ChatGPT cites when answering users' "how-to" questions. Google's AI Overviews cite LinkedIn 22% of the time for these queries.
Campaign set-up builds 15% faster using the ‘Accelerate’ AI-driven tool.
In a study of 29 A/B tests, Accelerate campaigns drove a 42% lower cost per action compared to advertisers’ Classic campaigns.
Two out of three B2B companies use generative AI in their marketing efforts — a 20% increase since 2023.
Over 90% of users who advertise with LinkedIn found its AI-driven Campaign Performance Digest both accurate and valuable.
What this means for marketers
The platform is becoming less about simply ‘publishing frequently’ and more about whether content demonstrates credible expertise, original thinking, and practical value.
AI can absolutely support content workflows, brainstorming, and repurposing, but audiences still respond most strongly to content that feels informed, specific, and genuinely useful.
LinkedIn newsletters and creator-led publishing are continuing to grow
LinkedIn newsletters have evolved from a niche creator feature into a major audience-building tool for consultants, founders, marketers, subject matter experts, and B2B brands.
At the same time, LinkedIn itself appears to be investing further in creator monetisation, sponsored creator partnerships, paid experiences, and creator-led events.
Key LinkedIn newsletter and creator stats
There are more than 36,000 newsletters actively published on LinkedIn, and as of April 2022, 29 million unique people were subscribed to at least one LinkedIn newsletter.
96% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn to distribute content, and 80% put paid budget behind promoting that content.
What this means for marketers
LinkedIn is moving to behave less like a traditional social network and more like a professional creator ecosystem. That means building long-lasting audience relationships, recognisable expertise, and consistent publishing (see next section!) over content for posts that may go viral.
Consistency is becoming more important than virality
Many brands and individuals are seeing stronger long-term results from publishing consistently, positioning themselves clearly through their content, demonstrating specialist insight, and gaining audience trust.
As AI-generated content increases across the platform, audiences are becoming more selective about who they engage with and trust.
Key LinkedIn publishing trends
Consistency often outperforms occasional viral spikes over the long term.
Audience trust and recognisable expertise are becoming more important differentiators.
Professional audiences reward credibility and relevance over volume alone.
Many successful LinkedIn creators focus heavily on niche subject knowledge and consistency rather than broad reach.
What this means for marketers
The most successful LinkedIn strategies in 2026 are often less about chasing algorithms and more about building trust, developing recognisable expertise, publishing consistently, and creating genuinely useful content for their specific audiences.
Social selling on LinkedIn is becoming more relationship-led
LinkedIn has long been associated with social selling, but the way professionals build relationships and influence buying decisions on the platform is evolving. How? Traditional outreach-heavy approaches are becoming less and less effective as audiences grow more selective about who they engage with and trust.
Instead, many B2B organisations are now using LinkedIn to build visibility, credibility, and familiarity long before direct sales conversations begin.
Key LinkedIn social selling trends
More buyers engage with individuals before they engage with brands.
Executive visibility and deep subject-matter knowledge are becoming increasingly influential in B2B buying journeys.
Thought leadership content like gated papers and reports is playing a larger role in trust-building and professional visibility.
Employee advocacy and expert-led publishing are becoming more important parts of social selling strategies.
LinkedIn users are becoming more resistant to highly transactional outreach and automated messaging.
Key LinkedIn social selling stats
Marketers see up to 2x higher conversion rates on LinkedIn.
Audiences on LinkedIn are 6x more likely to convert.
Research from LinkedIn and Edelman found that 90% of B2B decision-makers say referrals from people they know and respect are effective in earning their attention and purchase consideration.
What this means for marketers and sales teams
For many organisations, the most effective LinkedIn social selling strategies now combine regular marketing and sales with thought leadership, employee advocacy, and creator-style publishing.
In essence, buyers want to engage with knowledgeable people and trusted expertise before they engage with sales processes.
LinkedIn advertising remains expensive, but highly targeted
LinkedIn advertising costs are often significantly higher than those found on other social platforms, but despite this, many B2B marketers continue to prioritise LinkedIn because of the platform’s audience quality and targeting precision.
Unlike broader consumer social networks, LinkedIn allows advertisers to target users based on criteria like:
job role
seniority
company size
industry
professional skills
employer
business interests.
For organisations focused on enterprise sales, account-based marketing, or high-value lead generation, this level of targeting can justify the higher advertising costs.
Key LinkedIn advertising trends
LinkedIn continues to rank among the most effective platforms for B2B lead generation.
Some estimates suggest LinkedIn generates around 80% of B2B social media leads.
LinkedIn advertising costs are typically higher than platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, or X.
Video advertising investment on LinkedIn is increasing significantly.
LinkedIn is investing more heavily in creator partnerships, video formats, and thought leadership advertising.
More B2B brands are combining paid campaigns with executive-led and employee-led content strategies.
Key LinkedIn advertising stats
LinkedIn Sponsored Messaging drives twice as high open and engagement rates as traditional email.
Early adopters saw a 3x higher CTR with Sponsored Articles compared to traditional Single Image Ads.
LinkedIn’s ad platform has a potential reach 1.2 billion members.
26% month-over-month increase in creatives launched via Ads Duplication (since early 2025).
Campaign launches are up by 45% among small businesses using LinkedIn’s new ‘Marketing Overview’ dashboard.
Connected TV (CTV) Ads deliver 4.3× better reach and 1.4× improved cost-efficiency for B2B campaigns.
LinkedIn Conversation Ads drive 4x higher open rates and 4x higher engagement rates than traditional email and twice the engagement as Message Ads.
After their ads were seen on LinkedIn, brands experienced an average of 10 to 15% lift in short-term ad performance.
Internal LinkedIn research shows a 61% higher likelihood of paid conversion after organic engagement, a 14% potential lift when using an organic and paid strategy vs. a paid-only strategy, and a 12% reduction in cost-per-conversion when investing in organic and paid.
77% of LinkedIn users would click on an ad on LinkedIn if it was relevant, six percentage points higher than the closest search or social rival.
LinkedIn members are more receptive to brand content than users of other platforms: 66% are receptive to company videos, 73% to posts by company representatives and thought leaders, and 48% to banner ads.
What this means for marketers
LinkedIn advertising is becoming less about generating mass reach and more about reaching highly specific professional audiences. In other words, highly polished corporate campaigns alone are often no longer enough to stand out on the platform.
What B2B marketers should focus on now
1. Expertise-led content is outperforming generic posting
As AI-generated content increases across LinkedIn, audiences are placing greater value on original thinking, lived experience, and practical subject knowledge.
2. LinkedIn is becoming increasingly multimedia-led
Video, carousels, document posts, interviews, event clips, and visual explainers are becoming more important for visibility and engagement.
3. Employee advocacy matters more than ever
Employees, subject matter experts, and executives often generate stronger engagement and trust than corporate pages alone.
4. Audience quality matters more than audience size
LinkedIn’s strength has never simply been scale. Its value comes from the professional relevance and intent of its audiences.
5. Meaningful engagement is becoming more important than vanity metrics
Comments, saves, shares, dwell time, and recurring audience interaction appear to be influencing visibility and reach.
6. Social selling is becoming more relationship-led
Professional visibility, trust, expertise, and familiarity are becoming more important than aggressive outreach or transactional networking.
7. Creator-style publishing is reshaping B2B marketing
LinkedIn increasingly rewards recognisable expertise, personality, consistency, and recurring audience relationships.
8. Consistency is often more valuable than virality
Many successful LinkedIn strategies are built through regular publishing, audience trust, and recognisable positioning over time.
9. AI can support content creation — but not replace expertise
AI tools can improve efficiency, but audiences still respond most strongly to content that feels credible, informed, and genuinely useful.
10. LinkedIn is no longer just a networking platform
For many B2B organisations, LinkedIn has become one of the most important channels for thought leadership, brand visibility, trust-building, and professional influence.
For B2B marketers, LinkedIn is no longer simply a networking site. It has become one of the most important platforms for professional visibility, expertise-building, and audience trust in the AI era.
FAQs about LinkedIn stats and trends
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Content that demonstrates expertise, practical insight, strong perspective, or first-hand experience tends to perform best on LinkedIn in 2026.
Video, document posts, carousels, interviews, commentary, and employee-led content are all performing strongly, particularly when they encourage meaningful engagement and discussion.
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Yes. LinkedIn is investing heavily in video content, creator-led publishing, interviews, live formats, and video advertising.
Video uploads and video engagement continue to grow on the platform, while executive-led and expert-led video content is becoming increasingly common across B2B industries.
However, text posts, document carousels, and thought leadership content can still perform strongly when they offer useful insight, expertise, or practical value.
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Many marketers now believe LinkedIn places greater emphasis on deeper engagement signals rather than simple vanity metrics alone.
Comments, saves, shares, dwell time, document interactions, and meaningful discussion increasingly appear to influence visibility and reach on the platform.
This means content that encourages people to stop, read, think, and engage meaningfully may perform better than content designed purely to attract quick reactions.
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AI-generated content is increasing rapidly on LinkedIn, which is making originality, expertise, and first-hand experience more important differentiators.
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LinkedIn content is increasingly appearing within AI-generated answers and search experiences.
As AI systems continue surfacing expertise-led content from authoritative platforms, LinkedIn posts and articles may play a growing role in online discoverability and digital thought leadership.
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Yes. LinkedIn newsletters have become an increasingly valuable way for B2B marketers, consultants, founders, and subject matter experts to build recurring audience relationships on the platform.
Unlike standard social posts, newsletters allow creators and brands to develop ongoing visibility around specific topics while building a subscriber audience directly within LinkedIn.
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