--- title: "What Is LinkedIn? Networking, Careers and Social Selling" description: "What is LinkedIn? See the professional network in numbers, how the interface looks, the key terms and a checklist to set up your profile." url: "https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling" lang: "en" lastModified: "2026-10-08T07:05:00.000Z" alternates: de: "https://compleadly.de/blog/was-ist-linkedin" en: "https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling" fr: "https://compleadly.com/fr/blog/qu-est-ce-que-linkedin-tout-sur-le-reseautage-la-carriere-et-le-social-selling" es: "https://compleadly.com/es/blog/que-es-linkedin-todo-sobre-networking-carrera-y-social-selling" it: "https://compleadly.com/it/blog/cos-e-linkedin-tutto-su-networking-carriera-e-social-selling" pt: "https://compleadly.com/pt/blog/o-que-e-o-linkedin-tudo-sobre-networking-carreira-e-social-selling" x-default: "https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling" --- [Blog](https://compleadly.com/blog) [LinkedIn Strategy](https://compleadly.com/blog/category/linkedin-strategy) # What is LinkedIn? Everything about networking, careers and Social Selling November 20, 20258 min read ![Sebastian Andes, Philipp Krapp & CompLeadly Team](https://media.compleadly.de/media/8b720e679e2f2b08cc017d1938d026c62e625a21790c6df1284c2d4075cb3582-2.webp)Sebastian Andes, Philipp Krapp & CompLeadly Team Last updated on October 8, 2026Last reviewed on September 15, 2026 ![What is LinkedIn: a glowing network of cyan profile cards connected to icons for jobs, messages and growth](https://media.compleadly.de/media/57880c822c3945fbeba5dc015b9f3499141a870ca65b4df9eae71881c03f18c1.jpg) --- Table of contents [LinkedIn by the numbers](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#linkedin-by-the-numbers)[What LinkedIn looks like](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#what-linkedin-looks-like)[Home page without signing in](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#home-page-without-signing-in)[Feed: the home page after logging in](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#feed-the-home-page-after-logging-in)[Personal profile](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#personal-profile)[Company page](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#company-page)[How LinkedIn works](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#how-linkedin-works)[Profiles instead of websites](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#profiles-instead-of-websites)[Connect instead of cold outreach](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#connect-instead-of-cold-outreach)[Visibility through content](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#visibility-through-content)[LinkedIn terms explained](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#linkedin-terms-explained)[LinkedIn or XING?](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#linkedin-or-xing)[Who LinkedIn is worth it for](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#who-linkedin-is-worth-it-for)[Free or Premium?](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#free-or-premium)[Ready in 10 minutes: your checklist](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#ready-in-10-minutes-your-checklist)[Frequently Asked Questions: What Is LinkedIn?](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#frequently-asked-questions-what-is-linkedin) // contents [LinkedIn by the numbers](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#linkedin-by-the-numbers)[What LinkedIn looks like](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#what-linkedin-looks-like)[Home page without signing in](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#home-page-without-signing-in)[Feed: the home page after logging in](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#feed-the-home-page-after-logging-in)[Personal profile](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#personal-profile)[Company page](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#company-page)[How LinkedIn works](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#how-linkedin-works)[Profiles instead of websites](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#profiles-instead-of-websites)[Connect instead of cold outreach](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#connect-instead-of-cold-outreach)[Visibility through content](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#visibility-through-content)[LinkedIn terms explained](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#linkedin-terms-explained)[LinkedIn or XING?](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#linkedin-or-xing)[Who LinkedIn is worth it for](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#who-linkedin-is-worth-it-for)[Free or Premium?](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#free-or-premium)[Ready in 10 minutes: your checklist](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#ready-in-10-minutes-your-checklist)[Frequently Asked Questions: What Is LinkedIn?](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#frequently-asked-questions-what-is-linkedin) LinkedIn is a social network for professional life. You create a profile showing your career history, connect with colleagues, customers and people in your industry, and read or write posts about your field. People use LinkedIn mainly for job searches, recruiting, professional exchange and B2B sales. The basic account is free. The difference from Instagram or Facebook is its purpose: on LinkedIn, you show what you can do professionally, and others see you in that role. This article explains how large the network is, how the interface is organised, which terms you should know and how to create a useful profile in ten minutes. ## LinkedIn by the numbers All figures come from LinkedIn’s press site, “About us” page ([news.linkedin.com/about-us](https://news.linkedin.com/about-us)), accessed on 3 October 2026\. **As of October 2026.** | Metric | LinkedIn figure | | ---------------------------------- | -------------------- | | Members worldwide | over 1.3 billion | | Europe, the Middle East and Africa | over 430 million | | Asia and the Pacific | over 410 million | | North America (US and Canada) | over 290 million | | South and Central America | over 226 million | | Interface languages | 36, including German | | Job applications per minute | around 8,200 | | New connections per minute | over 18,000 | | Fortune 500 companies on LinkedIn | around 100 percent | LinkedIn does not publish a current figure for Germany, Austria and Switzerland alone on that page. That is why there is no figure here. Member counts also refer to accounts, not people who are active every week. ## What LinkedIn looks like When you open LinkedIn for the first time, you land in one of four areas: sign-in, feed, personal profile or company page. ![Wie funktioniert LinkedIn: Schaubild der vier Bereiche Anmeldung, Feed, persönliches Profil und Unternehmensseite](https://media.compleadly.de/media/a0da0640fd303436c0bb7a20f935cc34638cc0d261a00ceb25642c065fa07dd8.jpg) How LinkedIn works: diagram of the four areas—sign-in, feed, personal profile and company page ### Home page without signing in Without an account, you see the sign-in page with options to log in or register. Profiles, jobs and posts are only partly visible to people who are not signed in. ### Feed: the home page after logging in After logging in, you land on “Home”. The feed in the centre shows posts from your connections and the pages you follow. At the top, you can use “Start a post” to write a post or an article. The top bar takes you to “My Network”, “Jobs”, “Messaging” and “Notifications”. ### Personal profile Your profile is your digital CV: photo, cover image, headline below your name, location and number of connections, plus sections for About, Experience, Education and Skills. The headline is what others read first—in search results, below your comments and in connection requests. ### Company page Companies have their own pages with a logo, industry, location, employee count and tabs for posts, jobs and people. A company page does not replace a personal profile: it gathers followers, while the people behind the company make connections. The differences between the two are covered in the article on [difference between a LinkedIn company page and profile page](https://compleadly.com/knowledge/the-difference-between-a-linkedin-company-page-and-a-linkedin-profile-page). ![LinkedIn Profil und Unternehmensseite im Vergleich: links ein Profil mit Kontakten in beide Richtungen, rechts eine Firmenseite, der Follower folgen](https://media.compleadly.de/media/56161021d3a2796feb3fac3ef59586be2a119e8c41936866dc1ca9c1b6fe6517.jpg) LinkedIn profile and company page compared: on the left, a profile with mutual connections; on the right, a company page that people follow ## How LinkedIn works LinkedIn is a digital CV, industry directory, referral network and sales channel in one. People look at your profile before they reply, buy or invite you to a meeting. Three mechanisms make it work. ### Profiles instead of websites Every person and every company has a profile. In a few seconds, it determines whether someone sees you as relevant or moves on. A good profile clearly states who you help, what you help them with and what result you deliver. ### Connect instead of cold outreach Connections start with connection requests. A request is not a sales pitch but an invitation to join your professional network. The clearer your positioning, the more likely people are to accept and the easier it is to start a conversation afterwards. ### Visibility through content Posts put you in your connections’ feeds without you having to send messages all the time. Good posts address a specific problem, draw on your own work and avoid jargon. You can see how many people viewed a post in the [LinkedIn impressions](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-are-linkedin-impressions). Many people think LinkedIn only works if you post every day or have thousands of connections. In practice, what matters is a clear profile, a carefully chosen target audience and a consistent routine of connecting, following up and posting occasionally. ## LinkedIn terms explained Five terms come up constantly on LinkedIn. Once you know them, you can understand most settings and prompts straight away. ![LinkedIn Kontaktgrade als Schaubild: drei Ringe für Kontakte ersten, zweiten und dritten Grades um ein Profil](https://media.compleadly.de/media/70f8f75bf900c764d021285784f03a3a78de7f63235b04419cb7d99f4b2fe906.jpg) LinkedIn connection degrees shown as a diagram: three rings around a profile for first-, second- and third-degree connections - **Connection degree:** First-degree connections are directly connected to you. Second-degree connections are connected to one of your connections, and third-degree connections are connected to them. The degree determines whom you can message directly. Learn more in [LinkedIn connection degrees: following or connecting](https://compleadly.com/blog/linkedin-follow-vs-connect). - **InMail:** a message to someone you are not connected with. InMails are available with paid accounts. To find out what they offer and how many you get, see [LinkedIn InMail](https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-inmail). - **SSI:** the Social Selling Index, a score LinkedIn uses to measure your activity across your profile, network and posts. How it is calculated is explained in [LinkedIn SSI](https://compleadly.com/blog/linkedin-ssi-the-social-selling-index-and-how-to-use-it-for-greater-success). - **Premium:** the paid tiers for career and business use. You can find current prices in [LinkedIn Premium costs](https://compleadly.com/blog/how-much-does-linkedin-premium-cost-in-2026-all-prices-plans-and-tips-at-a-glance). - **Sales Navigator:** LinkedIn’s own product for sales, with advanced search filters and lead lists. To get started, see the [Sales Navigator guide](https://compleadly.com/blog/how-to-use-linkedin-sales-navigator). ## LinkedIn or XING? Both are professional networks, but they serve different purposes. LinkedIn is international and covers job searches, content, sales and recruiting. XING describes itself as a jobs network for German-speaking countries. These descriptions come from the providers themselves and were accessed on 3 October 2026. | Criterion | LinkedIn | XING | | ---------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | | How they describe themselves | “the world’s largest professional network” | “the established jobs network in Germany” | | Members (provider figures) | over 1.3 billion worldwide, over 430 million in Europe, the Middle East and Africa | Over 20 million in German-speaking countries | | Region | Worldwide, with an interface available in 36 languages | Focus on Germany, Austria and Switzerland | | Jobs and Recruiting | Around 8,200 applications per minute, its own recruiting products | over 1 million jobs, more than 20,000 recruiters | | Strengthen | international contacts, B2B sales, expert articles | Job Search and Recruiting in the DACH Region | Sources: [news.linkedin.com/about-us](https://news.linkedin.com/about-us) it and enter it [new-work.se/de/unternehmen](https://www.new-work.se/de/unternehmen). You can find a detailed comparison of reach, messaging limits, costs, and target audiences in[LinkedIn or XING](https://compleadly.com/blog/xing-vs-linkedin). ## Who LinkedIn is worth it for LinkedIn doesn’t deliver the same results for everyone. In our experience, these groups get the most out of it: - **Job seekers and people looking to change jobs:**Recruiters search using profile details. A complete profile is half the application. You’ll find instructions in[The Perfect LinkedIn Profile in 6 Steps](https://compleadly.com/blog/perfect-linkedin-profile-career-success-in-6-steps). - **B2B sales and consulting:** Decision-makers can be found and contacted directly based on their role, industry and company size. - **Freelancers, coaches and agencies:**Regular posts for a clearly defined target audience bring in inquiries without you having to make cold calls. Agencies managing LinkedIn outreach for multiple clients run each campaign with its own target audience and sequence; see[LinkedIn automation for agencies](https://compleadly.com/use-cases/agencies). - **Recruiting and employer branding:**Companies reach candidates who aren’t actively looking for a job but are open to being contacted. LinkedIn makes less sense if your customers are exclusively private individuals who buy only locally. In that case, search engines or Instagram usually deliver better results. If you just create a profile and never use it, you won’t get much out of it either. Sales, recruiting, and job hunting all use the same approach on LinkedIn, but for different goals: sales teams contact decision-makers, recruiters contact candidates, and job seekers write to hiring managers and recruiters. Each time, you need to find the right profiles and start a conversation without generic opening lines. CompLeadly handles the repetitive work. The desktop app runs on your own computer. It builds a target audience from a LinkedIn people search, Sales Navigator, or Recruiter Lite if you have a separate licence. It visits profiles, sends a connection request and an initial message, then follows up if no one replies. The free version includes 2 connection requests per day (basic feature with a daily limit). Learn more:[CompLeadly for recruiters](https://compleadly.com/use-cases/recruiters),[CompLeadly for sales teams](https://compleadly.com/use-cases/sales-teams) it and enter it [Mistakes when searching for jobs on LinkedIn](https://compleadly.com/blog/10-common-linkedin-mistakes-when-job-hunting-and-how-to-avoid-them). ## Free or Premium? The free account is enough to get started. Creating a profile, connecting with people, messaging contacts, publishing posts and searching for jobs cost nothing. The paid plans mainly expand your search options, let you contact people outside your network via InMail and provide more statistics. Whether they’re worth it for you depends on how often you reach out to people you don’t know. The plans, prices and date of the information are listed in[LinkedIn Premium costs](https://compleadly.com/blog/how-much-does-linkedin-premium-cost-in-2026-all-prices-plans-and-tips-at-a-glance). ## Ready in 10 minutes: your checklist Follow these steps in order, and you’ll have a profile people take seriously after one short session. You can fine-tune it later. 1. **Upload profile photo:**A recent photo with your face clearly visible and a plain background. 2. **Write a headline:**not just your job title, but who you help and how. The free version offers ideas for this.[LinkedIn Headline Generator](https://compleadly.com/free-tools/linkedin-headline-generator), examples can be found in[LinkedIn profile tagline](https://compleadly.com/blog/linkedin-headline-examples). 3. **Fill in the info section:**Three to five sentences about your experience, your area of focus, and what people can contact you about. A draft is generated by the[LinkedIn Summary Generator](https://compleadly.com/free-tools/linkedin-summary-generator). 4. **Enter your current position:**Employer, role, time period, two sentences about the responsibilities. 5. **Invite your first contacts:**Colleagues, former colleagues, customers, fellow students. People who know you are more likely to accept your connection request. 6. **Five pages follow:**your employer, two companies in your industry, and two people whose posts you want to read. That way, your feed fills up with relevant content. 7. **Write a comment:**A thoughtful comment on a post from your industry. It’s the easiest way to start getting noticed. ## Frequently Asked Questions: What Is LinkedIn? What is LinkedIn in simple terms? LinkedIn is a social network for professional connections. Instead of holiday photos, you share your career history, posts about your field, and updates from your work. People looking for you professionally can find your profile there, while you can find jobs, customers, and experts. What kind of app is LinkedIn? You can use LinkedIn in your browser or through its iOS and Android apps. The app covers the feed, your profile, messages, jobs, and connections. According to LinkedIn’s help pages, some features are only available on desktop, such as writing articles and downloading your data. How does LinkedIn work? You create a profile, connect with people you know or want to get to know, and follow companies and individuals. You see their posts in your feed, and your own posts appear in your contacts’ feeds. You can message contacts directly. Is LinkedIn free? Yes. Creating a profile, connecting with people, messaging contacts, publishing posts, and searching for jobs are free. Paid Premium tiers mainly add more search options, InMails to people you’re not connected with, and statistics. How many people use LinkedIn? In its press section, LinkedIn reports more than 1.3 billion members worldwide, including more than 430 million in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (as of October 3, 2026). LinkedIn does not publish a separate figure for Germany there. What is the difference between LinkedIn and XING? LinkedIn has an international focus and is much larger. XING describes itself as a jobs network for German-speaking countries with over 20 million members. LinkedIn is the obvious choice for international contacts and B2B sales, while XING is worth using as a second channel for job searches in the DACH region. --- Was this post helpful? // newsletter ### Want more? Sign up and get new articles on LinkedIn outreach and automation straight to your inbox. You will receive a confirmation email (double opt-in). You can unsubscribe at any time via the link in every email. Details: [privacy policy](https://compleadly.com/privacy). ![Sebastian Andes](https://media.compleadly.de/media/8b720e679e2f2b08cc017d1938d026c62e625a21790c6df1284c2d4075cb3582-2.webp) [Sebastian Andes](https://compleadly.com/blog/author/sebastian-andes) Managing Director · CEO Marketing coach & business consultant. An experienced entrepreneur and marketing strategist, he has been co-building CompLeadly since 2019. [LinkedIn – Sebastian Andes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastian-andes/) ![Philipp Krapp](https://media.compleadly.de/media/5f21a7708967b449194687bb2101d4f657472eae4f1382d605d6904a027aab22-2.webp) [Philipp Krapp](https://compleadly.com/blog/author/philipp-krapp) Managing Director · CTO Software engineer & app developer. An innovative software developer, he has been co-building CompLeadly since 2019. [LinkedIn – Philipp Krapp](https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipp-krapp/) ![CompLeadly Team](https://media.compleadly.de/media/9109d0d881666addb60c3164d0302e5f499991f811381c2c8d17b8fb37e2f9e9-2.svg) [CompLeadly Team](https://compleadly.com/blog/author/compleadly-team) We build CompLeadly so LinkedIn outreach stops being a matter of luck. Our content team writes up what actually works in real campaigns. // keep reading ## You might also like [![An outbox tray with invitation cards showing person icons, one card being pulled back along a curved arrow while others wait in line, in navy and cyan](https://media.compleadly.de/media/e70a985c055ec64c5b93655b3c56e31db9f28983cb1e76209b115352c0c3d90e.jpg)LinkedIn StrategyHow to See Pending Connections on LinkedIn and Withdraw Them7 min read](https://compleadly.com/blog/linkedin-pending-connections)[![A white job posting card with a briefcase icon sends reach rings out to scattered profile nodes, some lighting up, in navy and cyan](https://media.compleadly.de/media/46485b6820c713ef5113509a1bc8c2dbf19d8fdcd14324889b517a82a09993dc.jpg)LinkedIn StrategyLinkedIn Job Posting Cost: Pricing, Steps and Examples10 min read](https://compleadly.com/blog/linkedin-job-posting-cost)[![A network graph growing outward from a central profile, only selected contacts are linked with cyan lines while many grey dots stay unconnected, on navy](https://media.compleadly.de/media/0c0a95a255953d2d0dd1bc96c509686fdb513f6274c5f83e4b5a4d0a0702c07e.jpg)LinkedIn StrategyLinkedIn Networking: 10 Ways to Build Relevant Connections9 min read](https://compleadly.com/blog/linkedin-networking) ## Ready for answers instead of cold lists? [Try free for 10 days](https://compleadly.com/download) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://compleadly.de/#organization", "name": "CompLeadly", "legalName": "CompLeadly OHG", "description": "LinkedIn automation software for B2B sales and lead generation — since 2019, with data hosted in the EU.", "foundingDate": "2019", "founder": [ { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://compleadly.de/ueber-uns#person-sebastian-andes", "name": "Sebastian Andes", "jobTitle": "Managing Director · CEO", "url": "https://compleadly.com/about", "image": "https://compleadly.com/images/founders/sebastian-andes-960w.webp", "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastian-andes/" ], "worksFor": { "@id": "https://compleadly.de/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://compleadly.de/ueber-uns#person-philipp-krapp", "name": "Philipp Krapp", "jobTitle": "Managing Director · CTO", "url": "https://compleadly.com/about", "image": "https://compleadly.com/images/founders/philipp-krapp-960w.webp", "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipp-krapp/" ], "worksFor": { "@id": "https://compleadly.de/#organization" } } ], "url": "https://compleadly.com/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://compleadly.com/brand/compleadly-logo-light.svg" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/company/compleadly/", "https://www.facebook.com/CompLeadlyLinkedInSoftware/", "https://www.instagram.com/compleadly/", "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNT_aB_ioPgfoAvFclwXvug" ], "contactPoint": [ { "@type": "ContactPoint", "telephone": "+49 2202 1860373", "email": "info@compleadly.de", "contactType": "customer support", "areaServed": "DE", "availableLanguage": [ "German", "English" ] } ], "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "Hauptstr. 26", "postalCode": "51465", "addressLocality": "Bergisch Gladbach", "addressCountry": "DE" } } ``` ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://compleadly.com/#website", "name": "CompLeadly", "url": "https://compleadly.com/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "publisher": { "@id": "https://compleadly.de/#organization" }, "potentialAction": { "@type": "SearchAction", "target": { "@type": "EntryPoint", "urlTemplate": "https://compleadly.com/search?q={search_term_string}" }, "query-input": "required name=search_term_string" } } ``` ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://compleadly.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Blog", "item": "https://compleadly.com/blog" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "What is LinkedIn? Everything about networking, careers and Social Selling", "item": "https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling" } ] } ``` ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BlogPosting", "@id": "https://compleadly.com/blog/what-is-linkedin-everything-about-networking-careers-and-social-selling#article", "headline": "What is LinkedIn? Everything about networking, careers and Social Selling", "description": "What is LinkedIn? 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Instead of holiday photos, you share your career history, posts about your field, and updates from your work. People looking for you professionally can find your profile there, while you can find jobs, customers, and experts." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What kind of app is LinkedIn?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "You can use LinkedIn in your browser or through its iOS and Android apps. The app covers the feed, your profile, messages, jobs, and connections. According to LinkedIn’s help pages, some features are only available on desktop, such as writing articles and downloading your data." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How does LinkedIn work?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "You create a profile, connect with people you know or want to get to know, and follow companies and individuals. You see their posts in your feed, and your own posts appear in your contacts’ feeds. You can message contacts directly." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is LinkedIn free?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. Creating a profile, connecting with people, messaging contacts, publishing posts, and searching for jobs are free. Paid Premium tiers mainly add more search options, InMails to people you’re not connected with, and statistics." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How many people use LinkedIn?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "In its press section, LinkedIn reports more than 1.3 billion members worldwide, including more than 430 million in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (as of October 3, 2026). LinkedIn does not publish a separate figure for Germany there." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is the difference between LinkedIn and XING?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "LinkedIn has an international focus and is much larger. XING describes itself as a jobs network for German-speaking countries with over 20 million members. LinkedIn is the obvious choice for international contacts and B2B sales, while XING is worth using as a second channel for job searches in the DACH region." } } ] } ```