Let’s be honest: how well does LinkedIn actually work for you from a business perspective? It’s a question many professionals, myself included, wrestle with.

We’re told that LinkedIn is the go-to platform for building brand awareness, nurturing leads, and even closing sales. But when you take a step back, how many of us can directly attribute clients, sales, or significant business growth to our LinkedIn activity?

LinkedIn has a lot going for it. For some, it’s a goldmine. They use it to showcase thought leadership, build credibility, and attract clients in a way that feels organic and meaningful. Ideally, LinkedIn should perform like any good marketing channel—it should drive conversions, build brand recognition, and contribute to revenue.

But the reality is more nuanced. For many users, LinkedIn’s return on investment (ROI) is harder to quantify. Yes, they’re making connections and engaging in interesting conversations, but is that activity translating into real, measurable business outcomes?

LinkedIn as a Thought Leadership Platform

Let’s start with one of LinkedIn’s biggest strengths: thought leadership. LinkedIn is an excellent space to share insights, offer advice, and demonstrate expertise. People who follow your content can get a sense of who you are and what you stand for, which is invaluable for building a personal brand.

Many professionals have successfully positioned themselves as thought leaders through consistent, high-quality posts on LinkedIn, and it’s clear that this type of presence can attract attention and open doors.

However, here’s the tricky part: while thought leadership is powerful, it doesn’t always translate into direct sales or leads. It’s often more about “brand building,” creating awareness, and establishing credibility.

These are valuable, no doubt, but they’re also intangible. For a small business owner, consultant, or entrepreneur, time is precious, and every hour spent on LinkedIn ideally needs to contribute to the bottom line.

My Personal Experience with LinkedIn

For myself, LinkedIn has been a valuable tool in certain respects. I’m very active on the platform—I post regularly, engage with others, and try to foster genuine conversations.

I’ve found that this level of engagement has helped me establish brand awareness, which is critical in a competitive market. People know who I am and understand what I do, and I’ve received positive feedback on the insights I share.

But here’s the twist: despite my high activity level, most of my leads don’t actually come from LinkedIn. When I look at my client base, the majority come from referrals, not from LinkedIn connections.

I’ve had some clients find me through organic searches, my podcast, or simply word-of-mouth recommendations. LinkedIn is certainly a part of my business ecosystem, but it’s not the main driver of my leads or revenue.

Can You Measure LinkedIn’s Success?

This brings me to a critical point: measuring LinkedIn’s success can be challenging. On other platforms, it’s often easier to tie efforts directly to sales or leads. Facebook and Instagram, for example, offer robust advertising options and clear paths to conversion through things like shoppable posts or lead generation ads. LinkedIn’s ad platform has made strides, but it’s still more challenging to track organic content’s direct impact on sales.

For many of us, the benefits of LinkedIn are indirect. Building a strong network, being top-of-mind, and establishing a recognizable brand are all positives, but they’re harder to quantify.

And this can create a sense of ambiguity—are the hours spent on LinkedIn yielding measurable returns, or is the ROI more about perception than hard data?

What Are the Alternatives?

If LinkedIn isn’t directly driving sales, then what’s the alternative? Should you double down on other platforms, or is LinkedIn still worth the investment? Let’s break down a few options:

• Twitter: While Twitter is a good platform for real-time engagement and sharing quick insights, it’s often noisy, and the environment can feel polarized or even toxic. For B2B professionals, Twitter might not be the ideal space for sustained engagement.
• Reddit: Reddit offers a unique environment for in-depth discussions, but it can be a tough space for B2B marketing. You need to bring genuine value, and promotional content is often unwelcome. While some brands do find success, it requires a careful approach and significant community involvement.
• Events: Networking events, conferences, and trade shows can be hit-or-miss. When they work, they’re fantastic for creating connections and engaging face-to-face. However, they can also be costly and time-consuming, with no guarantee of immediate ROI.

In short, there isn’t a perfect answer. Every platform has its pros and cons, and LinkedIn, despite its challenges, remains one of the few spaces tailored for professional networking and B2B marketing.

The Value of Relationships and Personal Connections

For me, much of my success doesn’t come from any one platform—it comes from relationships. It’s about meaningful conversations, staying active in my industry, and looking for opportunities to connect and collaborate. LinkedIn is one piece of that puzzle, but it’s not the entire picture. I’ve realized that my business thrives on relationships, trust, and personal connections, rather than a constant stream of LinkedIn posts.

And I think this is a question more people should ask themselves: Is LinkedIn genuinely working for you? Or are you on it because it feels like a professional obligation—something everyone else is doing, so you should too?

LinkedIn’s Role in Today’s Digital Landscape

So, where does that leave LinkedIn?

For many, LinkedIn is essential, a place to network, build credibility, and close sales. For others, it’s a nice-to-have—a useful tool but not necessarily a driver of business. And perhaps that’s the heart of it: LinkedIn’s role in your business depends on how you leverage it and what your expectations are.

If you’re consistently landing clients from LinkedIn, that’s fantastic, and I’d love to know what’s working for you. But if you’re like many professionals who are active on LinkedIn but unsure of its ROI, maybe it’s time to reassess how you’re using the platform.

Experiment with different types of content, engage more deeply with your audience, or perhaps even scale back and focus on platforms that provide clearer returns.