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The Truth About LinkedIn’s Top Viewed Profile E-Mail Campaign

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Top Viewed Profile on LinkedInI’m terribly sorry that you might experience feelings of disappointment or even slight anger towards LinkedIn if you keep reading this post, so it’s really up to you…
 

Was Your Profile Among the 5% Top Viewed?

Were you one of the lucky ones who got an e-mail from LinkedIn, that your profile was one of the most visited in 2012? Or maybe the most endorsed in your industry? Well, I hate to say this, but in my opinion you were a victim of LinkedIn’s latest marketing campaign. Given that LinkedIn has recently reached 200 million members, you and 9’999’999 members received the same message. That is if LinkedIn really only sent this out to the top 5% (I honestly have my doubts since my husband received the message, where I didn’t. Weird, given the fact that I give regular webinars to hundreds of people about LinkedIn and my profile gets viewed dozens of times each day. Not that I’m jealous or anything… ;-) )
 
LinkedIn Top Viewed Profile
 

What was LinkedIn’s intent?

Different theories, but the one that makes the most sense in terms of marketing, is that LinkedIn wanted you to upgrade your account to a premium membership. You see, if you have a free account, you only get to see the last 5 people who visited your profile. However, if you pay a monthly fee, you get access to the whole list of profile visitors. So with this campaign, LinkedIn made people think of themselves as interesting and of course also curious to find out on a regular basis who is viewing their profile. As a side effect it made people feel good about themselves and since the e-mail was backed up with stats, it created trust in the social network. Not to mention the level of buzz this campaign generated. Each e-mail came with a nicely drafted message which people could share on LinkedIn, Twitter & Facebook. And you were not alone to share the news with pride !
 
LinkedIn Top Viewed Profile
 

Are you disappointed?

Don’t be! Yes, it was a sneaky campaign, but there are worse methods than this. After all LinkedIn didn’t lie to you, they maybe just omitted to tell you all the details. And be honest – it did make you feel very special – which you are!!
 

Conclusion from a marketer’s point of view

My first reaction was: it’s a spam! When I realized that it’s legitimate, I started to understand the full potential of this campaign. And yes, being Swiss (we tend to be very correct and follow the rules) made it a bit harder for me to take LinkedIn’s side. But given the results of the campaign I’d now have to say: this was a very smart but also incredibly sneaky marketing campaign! BUT: I’ll be less gullible in future communication from LinkedIn ;-)
 

Turn views into clients

If you’d like to really take advantage of LinkedIn, turn these views into clients, you might want to consider my LinkedIn Profile Video Review. For only $49.00 I will review your profile, give you very specific tips on how to get found for your skills and then turn these views into leads and prospects for your business. Click on the button below to find out more and book your review.

Book Your Profile Review TODAY!

 

Now it’s your turn? Did you receive one of the above mentioned e-mails? How do you feel now that you know that there was a clear marketing strategy behind that message? Please share in the comments below!

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  • Christelle

    Actually I received this email and was surprised given that I don’t have a very big activity on LinkedIn, but it’s true that when you do the maths it makes sense… Boosting one’s ego is always a good start for a campaign :)

    • http://www.simplicityadmins.com/ Sarah Santacroce

      I agree, Christelle ! It’s a very smart marketing technique ;-) Thanks for stopping by !

      • EGLord

        I liked to see my picture that had been sized really small and that I can use in future advertisements. That was the good think about this campaign for me.

        Dr. Ethelle Lord
        http://www.Remembering4You.com
        Pioneer in Alzheimer’s Coaching

        • http://www.simplicityadmins.com/ Sarah Santacroce

          at least there was that, right Ethelle ? ;-) It’s good to look out for the positive side. Thanks for stopping by !

  • Martin

    While I am sure it was a marketing exercise your argument is a little flawed, in that as I am already a Premium member it was hardly designed to get me to become one. Further, not everyone got the same message with some folk being in the top 1%, 5% and 10% and even more not getting the message at all – like my wife and children who all have the free account.

    • http://www.simplicityadmins.com/ Sarah Santacroce

      Hi Martin, point taken. Yes, a client of mine also already had the Premium account and still got the e-mail. So it seems like they didn’t just want to sell Premium accounts. They definitely achieved to create buzz: apparently the pre-typed Twitter message was tweeted out at least once every 60 seconds (up till yesterday, 5 days after the e-mails were sent out). Curious to get the final results on that campaign.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000577610550 Joanne Saunders

        There are many levels of paid accounts though. I often have suggested reasons to upgrade as I use LinkedIn, which is smart marketing. In this case though I believe there were three objectives – to increase Linkedin In usage, get them talked about on other social networks and increase paid accounts.

        • http://www.simplicityadmins.com/ Sarah Santacroce

          I agree with you, Jo. As I said, getting people to upgrade was just one of the theories. I would say: mission accomplished from LinkedIn’s point of view :-)

  • Shweta

    Yup, even I got the top 1% message. Though I mentally realized 1% of 200 million is 2 million people, it does make you feel good. I don’t think it was sneaky or they were trying to sell anything. Just trying to create a positive buzz, make people more excited to be on LinkedIn and if people shared it, they also gave LinkedIn free publicity, more popularity and maybe more members! Smart marketing at zero cost!!

    • http://www.simplicityadmins.com/ Sarah Santacroce

      No arguing, Shweta, it was definitely a smart marketing campaign. Maybe a bit unexpected from LinkedIn, I wouldn’t have blinked once to get the same from Facebook, but things are changing at LinkedIn… Let’s hope it’s for the good ! Thanks for your comment, Shweta !

  • Eugene

    Interestingly, I saw someone else’s brag post on LinkedIn and started to feel inferior until I looked in my Spam folder, and low and behold, there it was!! Top 5%!! Whoopie!! But what did LinkedIn do to end up in mys Spam folder? I receive all kinds of e-mails from LinkedIn every day, yet this one was filtered out as Spam.

    • http://www.simplicityadmins.com/ Sarah Santacroce

      yes, that’s interesting Eugene… What worries me that I just heard from a friend on Facebook that she doesn’t have a profile on LinkedIn but got a 5% e-mail from them. What’s up with that, LinkedIn?

  • Kenneth OE

    I got an e-mail stating that I was among the 1% most viewed… I was of course a bit surprised ;-) But proud! :-)

    • http://www.simplicityadmins.com/ Sarah Santacroce

      And you should be, Kenneth ;-) Their stats weren’t lying, they were just not telling you that you’re one in 10 Million. But why would they, that wouldn’t have sounded so special anymore… Keep up the good work on LinkedIn !

      • A Spade

        Actually, wouldn’t 1% of 200M be 2M (not 10M)? Also, I got the 1% message and I already am a paid subscriber so that shoots that theory. I think your article might be consider a clever yet “sneaky” way to get people to pay you $49 for your video review. No?

        • http://www.simplicityadmins.com/ Sarah Santacroce

          yes, 1% is 2M, but 5% is 10M ;-) As I said, different theories, promoting paid accounts was one of them, social buzz was the other one. I write about LinkedIn a LOT on this blog, but if you wish you can look at it that way, sure ;-) Little Swiss Miss is learning the sneaky ways from the big guys ;-)

  • Tony Dix

    The owner of our company received the e-mail just as I was reading your post. He actually works hard with his profile in connecting with local business owners and up and down the front range here in Colorado. His energy on Linked-In works as we get a fair amount of business from Linked-In. Afterwards, I was checking my mail for a customer correspondence and there was an email for me, but mine was different – Top 1% in the United States to be endorsed in Customer Service. Sure it was sneaky, yes I felt good, yes I shared it, and yes we just carry on. Thanks for the article, but I never told my boss, did not want to deflate his balloon. :)

    • http://www.simplicityadmins.com/ Sarah Santacroce

      I would have done the same thing, Tony ;-) Thanks for stopping by !

  • http://www.TheSocialMediaHat.com/ Mike Allton

    I’ve been getting a lot of feedback through my own blog post on this subject, and subsequent social media conversations. Most agree that it was a “stunt” – but many believe was an *effective* stunt. Here we are, days later, still talking about. Has LinkedIn received some new premium accounts as a result? Undoubtedly. Are far more blogs and social media posts now linking to LinkedIn? Absolutely.

    • http://www.simplicityadmins.com/ Sarah Santacroce

      Hi Mike, thanks for commenting. Yes, I’m sure in their eyes it was a successful campaign. What worries me is that 2 days after their campaign my connections were all gone and yesterday I didn’t see my newsfeed anymore. Is LinkedIn growing too fast ?

      • http://www.TheSocialMediaHat.com/ Mike Allton

        I don’t think LinkedIn is “growing too fast” but they’re definitely not focusing on improving the user experience. I wrote late last year about a number of changes that LinkedIn had implemented recently (http://www.thesocialmediahat.com/news/linkedin-business-experience-getting-better-or-worse-09082012) and since that time, most of the changes have revolved around ads, endorsement spam, dropping LinkedIn Answers and now this email campaign. It sure seems like LinkedIn no longer has the mindset of providing the best possible professional social network.

        • http://www.simplicityadmins.com/ Sarah Santacroce

          Thanks Mike. I would have to agree with you on this. It saddens me because I always liked LinkedIn the best because there was the least of fluff, it suited my style & many professionals felt the same. At this point it’s not clear if LinkedIn is headed in the right direction…

  • http://twitter.com/juliaerickson Julia Erickson

    Great analysis! Several clients got this email and wondered why. One was alarmed that so many people visited his profile. I told them that there were possibly two things going on: 1) their skill set was in high demand; and 2) LinkedIn wanted them to upgrade to a paid account so they could see who was looking at them. I didn’t get one of those emails, which convinced me that this was simply a brilliant upselling campaign – because I get many more views than most people, and didn’t get any of these emails. Even given what Martin said about Premium members getting the emails, it might have been that LinkedIn was testing whether people would upgrade from one level of paid to a more expensive level.

    • http://www.simplicityadmins.com/ Sarah Santacroce

      Hi Julia, nice to see you here. Yes, I agree. Either they wanted to upsell or the other theory is that they just wanted the buzz. Which they definitely got, question is: for how long? Thanks for your comment !

  • http://www.communityorganizer20.com/ Debra Askanase

    I feel that Linkedin missed a HUGE opportunity. What I would have loved to have seen is Linkedin send an email to the next 15% with tips on how to use Linkedin more effectively, why to use it more, etc. Instead, those folks who haven’t received the emails (the vast majority) are left feeling a bit like the ones not picked for the sports team.

    • http://www.simplicityadmins.com/ Sarah Santacroce

      Hi Debra, thanks for stopping by. That’s a very good point, at least teach us something, if you don’t want to include us in the elite team ;-) Maybe that’s coming next? Yesterday all my connections were not visible anymore and I posted about it on FB. One guy answered: it happened to all 95% (the ones who didn’t get the e-mail) LOL

  • http://twitter.com/AngeliqueDuff Bright Spark Media

    I got a 5% message. You’re right that it is a clever marketing campaign in that everyone is still talking about it days later.

    I did the math too and realized that special in this case is quite common.

    I agree with Debra – would have been smart to add some tips for the other 95% :)

    However, I see you’ve used it effectively by suggesting people contact you for a profile analysis (I always tell folks that there are 2 parts, being seen and getting people to take action) and I’m doing something similar for upcoming LinkedIn workshop (“if you want to be one of the top 5%, learn how at my workshop”).

    So marketing tactics work both ways.

    • http://www.simplicityadmins.com/ Sarah Santacroce

      Thanks for your comment, Angelique. I like how you used the campaign to your advantage to and even used it in your tile for your workshop. Wishing you a successful event !

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000577610550 Joanne Saunders

    I had exactly the same reaction in seeing the email… I did get one and am in the top 1% but didn’t think it likely, and dismissed it as spam. I then saw the way the discussion had gone viral on Twitter so investigated further and even got a quote from a LinkedIn contact. See my blog: http://www.wildfiresocialmarketing.com/wildfire/2013/02/15/do-you-have-an-award-winning-linkedin-profile-1546 It was very smart marketing to increase usage, get them talked about and I’m sure some free users upgraded. A client got an email and put it down to my work with him and even shared the screen shot at a networking group! People love to have their ego stroked… so top marks for a smart campaign. I do think they hit too many people though, they should have built the buzz and awarded a smaller amount of people so it appeared more legit and give it more exclusivity.

    • http://www.simplicityadmins.com/ Sarah Santacroce

      Hi Jo, loved how you reached out to LinkedIn to investigate further. Yes, I also think they should have either made it more exclusive or as Debra suggested sent out tips to the rest of us who didn’t get into the top 10% ;-)


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