It often allows them to share the successes of their business. While nearly 29 million members are registered in France on LinkedIn, how do entrepreneurs live their experience on this social network? What explains why 35% of them skip it? Between inspiring analyzes and sometimes noisy self-promotion, the social network attracts certain entrepreneurs as much as it repels others.
In a study, statistical data organization Flashs and web solutions platform Digitiz surveyed 1,215 business owners and freelancers. Despite several limitations highlighted, LinkedIn has been able to convince, since its creation in 2002, nearly 65% of French entrepreneurs, 6 out of 10 of whom are men. A particularly dynamic community, whose main activity consists of interacting with their broader professional network formed on the platform, by commenting or liking posts. Thus 67% of those questioned say they exchange at least once a week, and more than a third (35%) every day.
More than 8 out of 10 users also participate in feeding the platform and other users with their experiences, by posting or sharing content, daily for a quarter of them. “Experienced in publishing content via multiple channels, younger generations are those who publish or share most frequently,” notes the study. 73% of 18-24 year olds and 60% of 25-34 year olds do it at least once a week, compared to 39% of those over 50.
Inspiring entrepreneurs and business influencers
The fact remains that 35% of entrepreneurs are not registered on the platform. The reasons given by the latter are varied. It’s a lack of time, according to 67% of those surveyed. Others simply explain that they do not see any benefit from their presence on this social network (21%) or that they are not convinced of its usefulness for their activity (22%).
More caustic criticism nevertheless emerges. Nearly 4 out of 10 people surveyed, registered or not, judge its content to be too moralistic. 80% of business leaders are “probably annoyed by the proliferation of inspiring entrepreneurs and other business influencers” in full bloom on the platform, some of whom monopolize the space through a tone that is both preaching and mercantile, notes the study .
Too intrusive requests
Added to this are the numerous requests, frequently not very serious, which abound in users’ private messages. These are considered too intrusive by 39% of regular users. “While it is easy to block the most vehement prospectors, the line sometimes remains tenuous with legitimate contacts or truly enriching content,” notes the Digitiz study.
These abuses are all the more problematic since almost half of the LinkedIn users surveyed reveal in this study that they have already been approached in a context of seduction rather than professional, on an occasional basis for a quarter of them (23%), or even frequently for 15%. A reality that is exacerbated among young adults (77% of 18-24 year olds), but which seems to affect men as much as women.