Surprising correlation between LinkedIn endorsements and recommendations

It has been half a year since LinkedIn introduced their Endorsement feature. It allows users to endorse their colleagues and business partners for their skills and expertise with great ease. No longer do you need to spend a long time carefully structuring your recommendation into a nice paragraph that describes  why you recommend the work of the individual. Now it takes just a click to endorse someone. And you don’t even need to come up with the skill you want to endorse the person for. LinkedIn can do it for you.

A couple of weeks ago LinkedIn announced that since last September more than a billion endorsements have been made. It is hardly surprising. What is surprising, though, is another endorsement-related statistic that LinkedIn have announced:

1bn Linkedin endorsements have lead to 2x increase in weekly recommendations

It really surprised me. Since the introduction of endorsements there has been a perception that the number of recommendations would only fall. And yet, rather counter-intuitively, as people get used to the culture of endorsements, they become more likely to make the effort to write a paragraph recommending their business partner.

This is an encouraging statistic. Despite the dangers of spam and gaming the system, the Endorsement feature encourages genuine participation due to its simplicity and ease of use. We’ll see how the feature evolves over time. For now, enjoy the infographic!

Read more: 3 benefits of using LinkedIn for B2B lead generation

Images courtesy of Petter Palander (Flickr) and LinkedIn

Latest Posts

Truth on Fire, and Brands Are in the Line of It We’re all in the truth business now. At Somerset House, on a chilly evening in June, I joined a panel to unpack the uncomfortable realities of misinformation and disinformation, and what brands can do about it. The session was…
Read More
Yes, that is me being a bit obvious, but sometimes you need to be a bit blunt.  Social is where buyers research, where conversion journeys begin, and where measurable business outcomes are shaped. And yet too often, it’s still seen as secondary to ‘real’ marketing. This newsletter edition…
Read More
Reddit may have been in the shadows of other social platforms for years – in fact, the debate is on as to whether it’s a social platform at all – but one thing is for sure, the B2B buyer and marketeer are finding it a safe haven for research and…
Read More