Who owns LinkedIn? Microsoft ! Here is Why

Join over 5400 readers of the Supernova newsletter ☄️

1 click unsubscribe at any time

YES ✅ LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft! Microsoft bought LinkedIn in 2016 for $26.2 billion. This is the most expensive purchase of a social network in the (short, but intense) history of social networking. 😱

Microsoft is one of the biggest influences on the market

Microsoft is part of the GAFAM. They are the most powerful companies in the world. These companies have been buying up new startups as if they’re hot croissants at a French bakery.

They are:

  • Google.
  • Amazon.
  • Facebook (now: Meta).
  • Apple.
  • Microsoft.

Microsoft recently bought bought LinkedIn, Candy Crush, and Minecraft. Here are some of the most important info about the company:

  • ⏲ Created in 4 avril 1975.
  • 👨‍⚖️ Current director: Satya Nadella.
  • 🤝 Founders: Bill Gates, Paul Allen.
  • 💰 Revenue: $110.36 billion (2018).

Why did Microsoft buy LinkedIn?

So Microsoft didn’t hesitate to drop a big bill to acquire social media giant LinkedIn. It’s kind of like buying Boardwalk in Monopoly. You know it’s going to hurt your bank account, but as soon as someone stumbles upon it, you’ll triple your ROI (return on investment). And why do you think that is?

Because LinkedIn is a very good investment. It’s the largest professional social media, and also one of the most monetizable data recovery platforms. 💰 LinkedIn has a monopoly on the market. It’s the only global professional network with millions of daily active users. And today, the most valuable thing is our data (selling data), which already proved more valuable than oil (in 2019). In its article, Forbes announces:

Data Is The New Oil — And That’s A Good Thing

And LinkedIn has it all figured out. For me, it is the smartest network of all. It sells highly qualified data* to professionals.

* That is, we all fill in our profile meticulously to boost our e-reputation.

This data that we meticulously fill in is used (among other things) to carry out targeted LinkedIn advertising by advertisers.

  • The user gains visibility, develops partnerships, and finds prospects.
  • The advertiser sells its products and services via ads and content marketing.

So the more users there are, the more data there is to sell (logical). And the more data there is, the more advertisers (and therefore buyers) there are.

💫 It’s a virtuous circle 💫

So LinkedIn’s goal is to always increase the number of subscribers and their engagement. Learn more about how LinkedIn makes money. 👀

Why did Microsoft choose LinkedIn?

So Microsoft owns Skype and LinkedIn, but wants to expand its tech investments (as if they’re not rich and powerful enough as it is 😂).

The Microsoft Redmond group has a great interest in social media networks. In fact, the group has repeatedly expressed its ambition to buy a big social media platform like:

  • Pinterest, for a $51 billion buyout, (not bad).
  • TikTok, without having made any official announcements about a price. 🤫

The goal? To become the leader of digital companies.

When did Microsoft buy LinkedIn?

It was on June 13, 2016 that Microsoft bought LinkedIn from Reid Hoffman and Allen Blue, the two founders of the social network.  Since then, LinkedIn has been growing and earning even more than ever before. LinkedIn revenue topped $10 billion in 2021, from $5 billion in 2018.

LinkedIn posts first $10 billion year, 5 years after Microsoft deal, but profits remain a mystery – GeekWire

 

Is LinkedIn now owned by Microsoft? How much did Microsoft buy LinkedIn for?

Yes, in 2023, LinkedIn is still owned by Microsoft and it doesn’t look like that will be changing anytime soon. The company bought LinkedIn for $26.2 billion.

How does LinkedIn remain the leader?

As we said, LinkedIn is the best card in Monopoly. There are a few companies like Viadeo that have had the ambition to outdo the network, but without success.

Latest data (January 2022) = worldwild search around LinkedIn and Video in the past 12 months*

LinkedIn remains a leader in several ways:

  • With digital transformation, many countries have started to have access to the internet all the time and LinkedIn’s popularity in the workplace has grown tenfold. It is a “must have” to develop your career.
  • It’s constantly evolved by following digital trends: LinkedIn has developed articles, webinars, podcasts…
  • Its algorithm chooses which content is more engaging according to the user (personalized experience) that allows them to stay engaged on the network.
  • It’s positioning as a digital media. Today, 89% of decision-makers think that LinkedIn is a trusted source of business news.
  • Its focus is on human resources. LinkedIn sees itself as a “career facilitator”, developing an intuitive “job search” space and a real job market.
  • Its business model is based on ads + premium offers, all aligned with the values and market position of the network.

Don’t miss out on professional opportunities anymore. Don’t miss out on the career of your dreams. Use LinkedIn.

LinkedIn has become the largest professional social network in the world

We are social animals, we love to communicate, and we never stop doing so.

  • LinkedIn is the most popular social media for B2b.
  • The rise of social media in the past 5 years has just been incredible.
  • The number of users has exploded. 

*Typo: graph should read Microsoft buys LinkedIn

It was said earlier, and I’m repeating myself (but you love it) :

Microsoft bought LinkedIn in 2016 for $26 billion, at that point it had 433 million of users. So if you do the math, that’s just under 60 dollars per user. That means that if you had LinkedIn in 2016, they already put a 60-dollar bill on your head. Now, the network has mind-blowing numbers:

  • 790 million users worldwide (January 2022).
  • The revenue of LinkedIn increased by $928 million. That is +16% between Q1 and Q2 2021.
  • Mostly active users: 303 million in 2021.
  • The networking platform’s profits are beyond $10 billion.

Where did I get this data? Read Microsoft’s press release.

How can you take advantage of LinkedIn?

There are several ways to leverage the network. And after all, why not? LinkedIn does make money from you every day, so you should make sure you’re also getting something in return, right?

Well, there are actually plenty of ways to use LinkedIn to your benefit.

This article is here to help you learn a little more about LinkedIn, and how you can use it to grow your network or find clients. One of the key tools that will help you achieve that goal is Waalaxy. You can download Waalaxy right away, and use it free of charge!🎁

Discover Waalaxy 🪐

Inbound marketing on LinkedIn

An inbound marketing strategy. The goal is to bring a prospect who doesn’t know you or who doesn’t know you very well, to become a customer by offering them quality content.

  • Post and be active on selected social networks.
  • Organize webinars, conferences, podcasts…
  • Share a white paper or a newsletter.
  • Write very cool articles like the one you’re reading right now.
  • Work on your SEO and blogging skills.

🔥 Access the complete Guide to Inbound Marketing on LinkedIn for free. 🔥

 

Community Management

Digital communication and social media management are part of inbound marketing.

Some people are specialized in community management and manage several social networking platforms at once.

Their goal is to create a social media marketing strategy to build higher conversions for the company.

For that they often use certain tools to schedule their posts and to make them visible to their target audiencePodawaa is one of those tools. LinkedIn is the most efficient network to create a community and get followers in B2b.

If you want more free tips like this, make sure you sign up to our Waalaxy newsletter.

🔥 Get access to the Complete Guide to Content Strategy on LinkedIn for free. 🔥

 

Prospecting with LinkedIn

LinkedIn is an incredible goldmine for lead generation.

The best part?

You don’t needto use LinkedIn media advertising or the paid automated messaging service offered by LinkedIn. No, you can do all of this free with an automation tool. 🥳

  • Send hundreds of messages to qualified prospects.
  • Create fun and easy-to-use campaigns.
  • Be accompanied by digital experts via chat.
  • Track your results.
  • Use the freemium version. (By free we really do mean free. No tricks, no fake promises).

 

🔥 Click here to get started with Walaaxy. The leading automated LinkedIn lead generation tool, that’s free to use. 🔥

 

Recruiting on LinkedIn

There are more than 20 million open jobs on LinkedIn Jobs per day, and the most active users are recruiters or marketers.

LinkedIn has become a necessity for recruiters and talent hunters. The network makes it possible to quickly identify job seekers thanks to the alert function of their profile. It also makes it easier to lure highly sought out talent away 😈 – something that is done more and more since the rise in demand in certain niche areas such as in tech (engineers, developers).

What’s great about LinkedIn is that in addition to being able to easily post your offers, you have access to the full profiles of the people who apply and you can discover a lot more information about the candidates. (What they post, which companies they follow).

🔥 Access our free guide on how to use our free tool (Waalaxy) to get the best out of Recruiter Lite. 🔥

 

Job Search on LinkedIn

42 million people (worldwide) use LinkedIn to search for a job every week. Those aren’t small numbers.

It proves two things:

  • It works. (I found all my internships and jobs through LinkedIn and now my life is great).
  • The competition is tough. (This is not just the case on LinkedIn, but it goes to show that the bare minimum is no longer good enough. You need good tactics).

You’re going to have to work harder to find the right company, and you’re going to have to let them know that they need you too. I guess you already know that if you don’t personalize your resume and cover letter, you won’t get very far. Now, to stand out in the LinkedIn jungle, there are three steps to follow:

Make your startup shine

Whether you’re in Fintech or selling dog products, if you’re launching your business, you’re going to need visibility, partnerships, and surely investors. Webmarketing and using networks is going to be your first weapon. 😈

You can use LinkedIn completely free of charge. You just use the feed (news feed) to post regularly and you use a free tool like Waalaxy to launch your campaigns. With that alone, you gain credibility and win your first customers.

Without haven’t spent a dime.

It’s almost too good to be true.

Except it isn’t.

Want to find out more?

🔥 Get access to our comprehensive Guide on how to use LinkedIn for your business free of charge 🔥.

Getting started as a freelancer

The number of freelancers keeps going up.

As does the rate of people dissatisfied with freelancing 😂 (76% of freelancers are more worried than ever before). But that’s not the point of this section.

The biggest boom started at the end of 2019/early-2020. The main factors was the start of Covid, mixed with the increasing desire for individuals to create something of their own.

So now LinkedIn is full of freelancers fighting for the same clients.

Why?

Because LinkedIn is the best place to find your first clients and start your business. Every company looking for freelancers is looking on social media and websites. 

If you don’t want to be the last kid left on the bench waiting to be picked, I strongly recommend you include LinkedIn in your marketing strategy.

 

You can start right away with these 3 key steps:

  • Develop your image and brand awareness.
  • Find your potential customers, contact them, and make them clients.
  • Be active on social media and expand your network.

🔥 For a comprehensive guide to this, check out our article: getting started as a Freelancer. 🔥

Why are the GAFAMs so powerful? Who are the big tech companies?

Because they have a lot (too much) market share. Our friend Google is at the top of the list with 92.3% of its market, and it’s a virtuous circle.

The more the search engine is used, the more it is fed, the more it gains value, and thus the more it gains a lead on its competitors.

We can see (in this beautiful graph) that Apple is losing a bit of influence. The smartphone market is very competitive, and Apple has a very specific target market, and does not really do low cost.

(Apologies for the quality of the graphics. I’m testing a new minimalist graphic design tool and I don’t know how to make circles – yet).

What are the big five tech companies? Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, etc…

Ps: Facebook’s market share is nowhere to be found. 🤷

Let’s zoom in on each of the big 5 to get all the juicy details. 👇👀

Google

Google owns 219 companies, in 2019 it is adding several strings to its bow:

  • Superpod = Question and answer software.
  • Alooma = Database migration to the cloud.
  • Nightcorn = Video sharing.
  • Looker = Business anaytics.
  • Fossil = Connected watch.

 

Amazon

logo de Amazon

Amazon owns Amazon. Which is already huge given the supremacy of its empire, but then consider the fact that it owns over 38 other companies, and you’ll understand just how powerful Amazon is.

Here are some of the most recognizable brands owned by Amazon:

  • Alexa = Audio assistant.
  • Audible = Audio books.
  • Twitch = streaming platform.

 

Meta (formerly Facebook)

Yes Facebook changed its name in October 2021, even though nobody calls it Meta yet.  Facebook decided to invest only in social networking sites. In fact, it bought Instagram in 2012 for only $1 billion. It’s just one of the most incredible investments in history. 😱

The value of Instagram is now 100 billion dollars (at the time that this article was being written).

🏴‍☠️ In its treasure chest, the network also has:

  • Messenger.
  • WhatsApp.
  • Instagram.
  • Libra.
  • FriendFeed.
  • Gowalla.

 

Apple

logo de Apple

Apple is one of those companies that own tons of companies and collect them in spades. Today the giant has 107 in its bag. In 2020/2021 it acquired a few more:

  • Camerai and Spaces = augmented reality.
  • Vilynx and Curious AI = artificial intelligence.
  • Primephonic = music streaming.

If you don’t recogniwe them, no worries, just know they’re major tech companies 😂.

 

Microsoft

logo de Microsoft

Microsoft comes in second. That’s 211 companies under its umbrella. Its biggest acquisition being LinkedIn, which cost them an arm and a leg (English expression that translates to really really expensive.) The 4 biggest purchases of Microsoft were:

  • LinkedIn in 2016 = the best B2b social network.
  • GitHub in 2018 = web hosting.
  • Nokia in 2013 = cell phones.
  • aQantive in 2007= web marketing (owned by Atlas group).

Conclusion: Is LinkedIn owned by Microsoft?

LinkedIn was acquired by Microsoft in 2016 for over $26 million.

Microsoft has ambitions to expand its influence by buying and using social media platforms. The group has indicated interest in Pinterest and TikTok. 😱

Article FAQ

What are the Big 5 companies?

LinkedIn has been part of Microsoft since 2016. The GAFAMs are:

  • Google.
  • Amazon.
  • Facebook (now: Meta).
  • Apple.
  • Microsoft.

Why are GAFAMs so important?

According to lebigdata:

The GAFAM have several billion users and a market capitalization of more than four trillion dollars.

They own and influence most social platform and therefore have a real impact on the life choices of internet users. They decide what content we should consume and what products we should buy.

They have the upper-hand in the market and therefore decide the conditions of sale.

They also invest in state-of-the-art tools and buy up social networks, streaming, artificial intelligence and big Tech companies to develop their empires over time.

What are the companies owned by Microsoft?

Microsoft doesn’t just have LinkedIn. The big company acquired so many other ones in the past few years:

  • Activision Blizzard,
  • Mojang,
  • Minecraft,
  • Skype,
  • GitHub,
  • The Cloud.

Now, you know everything about LinkedIn and Microsoft!

Thanks for reading and see you soon for more articles on LinkedIn. 💖

Elodie

Want to go further?

Networking is essential to progress in your professional life. So, how to introduce yourself in an email? 🤔 A good

22/03/2024

Looking for THE BEST sales discovery questions? 😲 Don’t panic! In this article, you’ll find 30 examples that will help

15/03/2024

Wondering how to sponsor a post on Instagram to boost your brand’s visibility? 🚀 You’ve come to the right place!

15/03/2024

Get the ultimate e-book for multi-channel prospecting 📨

7 examples of successful prospecting messages to boost the response rates of your prospecting campaigns.

Ebook-7-messages-US-mockup

7 examples of successful LinkedIn prospecting messages

Masterclasses

Dans la piscine

Sucess story