Over the last 12 months, something we’ve noticed again and again in the digital marketing space is a real shift: people are taking LinkedIn more seriously, both for business visibility and for their own professional presence. 

While LinkedIn started as a recruitment-focused platform, it’s evolved into so much more. Today, it’s a place for visibility, credibility, and genuine connection. Professionals from across the globe are jumping on to share ideas, learn from one another, build relationships, and intentionally shape how they’re seen. This shift is exactly why LinkedIn matters more now than ever before, and if you haven’t been paying your LinkedIn the attention it most definitely deserves in 2026, now’s the time to whip your profile into shape.

LinkedIn by the numbers (in 2025–26)

• LinkedIn has officially passed 1 billion+ users worldwide, making it the largest professional networking platform on the planet.
• That includes 17 million Australians actively using the platform (a.k.a, a huge slice of our professional community).
• Engagement is growing. Comments and conversations on the platform are up significantly year-on-year (roughly 37% according to the platform), showing real interaction, not just scrolling.

What do these numbers mean for us as professionals? Well, besides the fact that they’re incredibly impressive, these stats signal something that’s already playing out in real life: LinkedIn is where professionals want to connect, be seen, and be discovered.

So why the shift?

For the longest time, many of us treated LinkedIn as the platform for the “grown-ups”. We all set up a profile (because that’s what we were told to do), and then never really touched it again. Facebook and Instagram felt more familiar and fun; LinkedIn was the place you went when you needed a job or a career pivot.

You could say, ‘well, maybe it’s because we’re grown up now’. But my honest opinion is that the shift in the way we perceive LinkedIn is because it has truly become a space where we can:

• discover expertise and thought leadership, and learn from other like-minded people;
• share real stories through our business and be met with authentic engagement;
• hire, change roles, collaborate, and partner; and 
• build a strong professional reputation and personal brand over time.

What’s shifted is this: people now see LinkedIn as part of their professional toolkit, as opposed to an afterthought.

What this means for you in 2026

If you’re a business owner, freelancer, employee, or someone thinking about your next career move, paying attention to this new trend is key, because in 2026:

• Your LinkedIn presence is part of your professional brand. Your profile is something you own, not just a digital CV you set up once in your 20s and leave behind.
• LinkedIn isn’t just for recruiters anymore. It’s for genuine business connection, thought leadership, ideas, collaborations, and community.
• The people you want to reach - clients, peers, collaborators, employers - are increasingly on LinkedIn and engaging there every day.

In other words: if you’re in business or building a career, 2026 is the year to treat LinkedIn with intention.

An industry reminder

At a conference that a couple of us at Rise attended in 2025, we had the opportunity to hear from Kate Merryweather, and one thing she said has really stuck.

She described LinkedIn not as a funnel, but as a pinball machine.

It’s not linear. People don’t simply move from post to profile to enquiry in a neat, predictable way. Instead, they bounce around. They see you comment on someone else’s post. They engage with a piece of value-driven content. They click your profile. They come back weeks later. They notice you again.

That perspective completely reframed the way we think about showing up.

Kate also reinforced a few fundamentals that feel especially relevant right now:

• Your profile needs to be clear. Who you help. How you help. Who it’s for. No guessing.
• Identify your ideal audience before you start creating content.
• Make your content 80% value. That means limit your ‘selling’, stop trying to ‘pitch; so much. Try to be genuinely helpful.

None of what Kate was saying was complicated. It just reinforced the need to be intentional.

And that’s the common thread we’re seeing in 2026: LinkedIn is rewarding clarity, generosity, and consistency.

A personal perspective (and a confession)

I'll be honest with you. For years, LinkedIn wasn’t my native platform. I was drawn to Facebook and Instagram for the same reason as everybody else. I set up my LinkedIn profile, ignored it, and carried on.

Rise is now in its fifth year of operation, and looking back at how the business has significantly changed and grown, I can see now that my LinkedIn profile should’ve evolved with me. It should have been updated each season of my career, reflecting who I was and where I was heading.

And that’s something I genuinely wish I’d taken seriously sooner.

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt about content creation, it’s that if you’re striving for perfection in every post, story or update, you’ll never share a thing. What matters most is your presence online. Being intentional. Making sure that when someone lands on your profile, they see who you are now, and not five years ago.

Who is LinkedIn really for?

In 2026, LinkedIn is for:

• People building a professional reputation
• Freelancers looking to connect with clients
• Employees building their career story
• Business owners positioning expertise and authority
• Anyone who wants to strengthen professional connections

Your LinkedIn profile is yours. It follows you from job to job, season to season, opportunity to opportunity. So, when you take the time to review and update your profile as things change, it makes a difference.

Where should you be online?

One of the first conversations we have with clients in our deep-dive strategy sessions is about where their audience actually is online. It doesn’t matter how great your content is if your people aren’t there to see it, does it?.

LinkedIn might be important, or it might not be the most important place for your audience right now. But the question becomes: Where do you need to be when they’re online?

If you’re unsure about:

• Where your target audience spends time online
• How to effectively reach them
• Or what your core message is once they find you, 

That's exactly the kind of thing we love helping with.

Our prediction is that LinkedIn will form part of how careers and businesses grow in 2026. And there’s really no time like now to give your profile a glow up, and start making some regular commitments to being present on this ever-growing platform.