These people found fame and money—on LinkedIn

People who lose their jobs in high-profile cuts, she wrote, often get showered with offers for help at the expense of millions of others who have been out of work for longer. “Do they need a big event or company tied to them to get recognition?" she asked.

A post like this might have garnered a few likes on Instagram or TikTok before quickly disappearing into the ether. But on LinkedIn, it’s the kind of frank talk that can turn you into a celebrity.

Little soon had 100,000 followers on the site, and her fan base continued to swell.

April Little started actively posting on LinkedIn three years ago and now has more than 260,000 followers.

“I don’t see myself as a content creator, even though I am," said Little. She earned $150,000 in the past two years, as companies look to reach her 260,000 followers.

The 38-year-old human-resources executive in Rochester, N.Y., is among thousands who have forged a path to low-level fame and fortune by injecting some personality into a site that is typically all business. She and others have used their popularity to build their brands, find clients and sign sponsorship deals.

At its core, LinkedIn is a résumé site. For years, the most common posts were congratulations for new jobs and work anniversaries. But in the past few years, it’s become a haven for people sharing career highs and lows.

Gone are the days of being overly professional, especially as many industries continue to face layoffs and see fewer salary bumps. Younger generations more attuned to sharing their life online are also helping change the tone. Gen Z monthly users are expected to reach 23.1 million on the platform this year, up from 21.1 million last year, according to research firm, Emarketer.

Some star users are established personalities on TikTok and Instagram. But most content comes from workers and executives posting about their industry and their daily grinds. They are more likely to be in search of a new client, a new hire or a lead than a sponsorship deal.

Many nine-to-fivers post on LinkedIn to “bulletproof their career," says Lindsey Gamble, a marketer and consultant who had several sponsored posts on the site last year.

“You might not have the experience on your résumé, but if you go on LinkedIn and share your thoughts—it builds your personal brand," he says.

Changes to the site have helped create a more influencer-friendly environment. In 2021, LinkedIn added a “creator mode" that gave people access to analytics and more sharing tools. (These are now available to everyone.) Last year, it rolled out a video tab for its mobile app. More video, like a full-screen experience, is now also available on the website, with video views up 36% year over year, according to LinkedIn.

Despite the updates, LinkedIn isn’t exactly a hotbed of social-media stars. And some say that’s a big advantage.

“It’s easier to get people’s attention right now because there’s less supply," said Piper Phillips.

The 24-year-old content creator in New York started out on TikTok, making videos about her career and daily life, before becoming more active on LinkedIn four months ago. She brought a similar vibe, posting videos about building a personal brand as well behind-the-scenes looks into how she lands brand partnerships on other social platforms.

“When I first started posting content it was purely educational," Phillips said in an October post. “I’m also a girl in her 20’s living in NYC—I love the concept of personal growth and human psychology, I love the feeling of grabbing drinks with the girls on a Saturday afternoon, dancing until 2am, calling my grandparents, playing piano and singing, and making silly wholesome videos with my family. (In no particular order)."

That casual mix of personal and professional has helped grow her following to 18,000 and she received her first brand deals in February, bringing in about $8,000. She’s since started Self-Employed, a media company, and posts about that as well.

“Even if you don’t create professional content, chances are you have takes and opinions that are relevant to the professional world in some way," Phillips said.

A bonus for many LinkedIn influencers is that their newfound celebrity and connections help them build their businesses or create new enterprises.

As a program manager, Jean Kang didn’t see much on LinkedIn about her field. So the 32-year-old began posting about it two years ago to her 2,000 followers and connections, growing her audience to 30,000 in one year.

Jean Kang reaches more than 180,000 people on LinkedIn with her posts.

Many of her posts revolve around her career journey, whether it was job-hopping, taking care of her mental health or landing job offers, as well documenting her life as an entrepreneur.

Now, she writes for more than 180,000 people and uses her following to build her business, coaching would-be program managers.

“I was like this is wild—putting yourself out there—this is just as lucrative as a platform like Instagram,“ said Kang, who’s based in Oakland, Calif.

New Jersey resident Vin Matano, 28, started on LinkedIn in 2019, posting about his sales job. He netted his first brand deal in 2020 for $200. Last year, as a part-time content creator, he made about $95,000 across LinkedIn, TikTok and Instagram.

Now, he’s building Creatorbuzz, a business-to-business influencer marketing agency, and documenting it on LinkedIn. In six months, Creatorbuzz generated $250,000 in revenue. Sixty-percent of that was attributed to Matano’s LinkedIn posts, he said.

“Creating an audience on LinkedIn has empowered me to start my own business because I created a following," said Matano.

Brands are also finding an attractive stickiness to LinkedIn and its star users.

Teal, a résumé builder tool, has partnered with 50 to 60 content creators, paying them anywhere from $500 to $3,000 a post. Founder Dave Fano says their influencer marketing goes further on LinkedIn than elsewhere on the web.

Danielle Ito, head of influencer marketing at digital workspace Notion, says posts on the site tend to have a longer shelf life because of the way commented-on or liked posts reappear in people’s feeds.

In January, the company worked with more than 60 influencers to launch Notion Faces, an avatar generator. The campaign reached more than 2.5 million LinkedIn users, according to Ito.

“If we had done this on Instagram," she said, “it would’ve been a drop in the bucket and not a universal splash."