LinkedIn Has Had 5 million Users in Mainland China

LinkedIn China,or Ling Ying in Chinese, released some user statistics for the first time since the appointment of China President and the launch of the Chinese site:

—  The registered users in mainland China have reached 5 million. The worldwide popular business social network had had 4 million users in mainland China as of the beginning of this year.

—  Most of the existing users, unsurprisingly, are “high-end” users, well-educated, with good jobs and in first-tier cities.

— 42% are manager level or above. 34% are working at international companies. More than 20% have received education overseas.

— 60% are from the largest first-tier cities, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

— What’s interesting is female users as a percentage, which is 55%, is 10% higher than that of male users. 44% of those at manager level or above are female, higher than the rate in the rest of the world which is 42%.

LinkedIn has been integrated into WeChat, the most popular mobile messaging and social app in China. The LinkedIn account of a user will be shown on the profile ofWeChat account if he or she chooses to make a bundle. Also LinkedIn Name Card can be saved or forwarded to contacts within WeChat.

LinkedIn China’s short-term goal is increase website speed, develop localized products and building the team, Derek Shen, China President, said in a recent interview. The team’s next moves also includes introducing the LinkedIn Influencer program to China.

The long-term goal, according to Shen, is to change the way Chinese find jobs. He hopes five years later Chinese, instead of sending resume files, will forward their LinkedIn profile for job hunting or check out the profile of a potential business partner before meeting him or her.

When it comes to monetization, Mr. Shen believes, though the approaches LinkedIn has adopted will work in China too, localization changes are needed.

Like Evernote, LinkedIn China introduced funding from local venture capital firms, CBC Capital and Sequoia Capital China. That makes it like running a startup, Shen said, which is a good thing.