Is LinkedIn Still Viable for Small Businesses? I'm not so Sure

by Kathy Barnard

I have a love/hate relationship with LinkedIn. It’s been great for networking, lead generation, career search, and branding.

But today, I loathe LinkedIn because it now seems more concerned with shareholder value than supporting its users. I hate that as of May 2026, free LinkedIn users are restricted to just three, 200-character personalized invitations per month. Premium members can send an unlimited number of personalized invitations up to 300 characters. For a platform priding itself on its networking niche, this is not only punitive, but counterproductive.

Other limitations include limiting your searches to 60 per month, letting you see only the last five visitors to your profile, and providing no free InMail messages to non-connections. And now, LinkedIn has even removed the ability for free account holders to view or message the “open” profiles of premium account holders, like recruiters who let jobseekers contact them about opportunities. This change not only hurts free account holders, but premium members who paid for this service.
So, is LinkedIn still viable for small businesses? If you have a free account, it is less so. You can go premium and pay between $29.99 for Career Premium up to $170+ per person, per month for Recruiter Premium. You can run (still free) LinkedIn posts to engage with prospects. You can send un-personalized invitations and hope people accept. You can message your current connections. And if you’re angry too, you can use other platforms that incentivize you to upgrade instead of punishing you for not going premium.

Kathy Bernard (kathy@wiseru.com), CEO
of WiserU.com, is a St. Louis-based LinkedIn consultant/trainer who equips businesses to maximize LinkedIn for sales, marketing, or fundraising.