LinkedIn Top Voices 2018: Meet the all-stars who get the professional world talking

Today we’re launching our 4th annual LinkedIn Top Voices list, a look at the members whose posts, articles, videos and comments are driving engaging conversations in their industries and countries. These are the professionals who, by sharing their unique insights, spark the kind of conversations that make everyone better informed.

Want some great examples? Take Yardeni Research’s Ed Yardeni, our No. 2 Top Voice in Finance & Economy, who takes on everything from trade wars to the Federal Reserve (with some movie reviews peppered in between), or Nat’e Guyton in Health Care, who’s creating a community of nurse-leaders. Returning Top Voice Lisa Seacat DeLuca, IBM’s most prolific female inventor, launched a conversation around #SheCanSTEM, which now has hundreds of people in tech weighing in. Meanwhile in India, business journalist Tamal Bandyopadhyay invites professionals to share about important questions like, “What should we do with our weak banks?” And in China, Fortune Executive Editor Maiwen Zhang gets professionals talking about the biggest business stories in the country and beyond.

To compile the list, our editors partnered with the LinkedIn Flagship Relevance team to uncover today’s most engaged — and engaging — members around the world in key segments. It’s no easy task, considering the competition: Over 2 million posts, videos and articles a day and tens of thousands of comments every hour — all generating tens of millions more shares and likes.

To find standout voices, we use a combination of data and editorial signals. We screen for engagement among professionals sharing in their area of expertise, looking at what kind of conversations — measured by engagement, including comments and re-shares — their original content is creating. We track relative follower growth, too: Are these professionals attracting dedicated fans in their particular sector? Finally, we emphasize quality and diversity; the list should reflect the world we work in. All activity measured took place over a 12-month period, from mid-September 2017 to mid-September 2018, and as with all LinkedIn Lists, we excluded LinkedIn and Microsoft employees from consideration.

Regardless of their industry or location, the Top Voices have followed a similar formula to cultivate powerful communities: consistency, depth of insight and a desire to deeply engage with others. On average, Top Voices are 2X times more likely to respond to comments or reply to another member’s post. That consistency and engagement paid off. Compared to all members sharing in 2018, the Top Voices received an average 7X more comments, 10X more likes and 5X more shares on their posts, articles and videos.

Every year new voices rise to the top — and there’s nothing stopping you from turning your own ideas into powerful conversations. Use these Top Voices as guides. Ask a question, share a quick thought, post an interesting statistic or show people what’s inspiring you. There’s a community out there ready to give their own perspectives; all you have to do is put yourself out there to connect.

There are 342 #LinkedInTopVoices around the world, all of them worth following. Check out this year’s honorees.