LinkedIn Becomes A Force To Be Reckoned With

LinkedIn Corp LNKD has struggled to make a name for itself among social media heavyweights like Facebook Inc FB and Twitter Inc TWTR, which have long dominated the space. However, the company's most recent earnings report suggests that LinkedIn may have finally carved out a corner of its own in the social media sector after a period large-scale changes.

Stellar Third Quarter

Last week, LinkedIn reported better-than-expected third-quarter results, which sent the company's share price up 14.36 percent over the past week. The firm said its biggest draw has been recruitment, as the site offers firms a way to find new employees via inter-company connections or matched skills.

What began as a professional way to connect online has morphed into a corporate matchmaking service in which recruiters can find the perfect candidates by using LinkedIn's tools, and prospective employees can bolster their resumes by creating an attractive LinkedIn profiles.

Related Link: Not All Of Wall Street Is Convinced Following LinkedIn's Better-Than-Expected Q3 Earnings

Money Makers

LinkedIn has also been able to up its income by selling ad space and increasing the number of premium subscriptions sold over the past year. Much of that success can be attributed to the site's stellar user growth, which showed that monthly active users increased by 11 percent and total members grew by 20 percent during the third quarter.

International Expansion

LinkedIn has become a go-to site for jobseekers and recruiters in the US, but the firm has seen its popularity expand abroad as well. The third-quarter results showed that the number of users in China increased last quarter as the site slowly began to overtake job boards and other networking sites as a popular place to search for and post jobs.

Will It Continue?

The reaction to LinkedIn's earnings report is a strong indicator of just how excited investors are about the company's direction. Not only is the firm focusing on gaining income through advertising, but LinkedIn recently acquired the site lynda.com, an online learning and development firm. Offering courses to existing members is another way LinkedIn is bringing in more cash while also improving its customer-facing offerings. Such changes are expected to draw in more users and engage existing customers.

For the moment, LinkedIn is the only site of its kind, working to connect professionals with peers, mentors and potential job opportunities; and the site's latest enhancements seem to be propelling that model forward.