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LinkedIn is now “Microsoft-owned LinkedIn,” a distinction that cost Microsoft just a little north of $26 billion. In the deal, which still has to receive the expected regulatory approvals, Microsoft paid $196 a share, a 50 percent premium on LinkedIn’s $131 closing price on Friday. So why did LinkedIn sell, especially after CEO Jeff Weiner had long touted it as an independent entity? Here are three reasons why. LinkedIn’s stock was struggling. LinkedIn’s stock was down more than 43 percent since July of last year, and there wasn’t much reason to believe it would regain that value anytime soon. Clearly, Weiner and LinkedIn’s board agreed, starting talks just after its troubled February report in which the company had lowered its forecasts. Microsoft bought LinkedIn for $196 a share, which is a very nice bump from its current price, although that’s still much lower than its high of nearly $270 back in early 2015. Remember that heady time? Investors did, which w...

It’s important to know your audience if you’re going to be an effective marketer in any medium. For social media marketers, knowing who the core users are on each social network could be invaluable in helping decide which platforms to focus on. Social media marketing software provider Sprout Social dug into the demographic data and pulled it all together inone handy infographic. Overall, the data supports what we already know, that women dominate social media. This is especially true on Pinterest where women made up 42 percent of users, and Snapchat where women represented 70 percent of users. On other networks, like Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram, the numbers were a little more even, but women represented a higher percentage of users. Men use Twitter slightly more than women and Google+ was an outlier with men making up 74 percent of the user base. Social media audiences are also relatively young. Indeed, 18-29-year-olds make up the largest age group on n...