getty
If there’s one constant at LinkedIn, it’s change. They have been evolving their platform since it launched in 2003. Some of these changes show up randomly and piecemeal, while others are part of a major evolution of the platform. What I share with you here falls into the latter category. According to LinkedIn, these changes will roll out over the next quarter or so.
The changes, LinkedIn says, are in response to major growth in use of the platform along with changes to how we work and to the global diverse workforce. They cite these areas of seismic growth:
- LinkedIn is inching closer and closer to a billion members with more than 706M members currently
- There has been a 50% increase in content shared on LinkedIn year over year
- Over 6.3 million people attended virtual events on the platform, making it quite relevant to the new all-virtual world of work.
LinkedIn says their new batch of features is designed to “foster human connection.” They fall into 4 categories.
1. Simpler Look and Feel
The new version of the platform will have a streamlined look and provide easier access to the functions you care about. It is focused more on community, creating an experience that makes you “feel like you belong.” Also, search has been expanded. In addition to being able to search for things like people and jobs, you’ll be able to search for groups, content and events.
2. Stories
I’m a big fan of LinkedIn and have always been. And I have also acknowledged that some of their enhancements have been previously tested … on other social media platforms. One of those is Stories. Think Instagram stories, but on professional topics. LinkedIn says, “Conversations are the center of community,” and their goal is to create more interesting ways to engage in conversation. In the Covid-19 era, members are looking for ways to build relationships in our new physically distanced world. Stories are LinkedIn’s way of providing a more humanized voice for engaging. They have been testing this feature in Brazil, France, The Netherlands, The UAE and Australia. During that test, millions of stories were shared and hundreds of thousands of conversations started. The stories that were most successful in the test were professional in focus while being unique and engaging in tone.
Stories, they note, are a more casual way of sharing photos, videos and messages. The stories you create will expires 24 hours after you post them. This creates the feeling that they don’t need to be perfect—like a LinkedIn article you write, for example—making them a less intimidating and more authentic way of expressing yourself and building your genuine personal brand. Stories will roll out in the US and Canada first, then to other regions.
Two unique tools accompany LinkedIn stories:
- Question of the day. What are you working on? How do you recharge on your day off?
- Localized stickers. Members can add stickers to their stories, enhancing the local spin.
3. Messaging
If you have a lot of connections and followers like I do, messaging has been pretty challenging to manage. It's been an additional inbox to deal with, and it hasn’t been easy to engage with it. There’s just too much content and no good tool for organizing it. LinkedIn recognized the deficiencies and are adding features that will make your messaging life a lot easier. For example, it will be easier to select multiple messages at the same time to archive, delete or mark “read.” And there’ll be a simple tool to edit messages. So if you send a message and immediately afterward realize there was a typo, you can resolve it easily. You can also completely delete a message if you changed your mind about sending it.
4. Video Meetings
I must say, I have been waiting for this enhancement to messaging for a long time. When Microsoft bought LinkedIn, I assumed they would add video calling from Skype (also owned by Microsoft). But it never happened. Until now, that is. Now it will be easy to switch the conversation from text messaging to video. But the video is not Skype. You’ll be able to use Microsoft Teams, Verizon BlueJeans and Zoom directly from your messages. It’s one more reason you need to be video-ready all the time and need to make video your best friend.
LinkedIn is the most powerful tool for building your personal brand, delivering a powerful first impression and connecting with others in your professional community. These new features will make those professional channels easier to manage and more potent.
William Arruda is a keynote speaker, author, co-founder of CareerBlast.TV and creator of the LinkedIn Profile Type Indicator (LPTI) which measures your LinkedIn profile likability and credibility.
