LinkedIn has always been the social network for business connections and, as such, has maintained a more professional facade of social networking. However, they have slowly been adding some new features that help users to be more interactive and social in nature. Since the 3rd quarter of 2016, LinkedIn has added over 60 million members. It is hard to know for sure if that is due to all these new features, but their impact is hard to deny. At more than 546 million members from all over the world, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform. While LinkedIn started out as a professional network for those seeking employment and matching them with those looking to hire them, it has morphed into a business networking platform for all types of business.
In this blog, I’ll discuss some of LinkedIn’s new features and how those features have taken it beyond a job hiring site to create a better advertising (and networking) experience.
Over the past year or two, LinkedIn has slowly been adding features that are more social in nature. They can help diligent networkers and advertisers thrive on this form of networking. On a platform where just about everyone is trying to sell something, the new social features can help you stand out when used correctly. As a bonus, they are showing us that networking on LinkedIn does not have to be dry and boring, it can also be done with creativity.
Native Videos
Native videos were added to LinkedIn in the summer of 2017. With this feature, you can record and upload videos directly to the platform. No more having to link out to a video on another platform. It allows users to tell their story and show their experience in a much more interactive way that attracts more people than other types of posts on LinkedIn. Just as video is dominating on other social platforms, you can make it work for you on LinkedIn. Even though most users on LinkedIn aren’t looking for cute cat videos or funny blooper reels, videos on LinkedIn are being shared 20 times more than other types of content.
Text Styles and Filters for LinkedIn Native Video
Relatively new to LinkedIn videos are text styles and filters. These can be accessed only using the latest version of the LinkedIn app on Android or iOS. At this time, there are three text overlay styles and three filters available. LinkedIn has plans to add more to the mobile app. The text overlay feature gives you the option to make your video stand out even more. It also helps users see what your video is about, add context, or explain what is happening in your video if their sound is off. Choose from FifthAve, Geometric, and Plain fonts. The filters allow you to help your video stand out without investing a great deal of time into an entire video production. This makes for efficient yet interesting video creation. The three filters also can categorize your video.
They are:
- Work High Five
- Side Hustle
- On the Air
New Chat Messaging
The messaging feature on LinkedIn now has a chat feature so that you can discuss business opportunities back and forth quickly, in real time. This is the same way you might communicate via the chat on Facebook messenger or other messaging platforms. The use of real-time messaging can lead to improved engagement, which helps all types of contact with potential business connections, employers, or employees. The other recent improvement in the chat feature is the appearance of smart replies, which also can help improve the engagement and make it easier and faster to reply. Both the chat messaging and smart replies are available on the desktop and mobile versions of LinkedIn.
Enhanced Analytics
Of course, analytics are important to any marketer, and you should be using the stats and data that LinkedIn provides to make your connections, conversations, and posts work better for you. Analytics are now available on the updates you share on LinkedIn. You should also be regularly checking on the information they provide about the users who have viewed your profile. LinkedIn has announced that they have plans to expand the analytics provided here to include the keywords that users typed in to find your profile. This will change the game by making it easier to see which keywords are bringing users to your profile and where you can add new keywords.
Key Takeaways for Your Business
These new tools are sure to provide new ways to advertise your company, sell yourself, and network better on LinkedIn. You should definitely try these new features and investigate how they can work for you. As with any advertising or marketing strategy, you should test and see what works for you. The improved analytics and reporting features will help you bring it all together. The unique thing about LinkedIn is that there is so much information about the people in your network that the more time you spend dissecting that data and searching for connections you can sell to, the more you get out of it.
Are there any updates you use that I missed? Tell me how you use them in the comments.
The post Taking LinkedIn to New Heights With Updated Tools appeared first on Marketo Marketing Blog - Best Practices and Thought Leadership.
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