Last year, LinkedIn completely redesigned its desktop site, creating a more intuitive, faster, and user-friendly interface. While users greeted the redesign with mixed feelings, it was a major change that held the headlines of digital marketing blogs and sites for quite a while.
However, that was not the only thing that changed last year. In an attempt to please its user base and create an innovative, relevant, and seamless platform, LinkedIn made a variety of adjustments and introduced new features. Some of them were newsworthy; others, not so much.
Here’s a growing list of some of the LinkedIn Changes that you may have missed last year and some of them that were just rolled out at the beginning of 2018.
LinkedIn Changes You May Have Missed
1. You Can Now Edit Your Updates
Tell me if this sounds familiar: you wrote a comprehensive article that provides a fresh approach to an old problem. You share it on LinkedIn and create a catchy caption to ensure that as many people as possible will read your piece. You hit Publish and wait for the comments to roll in.
Hours later, you discover that there was a glorious and embarrassing typo in your update. Now, instead of reading your article, people are pointing out to your mistake.
If this scenario sounds well too familiar, then you should be pleased to learn that you can now edit your posts and correct any errors.
2. LinkedIn Native Video
Following in the footsteps of Facebook, LinkedIn now allows users to upload native video. It’s not live yet, but it’s a step forward. In the first few weeks this was rolled out we saw a lot more people sharing videos, now it seems that it has calmed down again and only the regulars are using it. Personally I was disappointed by the reach. The LinkedIn algorithm seems not to be very favorable towards videos.
To get started with videos read this article, ehm, I mean watch this video.
3. Improved LinkedIn Messenger
One of the most exciting improved features in 2017, in my humble opinion, is a chat-like messaging option that allows you to communicate with other users without having to send them an official message or leave the platform. This change makes it easier for users to connect and engage with potential clients, employers or business partners.
However, don’t mistake the messenging app with a ‘Cold Calling’ tool where you can just bombard your contacts with your pitches. Read this post for more info.
4. Smart Replies
LinkedIn is experimenting with artificial intelligence (AI) to make it easier for users to streamline their communication. Inside LinkedIn Messaging, you should see three suggested responses based on the conversation you are having with other users. LinkedIn also promises to personalize these automated replies based on the person to whom you’re writing. So, in the future you could see a button that says “That’s awesome, Claire!” instead of just “That’s awesome!”
Where some people hate those suggested responses I quite like them. Not all of them, but 2 out of 3 times I find them quite accurate and helpful.
5. Extensive Analytics
For a long time, the only information you could get about how well your strategy is performing was about who views your profile and who views your posts. LinkedIn changed that and introduced extensive analytics about how users interact with your content. For example, you can now see not only who viewed your profile but also get insights into the company they’re working from, their jobs, and how they found your content.
What’s Next?
LinkedIn has made it clear that they are on a quest to create an intuitive platform that provides a reliable and flawless experience to its users. They’ve promised for example to heavily focus on LinkedIn Groups and some of the new features have already been implemented.
2017 has been the year where I’ve seen the millenials embrace LinkedIn in a big way and use it on their own terms. I personally welcome this new energy that shakes things up a bit on the most traditional of all Social platforms 😉