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You’ve probably started to notice all the changes that have been happening in social media lately. It’s hard to keep track of all the new features and updates coming out. Facebook has a new logo, Twitter introduced Twitter Moments, Instagram allows for wider photos...the list goes on and on. Let’s take it one step at a time and look at the big changes happening with LinkedIn.
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LinkedIn is always looking into new ways to enhance their user’s experience. They take the time to research what LinkedIn features are working well, what users are liking (and disliking), and what areas call for new opportunities. Here are four notable LinkedIn updates that have been released in the past couple months:
All LinkedIn Groups Are Now Private
As of October 14, 2015, all LinkedIn groups became private, meaning, only members of the group can see the posts. This also prevents search engines from finding the discussions and content within groups. While all groups are private, group owners can choose to make their group either an unlisted group or a standard group.
The goal behind this LinkedIn update is to remove unwanted spam and self-promotion from LinkedIn Groups. The privacy will encourage members to contribute to their groups knowing that it’s a trusted and safe place for conversation. Having high quality discussions is also important for networking in the professional world.
SEE ALSO: 10 Tips For Building An Awesome LinkedIn Profile
LinkedIn Groups: There's an App for That
There are so many apps that LinkedIn has rolled out over the years, check out their current mobile apps here. The newest one to join the list is LinkedIn Groups. Now that groups are private, creating an app made sense, making it a single portal for all your group conversations. This is especially useful for super users of LinkedIn who want access to their messages on the go.
New Features to LinkedIn Messaging
If you’re like us, you’re finding that your conversations are becoming shorter and more casual everyday. LinkedIn rolled out a new messaging experience in September to help
make conversations easygoing and less formal with your professional peers. One of the new features involves a more chat-style format with messages going back and forth, rather than like an email. You can also make your messages more fun and personalized with GIFs, emojis, or stickers.
Introducing LinkedIn Lookup
In late August 2015, LinkedIn created an app centered around coworkers called LinkedIn Lookup. This app allows you to easily find your coworkers by searching their name, title, skills, experience, etc. It is also really helpful in putting names to faces and learning more about your coworkers at a glance. In addition, LinkedIn Lookup allows you to contact coworkers directly from the app.
This app was created due to many companies’ intranets not doing a great job with helping employees learn about their coworkers. Most people actually turn to LinkedIn first to find out about who they’re working with. This app can be helpful for any company, but it is especially helpful for large companies. For example, say there are 20,000+ people at your company, there is no way you are ever going to know who everyone is or what kind of resources are available to you. Who knows - maybe there is a someone in accounting who’s an expert at fishing and can help you with that new blog post you need to write about the best places to fish. You’ll be able to easily search for this in LinkedIn Lookup.
LinkedIn listened to where the professional world is heading, what the people wanted, and made it happen. It’s important for digital marketers to stay on top of industry trends and understand technology innovations. This will help you to learn, take advantage, and be ready to adapt - both for you and your business. So go check out all these awesome new features for yourself!
