LinkedIn Evolves: New Features to Boost Engagement and Expand Services

LinkedIn, currently serving 740 million users globally, has established itself as the leading online platform for professionals to showcase their careers, explore job opportunities, and connect with industry peers. For some time, the company has been strategically exploring avenues to expand its reach into related fields, including training, professional growth, networking, and news dissemination. Today, LinkedIn announced a series of forthcoming features designed to support this expansion and enhance user engagement.

Enhanced Profile Features: Video Cover Story and Pronoun Options

The platform is integrating more video content into user profiles with the introduction of “Video Cover Story.” This allows individuals to create brief videos introducing themselves, displayed prominently on their home pages. To foster a more inclusive environment, LinkedIn is also implementing a pronoun feature, enabling users to specify their preferred pronouns.

Introducing “Creator Mode” and Service Pages for Freelancers

Alongside these updates, LinkedIn is officially launching “Creator Mode,” a more accessible version of its previous Influencer network. Unlike the Influencer designation, anyone can opt-in to become a Creator. Furthermore, LinkedIn is strengthening its support for freelancers with the introduction of a dedicated Service page integrated into user profiles.

Expanding Educational Initiatives with Microsoft

LinkedIn’s commitment to education and training is also being amplified. The program, initially launched in June 2020 in response to the economic shifts caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, in partnership with Microsoft, offered free online training in ten professional areas. This initiative is now being extended through the end of the current year. To date, over 30 million individuals across 249 countries have utilized the training resources, and LinkedIn and Microsoft aim to reach 250,000 companies utilizing the program for hiring purposes.

AI-Powered Career Guidance for Students

In collaboration with Microsoft, LinkedIn is unveiling a new Teams-based application called Career Coach, specifically designed for students using Microsoft Teams. Leveraging LinkedIn’s AI capabilities, Career Coach assists users in identifying their interests and potential career paths, providing links to relevant learning content from both LinkedIn and Microsoft.

A Focus on Individual Empowerment

Collectively, these announcements reflect a significant development for LinkedIn. Social media platforms, both for content creators and consumers, increasingly emphasize individual empowerment. Through these new features and products, LinkedIn aims to integrate a stronger sense of personal identity, voice, and self-promotion into its platform.

Deeper Dive into New Features

Below is a more detailed examination of the various new offerings.

The Video Cover Story feature draws inspiration from short-form video content popular on other social media platforms. While a professional history outlines one aspect of an individual’s background, the video component aims to provide a more personal and nuanced introduction.

Tomer Cohen, LinkedIn’s chief product officer, explains that the feature allows users to showcase their personality and aspirations beyond what a resume can convey. These videos will autoplay when someone visits a profile, creating what Cohen describes as a dynamic experience, reminiscent of the animated Daily Prophet newspaper from the Harry Potter series. Initially, these animated profiles will be visible only on individual profiles, with potential expansion to search results in the future.

The success of this feature hinges on users creating compelling content that enhances their profiles, rather than potentially deterring recruiters.

Adding video content could introduce subjective judgment into the job search process, potentially counteracting efforts to minimize bias. The ultimate impact will depend on how the feature is adopted and utilized.

Video’s Growing Importance on LinkedIn

LinkedIn’s increased focus on video aligns with the broader trend of video content dominating social media platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter.

LinkedIn’s own research indicates a growing demand for video in the hiring process. A survey conducted by the company revealed that 61% of job seekers believe recorded video could become the next iteration of the traditional cover letter. Furthermore, nearly 80% of hiring managers consider video a significant factor in candidate evaluation. This suggests that LinkedIn is not simply experimenting with video, but rather providing tools to meet evolving industry expectations.

For users actively creating content, LinkedIn is introducing Creator Mode. This allows individuals who regularly produce LinkedIn Live videos and other content to transform their profiles into dedicated Creator hubs. Unlike the Influencer designation, which is assigned by LinkedIn, Creator Mode is a self-selected option, enabling users to gain followers and share updates.

While LinkedIn may not currently be the primary destination for entertainment content, the goal is to foster a community where content creation becomes a valuable end in itself for both creators and their audience.

This development builds upon LinkedIn’s existing content initiatives led by Dan Roth. However, unlike platforms like Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok, LinkedIn currently lacks direct monetization options for Creators. This may evolve in the future.

Keren Baruch, group product manager for LinkedIn’s creator strategy, emphasized LinkedIn’s long-standing role in connecting people with opportunities. She cited the example of Quentin Allums, who successfully built a business on LinkedIn through viral video content.

“As we continue to listen to feedback from our members and consider future opportunities, we’ll also continue to evolve how we create more value for our creators,” Baruch added.

Service Pages and the Future of Freelancing

The introduction of Service Pages represents an initial step towards a larger freelancer marketplace, reportedly planned for launch in September.

Currently, these pages are basic, lacking integrated payment systems or other features found on platforms like Fiverr or Freelancer.com. LinkedIn is not currently taking a commission on transactions. This initial phase may serve as a testing ground for gathering user data and building a foundation for future monetization strategies, such as advertising or payment processing.

By providing a platform for freelancers, LinkedIn could potentially expand its reach beyond knowledge workers and cater to a broader range of professions.