LinkedIn 2021 | The Year In Review

Earlier this year, we posted about all of the changes happening on LinkedIn. Well, they didn’t stop there!

It’s been a big year in terms of developments for the social media platform, offering increased value and better ease of use.

If you’ve missed some of these changes, you can catch up on the latest updates here. But firstly, here are some stats from LinkedIn themselves, you can find the full source data here.

Today, with 722 million members, in 2021 we welcomed some new features to LinkedIn, and said goodbye to others.

Firstly, changes to LinkedIn Profiles ...

LinkedIn Creator Mode

LinkedIn welcomed Creator mode. Creator mode increases your visibility, helping others to access your content more easily. It makes further use of the hashtags to get your posts to a wider audience.

Getting more newsletter requests? That is because now Creator mode is the only way to acquire LinkedIn Newsletters.

In addition, turning on Creator mode automates submission of your access request which will be evaluated in accordance with our Live Video access criteria.

LinkedIn Service Pages

LinkedIn has added ‘Service Pages’ to their online offerings. These are dedicated landing pages that showcase your services and businesses.

The services outlined on your Service Page will display in the feeds of your?network?as well as your own.

The Service Page feature has a self-view that allows a user to manage various functions in one easily accessible place.

This includes proposal requests, projects, client lists, and invitations.

Some top tips for managing your services page:

• ?Make sure your “About” section is up to date - Add 2-3 sentences to your Service Page to let potential clients know your expertise.
• Share your Service Page with your community - Share your Service Page in a post. It has been reported that LinkedIn will be featuring Service Pages from providers on the LinkedIn for Small Business Page.
• Invite past clients to leave a review - Invite up to 20 clients to leave a review on your Service Page to showcase your reputation and brand.

New Work Preferences

The global pandemic has rocked the entire world, having a huge impact on everyday life, in particular, the way we work. To reflect the varied employment statuses, new options have been added to LinkedIn so that individuals can easily select their preferences. The ‘open to work’ feature now includes ‘hybrid’, ‘remote’ and ‘on-site’ statuses so you can choose what best suits you.

This is extremely helpful for recruiters who will now be able to use these options as filters within LinkedIn’s Talent Solutions area. You can modify your settings to allow your entire network to see your work preferences or recruiters only.

Available on both mobile and desktop, the feature will make it easier for companies to find individuals and ensure that people are presented with roles that are best aligned to their preferences.

Now let's look at the changes to activity ...

Photo Editing

No more time-consuming photo editing in various programs - it can all be done within LinkedIn as you go!

The new editing tools are available in any new post, so simply start creating and you can make the adjustments you need in one place.

The new tools include the ability to Crop,?Rotate, Flip, Zoom, Straighten, add filters, and adjust the basic features. Editing is available on both mobile and desktop.

Premium Post Analytics

Tracking the performance of LinkedIn posts has never been easier with the improved analytics function available on the platform.

For premium subscribers, you can now get a breakdown of the people viewing your posts, including where they work, their position title and their location.

LinkedIn Competitor Analytics

Want to know what your competitors are doing?

The new LinkedIn competitor analytics allow you to gauge the performance of your brand against similar companies, assessing both organic and follower metrics. It is worth noting that this feature is only available on desktop so you will need to check this one out on a computer.

Articles from Company Page

It has now become much easier to publish longer articles directly from your company page. There’s no excuse not to be generating content!

Comment Control

Anyone who has experienced issues with their comments will appreciate the additional control LinkedIn has now granted to users.

You are able to select who comments on your posts, if anyone, helping to reduce spam and increase trustworthiness.

And finally, some other LinkedIn changes ...

Product Communities

If you’re a B2B company with a software product, this one’s for you.

A Product Community is an online group created as a space to have discussions. You can establish a community where people can share knowledge and access information on your products, like general advice, feedback and support.

Here are two product communities you can check out and even join:?Canva? and Figma.

Query First Search

The search feature has been upgraded with a bigger focus on user experience. The new search uses the latest technology to best understand a member and what results they will find most helpful. Predictive search terms will appear as you type and only the most relevant results will be displayed in your final search.

LinkedIn Dark Mode

Anyone who spends a lot of time on their screen will understand the strain it can have on your eyes. LinkedIn is playing its part in reducing this strain by offering a new ‘dark mode’. This setting is available on both desktop and mobile, offering an alternative for users who might be light sensitive. It will also use less energy and therefore is likely to increase the longevity of your display.

To access, log in to your LinkedIn account and head to ‘Settings’. You will then find it in ‘Account Preferences’ under ‘Display’.

Video Meetings

LinkedIn users can generate and attend video meetings without leaving the platform. The video meeting feature is currently available for one-on-one chats through LinkedIn’s messenger, with plans to roll out the capability for group meetings soon.

Direct Contact Us

Every long term LinkedIn user will be excited about this one. The platform has notoriously been lacking a direct contact feature, meaning you’ve had to navigate through a labyrinth of traditional questions and generic advice before finding anything useful. This is a problem no longer, as it is now possible to directly create a ‘Help Case’ whenever you need support. Here is the link.

LinkedIn Learning with Academic Credit

LinkedIn Learning was already an established feature, but it has been revamped in 2021. Users are now eligible to receive official academic credit for certain content completed through LinkedIn Learning.

The specific units chosen have been reviewed by university partners who have been able to map learning outcomes against official academic programs, giving students the option to obtain credit for study done through LinkedIn.

There you have it - just some of the latest innovations on LinkedIn! It’s certainly been a busy year for the platform and it will be interesting to see what the next 12 months bring.

Kylie Chown is the current #2 LinkedIn expert in Asia-Pac.

She was?awarded the 2021 Best Use of LinkedIn in the Social Media Marketing Awards and Finalist Best Social Media Educator.

She was awarded Mentor of the Year - Marketing/Public Relations/Social Media - Silver in the Stevie Awards, is Australia's first Certified Social Media Crisis Advisor and founder of My Digital Brand, helping professionals, businesses and corporates create a world-class digital brand.

To discuss how a LinkedIn strategy can help your business?click here to book a complimentary consultation today or email [email protected].

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