How much has LinkedIn changed in recent times?
The little white and blue ‘In’ emblem is a common feature of most of our mobile phones now and the site has seemingly gone from a very professional, almost straitlaced, platform to a much friendlier place where people share experiences and views as much as job adverts and industry articles. The argument from a couple of my clients is that it is becoming a little too ‘Facebooky’ – so, is this a good thing or a bad thing?
I was originally introduced to LinkedIn in 2005. At the time it was described to me as an American platform for IT professionals. I did not work on US based roles then, and had no designs on the IT market, but I signed up and set up an account out of courtesy to the guy who recommended it. My account sat dormant for a couple of years and I did nothing with it at all until probably 2008-2009 when the insurance market seemed to get more involved.
12 years later and I am not ashamed to admit that the morning routine is to check my emails and then straight to LinkedIn to check inmails and other updates. Dependent on football / cricket results I might then pop over to a Sports website!
So, a website that I initially viewed with sceptical eyes, and as something that will not really be for me, is now a massive part of my working life. I think that the familiarity and enhanced usage is where the friendlier aspect comes from. Activity is now much more engaging and free flowing rather than people just posting adverts and links. An example of this is evidenced by our own activity at Synchronicity Insurance in the last couple of weeks, with these three posts :
- Job advert – Great job for an international client that we work with. Potentially a life changing post for someone. Advert includes detail, links and hashtags – 728 views
- Article about furlough and the impact it has on businesses and individuals alike – 248 views
- Post about making the decision to have Friday afternoons off during August – 11,474 views
The first two posts are what I would ordinarily think people expect to see from recruiters on LinkedIn, whereas the third post was put together in 2 minutes and was a throwaway thought at best. That said, it resonated more with people and had more than 10,000 more views than the other two posts put together. Proof indeed that the landscape of LinkedIn, and how it is being used, has really changed in 2020.
We will continue to share posts about jobs that we are working on as this is a key part of what we do, but it is refreshing to see that the new views on LinkedIn encourages more of a community spirit amongst us all. We are all working remotely this year and work can be a lonely place at times. LinkedIn has really bridged some gaps that we are missing in social interaction and we all hope that it continues this way post covid.
Keep liking, sharing and commenting on each other’s posts and keep sharing the love!
