I’ve read quite a few posts now about the new LinkedIn layout, features and design. The majority of them have been pretty negative. As with most things new in social media, it is currently being rolled out, which means you may or may not yet have the new design.
Until this week, I was in the ‘don’t yet have it’ camp. Which has been frustrating in situations where I’ve been delivering LinkedIn training. Yet I’ve clung on happily to the old design, scared of the new design ruining my LinkedIn haven. LinkedIn still remains the platform that generates the most business for me. It’s one that, while not as exciting as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and, well, not as exciting as pretty much any other platform, I enjoy delivering training on. There are simple steps to take on LinkedIn that can lead to a whole lot of business. So, I was concerned when the articles I read about the new design told me that some of these steps had been taken away. I waited anxiously for the day I logged in to my new LinkedIn life.
This week, it happened. I almost shed a tear. But then I started to explore it, and I really don’t think it’s that bad! I’m not going to go in to every feature. There are plenty of posts out there about it, just have a Google. Or watch this video from LinkedIn themselves. I thought I’d share with you what I’m going to miss from my beloved old LinkedIn. And end on a high, with what I like!
What I’m Going To Miss
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Advanced Search
I absolutely love(d) advanced search on LinkedIn. It’s helped me to grow my network, which has lead to lots of business. But, it is no more. You can still run searches though. And then filter it, to people, by connection type, location, and a few other filters. Not as in depth as advanced search. But I can still run a search for “marketing director” and filter by 2nd connection and location Manchester, so that will do me fine!
2. Tagging Connections
I’m annoyed that this is gone, but I understand why. LinkedIn is a business. They need to push people to pay for a membership rather than reaping the rewards of free membership. It is easy enough to use LinkedIn as a simple CRM with the tagging feature. You now need to pay for a sales focused membership in order to tag people. Shame. But it was nice while it lasted.
3. No Company Feed
Unless I’m missing a trick, I can’t see how to view updates purely from companies. You will see updates from the companies you follow in the home feed. But there is no company feed now. I’ve Googled this, as I’m sure it must be somewhere. But I can’t find it. If anyone can, please let me know!
Now on to the positive.
THINGS I LIKE
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The Layout
LinkedIn now feels so much more of a social media platform with the new layout. It is less clunky with too many options, hidden under different tabs. I find it far more streamlined and easier to use now.
2. Focus On The Home Feed
And I’ve found myself scrolling through the home feed far more this week than I have ever done on LinkedIn. There’s so much more focus on content, which is great! I think, for those who embrace content sharing, this is going to be a really valuable way of being seen more by your LinkedIn connections. Of course, you’ve always been able to share updates on LinkedIn. But they are much more visible now.
3. Simpler Messaging
Messaging always felt a bit clunky on LinkedIn. Now it feels more like a Facebook style messaging system. Easier to use, simpler, straight to the point!
4. Notifications
The notifications are much more prominent. I often missed notifications that didn’t get through to my email inbox. Now it’s much clearer when there’s something I need to action, respond to, or pay attention to.
Overall, I think I’m swaying more towards like! I can see myself using LinkedIn a bit more and definitely engaging more with my network. And it isn’t going away. So it’s definitely better to be embracing it than hating it!
If you’re stuck with how to use LinkedIn to generate new business, I have a workshop for that! LinkedIn success will guide you through how to find, connect with, get in front of, wow and generally build a great network, and how to convert them in to customers. All the details and dates can be found by clicking here.
