Predictions for LinkedIn Users in 2018

Predictions for LinkedIn Users in 2018 Predictions for LinkedIn Users in 2018 LinkedIn has changed a great deal since first launching over 10 years ago. With it now being used by professionals around the world both job seeking and hiring, it is important to know what changes might be coming to the platform in 2018. We offer predictions to watch for in the coming year with only two weeks left in 2017. 1. The ability to publish webinars With all the changes to LinkedIn over the last few years, it still has the lowest active user rate compared to other major social media platforms. Only 25% of LinkedIn’s nearly 500 million users actually visit the platform on a monthly basis. In order to give users more reasons to come back and visit LinkedIn, they will need focus on helping professionals become more knowledgeable in their fields or help them increase their chances of getting hired. LinkedIn already has one-million people publishing and sharing over 130,000 posts per week. The next form of published posts has to be webinars held on LinkedIn that keep users actively engaged with their network and prospective connections. Webinars are still a very strong way to build thought leadership, connections, and meaningful relationships. 2. Greater focus on professional usage One of the common trends of LinkedIn in 2017 (and a trend it was criticized for) were people using LinkedIn in a similar fashion to Facebook. LinkedIn will look to return to what made it so special in the first place: The social media platform for professionals who would rather be social for the purposes of getting a job or networking. In order to avoid continuing on the path of being a Facebook clone for some users, LinkedIn will have to provide users with the ability to show their network when they are available for meetings through the platform itself. The prediction here is that professionals may be less likely to use LinkedIn like Facebook if their views and thoughts can affect a person’s career progression. If you are scheduling job interviews and meetings through a LinkedIn calendar, it may be better to keep the Facebook posts to yourself. 3. Live videos will be a part of LinkedIn LinkedIn currently allows users to upload videos to their posts. Given the popularity of videos on other social platforms, LinkedIn will follow this trend and give professionals the ability to go on LinkedIn live for video. Businesses that do product launches or announcements and professionals looking to share news or information will be able to talk about it live on LinkedIn. 4. The end of bad “guru” advice People looking for work can only live in a state of agitation for so long. It has been known for a long time that much of the advice you see on LinkedIn by self-proclaimed “gurus” is a representation of “what they wish”. It does not, however, represent what is “happening” in the job market. As more and more people try advice from gurus with no luck, the more they will be outspoken about how and why it has failed. What will make a comeback? Advice that represents “the reality” of job seeking, recruiting, and growing a career. This advice will tend to be more hard-hitting, edgy, and direct about what employers and companies are doing today, not what people hope they do in the future. Although this may read as possibly negative, this change in behavior will lead to industry professionals becoming more business savvy about landing jobs, interviewing, networking, and communicating. At the end of the day, “gurus” that offer poor insight will be ignored for coming across as delusional or disconnected from the needs of their network.