LinkedIn received a major makeover to its user interface recently. It’s an effort that’s been in A/B testing for some time, but officially rolled out across the professional social network early last week.
Beyond visual adjustments and updates, the new interface streamlines and modernized the news feed, brings a more modern Facebook Messenger-esque functionality to chat on the platform, and even adds some chatbot functionality.
Of course, the big question for marketers is whether or not LinkedIn’s new interface alters its base functionality in any significant way that would affect marketing efforts on the social network. The answer, broadly speaking, no.
“There’s no need for brands to change their approach. Brands should continue using LinkedIn to reach the right professionals with high-quality content marketing,” LinkedIn’s Head of Product for Marketing Solutions Russell Glass said in an email.
Glass expects the UI improvements may indeed drive business for brands on LinkedIn, but not necessarily because of new tools or functionality. “The new interface puts high quality content and the feed front and center. We expect the new interface to help create experiences that members engage with more deeply and return to more often, which will benefit advertisers,” he says.
Chatbots are notably part of creating these new experiences and engagement opportunities. Like many in the marketing world, LinkedIn is closely monitoring the growth of the chatbot market, as well as its efficacy for businesses.
“Chatbots represent an exciting way for LinkedIn to provide automation and value to our members by surfacing insights and helping with collaboration. It is something that we’re thinking about,” Glass said.
