Since lockdown started, there’s been a real shift in how the world is using LinkedIn. Before Covid-19, LinkedIn had become a crowded space filled with recruiters posting and resharing content, desperate to get their voices heard above the racket. But now, it seems everyone is slowing down, listening more and adapting their approach.
Here are some ways LinkedIn has changed since lockdown began…
1. There’s less content, but more value
When Covid-19 hit, the recruitment market changed virtually overnight. As hiring freezes rippled through most industries and sectors, newsfeeds were quiet as they were no longer clogging up with jobs ads and call outs for candidates.
Since the industry has slowed down, recruiters are posting less on LinkedIn, but they’re posting more of the right content: That is, posts that aim to help others instead of themselves; posts that provide real value, show empathy and encourage discussion. Essentially, the kinds of posts they should’ve been sharing before lockdown!
LinkedIn users are reacting positively to this change in content focus too. A recent study found that the posts with the most engagement since lockdown contained the following words:
Another study by LinkedIn also found that by late March, 1 in 4 company posts on LinkedIn were Covid-19 related - and these posts saw significantly higher engagement compared to an average company post.
This is clear proof that recruitment brands who face the situation head-on and stay visible to their network will get the best engagement on LinkedIn.
2. New peak engagement times
The times that users are most active on LinkedIn has really changed in recent weeks too.
As LinkedIn is a professional network, its core audience is most engaged during the typical Monday to Friday working week. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday have always been the best days to post on the platform.
A study by Sprout Social found that since Covid-19, Wednesday to Friday have held their place as the best days to post, but the best hours to post have changed.
Peak-engagement times are now later in the day. Before Covid-19, 8-9am was a great time to post across all three days, but since everyone has stopped commuting, users aren’t engaging with LinkedIn content as early as before.
Similarly, lunchtime engagement has dropped. As most of us are now at home for our lunch breaks, we have more distractions to keep us busy, and scrolling LinkedIn has taken a back seat.
Instead of looking at LinkedIn on our commute or during lunch, we’re keeping LinkedIn to working hours (around 11am and 3pm). This suggests that working from home has emboldened people to use LinkedIn during their core working hours - after all, building a strong personal brand is key to success in recruitment.
3. LinkedIn Polls and Stories
It’s not just the content we’re all posting that’s changed in recent weeks, but how we post and share content on the platform has changed too.
LinkedIn polls and stories were introduced just before we all went into lockdown. LinkedIn polls allow users broadcast questions to their network and ask them to vote. The results then appear in the post and everyone has the space to discuss the results in the comments section below.
In the current climate, LinkedIn polls have been a powerful tool for recruiters to understand what’s happening in their niches and find out how others are adapting to the changing environment. Here’s an example of a poll below:
Another new way people are using LinkedIn is the Stories feature. Like other social platforms, LinkedIn stories allows users to share short videos and photos on their profile that their network can view for 24 hours.
This move brings LinkedIn more in line with platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Many users have jumped at the opportunity to show a more personal side to their professional brand, but those who tend to say “This is LinkedIn, not Facebook” probably won’t be too happy with this change.
The feature has not been released yet in the UK, but it has seen good success in Brazil, the UAE and The Netherlands so far.
4. LinkedIn's virtual introduction
As we shift to a job-short market, sifting through high volumes of candidates will become a challenge and it’s looking like LinkedIn could play a big part in initial screening.
LinkedIn is in the process of releasing a new video tool called ‘LinkedIn video intro’ that will see a change in how recruiters use LinkedIn for in the coming months. This new tool will allows candidates to answer questions posed on a job ads with a short pre-recorded video. This could have a huge impact on our virtual recruitment processes as recruiters will be able to complete initial candidates screening directly on the platform.
This virtual introduction tool isn’t widely used yet, but we can expect it to have a significant change on how we recruit on the platform in the upcoming months.
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