Over the past 20 years, LinkedIn has established itself as the optimal balance between professional networking and social media.
Since its establishment in 2002, LinkedIn has added and changed many new features.
To use LinkedIn to its fullest potential, you must understand its different features, algorithms, and more.
So, what’s on the horizon for LinkedIn in 2022?
Let’s take a look at two of the most rumored changes for the upcoming year.
Short-Form Video
In September of 2021, LinkedIn announced the discontinuation of its “Stories” feature. Stories worked much as it does on other social media platforms. Users could post content that would disappear after 24 hours.
However, LinkedIn chose to move away from Stories. However, this decision should not be confused with moving away from video content as a whole.
On the contrary, LinkedIn wants to move toward a richer video experience. This has led many to believe that LinkedIn will introduce a short-form video feature, much like TikTok or YouTube Shorts.
Liz Li, LinkedIn’s Senior Director of Product, stated that the company added Stories in 2020 to allow users to quickly share short, casual video updates. In reality, LinkedIn was quite late to the game, as every other major social platform has had the feature for years.
Now, she writes that LinkedIn is working on “the new experience.” Li lists out some of the key things LinkedIn learned from stories including:
- Users want permanent videos, not disappearing ones.
- People want tools to craft professional videos.
It’s likely that the Creator Mode will offer more valuable options for creating and publishing videos. Many believe that LinkedIn will launch a short video feature this upcoming year, as suggested by the company upon ending the Stories feature.
Audio Chat Feature
Audio is another trending feature we’ve seen pop up on other key platforms. Over the past year, the Clubhouse app (centered around audio) sprang up. As of August 2021, the platform already had 2 million weekly users.
Audio features hold immense promise overall for the next year, and LinkedIn wants to capitalize. They’ve been testing various audio options since March 2021. Right now, there are no clear details on an audio networking feature. However, there’s a good chance it would be tied to the Creator Mode.
Why add an audio feature? It offers an engagement-rich option that follows suit with rising social media trends.
What To Do Now
While both of these features are not for certain yet, there are many reasons to suggest they will roll out in some fashion this upcoming year.
Both audio and video are shown to be key catalysts for engagement on other platforms. They certainly still have a place in LinkedIn’s ecosystem and overall purpose.
So, what should you do now?
- Monitor LinkedIn announcements and discussions. Keep a close eye out for company updates, including Beta testing and more. Early adoption can help you make the most of any changes.
- Get on Creator Mode. If you aren’t already, enable your individual profile for Creator Mode. Start experimenting with the current features now, and prepare for new ones coming in the next year.
- Use the features. While LinkedIn hasn’t said this directly, we’ve seen it with other platforms. Using the features comprehensively often helps you gain visibility on the platform. Incorporate a variety of features in your LinkedIn marketing strategy, including any new ones.
- Prepare for audio and video. It may not be official, but audio and video content is rapidly growing on social platforms. It will only be a matter of time before LinkedIn incorporates it in some way. Start preparing now for video and audio content. This can include brainstorming, planning, or even filming/ editing now.
- Ask your audience. What do people want to see? Ask them! Start sending out surveys and polls now asking your audience (on LinkedIn and other platforms) what video/audio content they’d want to see. Do they want tutorials? Origin stories? Etc. Allow people to vote on topics and to also
- Monitor the data. Both now and in the future, pay attention to what the algorithm tells you on Linkedin. Monitor your engagement for different forms of content. This will give you a good pulse for content that’s effective and engaging your audience. It will also be incredibly useful
Prepare Now for 2022 Marketing
LinkedIn likely has some very interesting and exciting changes coming up for 2022, including video and audio content. The company has not yet officially launched any of the potential upcoming changes, but they’ve already begun testing. Furthermore, their leadership has already discussed a vision that aligns with these changes.
Now is the time to start preparing for LinkedIn marketing in 2022. Stay on top of the latest announcements and rollouts, and begin planning your audio and video content now.
