LinkedIn’s free-mium model is proven a success where big corporations pay at a premium to amplify awareness and seek talent , while the free users make up the talent pool.
Although all the online social platforms have different norms and purposes, many of them share similar functions. In late July, LinkedIn has introduced its new feature- Sponsored Updates which is replication of Facebook’s Sponsored Stories.
Now LinkedIn user’s newsfeed will also feature these ads. While Facebook users are accustomed to reading updates from their newsfeed homepage,most LinkedIn users are more accustomed to job searching and polishing their online profile. Personally, I barely read any newsfeed from my homepage because most of them would be irrelevant to me. When I asked around, almost none of my friends pay attention to the feeds. It would be a great push strategy for companies to announce news to the public, but having no choice to hide or delete those voluntary posts, users who lack the interest in those post will feel the lack of customization.
Reaching to the right audience will be come a concern for this new feature since LinkedIn have a different behavior norm. To accommodate the need, LinkedIn has recently added its newest feature Showcase pages for corporations. This is a separate, less robust company pages that allow the firms to share content tailored to the interested target group. Let’s say for example Sephora can create separate pages for its different product categories like Sephora skincare or cosmetics. These showpages will also be followerable , creating a more niche follower group who shows a specific interest in this product category. Right now, the limit is ten showcase pages for one firm, but if larger firms have the need to create more that would not be a problem. This page as suggested in its title , only showcases content and does not have the features like careers, products and services however firms can advertise on showcase pages.This is indeed a good news for all the corporations, since the tailored ad can generate more foot traffic to their page and ideally can turn the followers to prospective clients.
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