LinkedIn introduced many new features in 2021, the focus of this article is creator mode which launched in early spring with the intent of giving people who were content creators more visibilty.
Last week LinkedIn added two new features within the creator mode that may be worth considering if your are an active user and focused on LinkedIn marketing.
LinkedIn Newsletter
LinkedIn newsletters are not new, previously only a select few had the ability to actually gain access. With the newest update, if you have creator mode turned on in your profile you and you meed the criteria for access, you can have the ability to gain online access.
Before you consider rushing to take advantage of creating a newsletter or jump on the band-wagon which hundreds if not thousands did last week, which is why you may have been swamped with many invitation notifications, please ask yourself these questions:
- What is the goal of this newsletter?
- Can I truly add value with a newsletter? (this means it is not a self-promotion tool)
- Can I maintain a consistent schedule that my betwork can count on?
- How often can I realistically publish?
- Will I be able to maintain this long-term? (if not, best not to start)
- How will your newsletter stand out in your industry? (there is a lot of online noise)
- What will I title my newsletter? (can’t be boring or people won’t subscribe or read)
There is truly an advantage in being approved to write newsletters – when you publish your network is notified and your newsletters remain inside your profile.
At this point, I would recommend waiting a while as the newness wears off before inviting people to follow your newsletter so you can answer the questions I posed above and create a thoughtful marketing plan.
LinkedIn’s criteria for Newsletter access:
- Audience base
Members and Pages with more than 150 followers and/or connections are eligible to be evaluated for LinkedIn Newsletters access. - Recent shares of original content (any type)
We look for members and Pages who have experience creating original content on LinkedIn (For example, creating posts with text, images, or videos, publishing articles, etc.) to evaluate if they will be able to make the most of LinkedIn Newsletters. - A history of abiding by our Professional Community Policies
We want to ensure our members have a safe, trusted, and professional experience on LinkedIn, as defined by our Professional Community Policies. Only members, Pages, and their admins that have a good standing record will be considered for Newsletters access.
Notifications must be turned on for individuals to receive your newsletter.
In settings, notifications can be turned on or off. You may need to educate your newsletter subscribers that they need to keep these settings turned ON in order to receive notifications about your newsletter.
Keep in mind, if you are producing really informative content that helps your reader, they will want to receive your newsletter.
LinkedIn Live
Similar to the LinkedIn newsletter, this feature was rolled out only to select individuals, but now with creator mode, you can create live video productions.
Here are LinkedIn’s criteria for LinkedIn Live Access:
To maintain a safe and trusted environment on LinkedIn, we grant broadcast access to members and Pages based on a set of criteria. All criteria must be met for an access request to be approved and submitting a request does not guarantee acceptance.
The criteria for Live Video access are:
- Audience base
Members and Pages with more than 150 followers and/or connections are eligible to be evaluated for LinkedIn Live access. - Recent shares of original content (any type)
We look for members and Pages who have experience creating original content on LinkedIn (For example, creating posts with text, images, or videos, publishing articles, etc.) to evaluate if they will be able to make the most of LinkedIn Live. - A history of abiding by our Professional Community Policies
We want to ensure our members have a safe, trusted, and professional experience on LinkedIn, as defined by our Professional Community Policies. Only members, Pages, and their admins that have a good standing record will be considered for Live Video access. - Geography
LinkedIn Live is not available at this time for members and Pages based in mainland China.
Be sure to Read These Important Notes:
- To facilitate review of your access eligibility, please edit your public profile sections to make sure your profile is publicly viewable, specifically the Articles & Activity section.
- We recommend enabling two-step verification in account settings, which will protect your account. All broadcasters (both members who go live to their profiles and all Page admins who want to go live on behalf of their Page) should turn this setting on.
- Submitting a request doesn’t guarantee acceptance.
- LinkedIn strives to provide an update about your request in approximately three to four business days.
- We may use the data you provide to review your request and contact you with information about LinkedIn products. To learn more, see LinkedIn’s Privacy Policy.
- Depending on your level of expertise with streaming, you can choose to go live using a third-party broadcast tool or a custom stream (RTMP). Broadcasters choosing to use third-party broadcast tools are responsible for all costs and associated fees for these tools.
- Content on LinkedIn must be professional, respectful, and safe in accordance with our Professional Community Policies. Please review our guidelines and best practices for streaming content.
Length of a LinkedIn Live?
LinkedIn live is recommended to be 10 minutes at a minimum and can be up to 4 hours. I can’t imagine who would want to be on camera for 4 hours or who would watch, but nonetheless, that’s the current criteria.
Conclusion
When you turn on creator mode, the thing to remember is that people can now only ‘Follow’ you versus connect with you unless they know how to do that. If you audience is not a skilled LinkedIn user this could present a problem unless you focus on inviting people to your network and consistently look at the ‘Who’s viewed your profile’ feature and reach out to those people as they may not know how to connect with you.
According to recent data from a trusted colleague, if you switch to creator mode you can expect to receive 3 times less invitations to connect, however your post reach increases by 15% if your content contains the hashtags you highlighted in your profile.