Linkedin has always proven to be an effective professional networking tool. Now, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, it is becoming an increasingly necessary part of business. As many companies continue to conduct business remotely, opportunities for networking have greatly diminished, leading to more professionals finding themselves looking to network online.
Shifting to Digital Networking
When LinkedIn was created in 2002, it provided a unique opportunity for professionals to connect via social media to expand their real-life networks and seize new career opportunities. Since then, popularity of the social platform has continued to grow, with the COVID-19 pandemic skyrocketing user engagement as conferences, speaking events and more shift online.
While it took an adjustment period, by March, Linkedin experienced a 26% increase in sessions, proving that people had turned their networking digital and were using Linkedin as the primary platform. There was a large rise in new users, however, the most notable change was the above-average engagement that LinkedIn had never seen before. Many existing users took this remote shift as an opportunity to further develop their profile, expand their connections, and become more active on the site.
Defining Different Types of Networking on LinkedIn
Following the surge of popularity, many professionals are now seizing opportunities on LinkedIn that they would have previously overlooked. Linkedin has capitalized on their newfound engagement by creating new networking tools such as the events feature which caters to remote webinars, panel discussions, and career development events that have shifted online since the start of the pandemic. While this feature is perfectly suited for remote networking opportunities, it will likely continue to be used for webinars, panels, and more once life returns to “normal”.
Linkedin also offers classic networking opportunities through connections, page invites, and specialized groups that appeal to specific industries, job positions, geographics, and more. While all of these chances to network via Linkedin existed well before the pandemic, they are now more relevant than ever. If you’re looking to boost your professional networking game, now is the perfect time to do it.
LinkedIn Learning saw a 50% monthly usage increase in March, with users watching over 4 million hours of content.
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