LinkedIn is known for its professional atmosphere. Where other social networks are home to all kinds of gimmicks, rants, personal life exposure and online conflict, LinkedIn maintains its business mind and etiquette.
But that doesn’t mean it won’t take design tips from the other social networks.
With its latest site redesign, LinkedIn introduced some Facebook-like features to its audience of professionals.
LinkedIn now alerts users via streaming notifications when others look at a user’s profile or like content a user has shared with his network.
It’s almost like the uptight CEO finally deciding to join the rest of the staff for happy hour.
There’s been some talk that the feature is a disadvantage to LinkedIn users. For those who are actively networking or performing inbound marketing efforts in LinkedIn Groups, the constant notifications alerts may pull them away.
You probably know from experience with Facebook that it’s darn near impossible to resist when those red alerts pop up letting you know you have a new friend request, a new Like or a new comment.
The same goes for LinkedIn’s new notifications alerts.
For online marketers, this may not be such a bad thing.
When LinkedIn notifies users that someone looked at their profile or liked something they’ve shared, it’s an opportunity to connect.
If your profile name and headline are optimized for maximum attractive appeal, when users see that you’ve liked their content or viewed their profile, they’re likely to click to your profile to learn more about you.
From there it’s up to you to wow them with your profile or direct them to your Company Page.
LinkedIn is letting its hair down a bit. While features that are more informal are still far-fetched, the new notifications alerts have great potential.