Will You Benefit from LinkedIn's Revamped Profile Pages?

I’m assuming the LinkedIn techies are in “feature and upgrade” overdrive because of our extended summer weather. Autumn is here with a slew of brand new LinkedIn updates.

First, they captivated us with completely revamped LinkedIn Company Pages that promised higher engagement.  Next came the slick endorsement feature where you can give kudos with just one click.  This was followed by the ability to easily follow all your favorite thought leaders on LinkedIn (I haven’t figured out why you’d want to do this yet but I’ll get back to you on that).

Today, LinkedIn hit us with new LinkedIn personal profiles.  Their tag line is: “A Better Way to Connect and Build Relationships” which translates into three major updates:

Tell Your Professional Story: LinkedIn claims that it will be much easier to tell your personal story via the upgraded profile pages.  From the example displayed on LinkedIn, the skills and accomplishments section is highlighted in box labeled “Background” which is directly underneath your “Activity” section.  These sections definitely looks more visually appealing and streamlined, but I don’t think it’s a huge change.  

LinkedIn has also provided us with new tools including inline editing which should make it easier to create and complete profiles. I look forward to testing these out as I’ve been sitting at 95% complete for awhile now.  A strong profile on LinkedIn gets dubbed “All-Star” now as well! I can dream.

Discover People and Opportunities:  If you are interested in how many of your current connections currently work for a particular company, you’ll appreciate the “rich and visual insights” feature.  It will be easier to discover and connect with people outside of your network as well.  LinkedIn claims it will be easier to see “common ground” with these connections which I’m assuming might be similar interests, common groups, etc.

Engage With Your Network: Don’t you love the word engagement? Even though it’s an overused term in the land of legal marketing, engagement is still a key aspect of social media that you can’t ignore.  Recent activity is displayed in a box near the top of your profile.  It will keep you up-to-date about what your network is chattering about.  Prior to this upgrade, you could only see this activity on the home page of your profile.

Overall, LinkedIn has done a first-rate job improving the format and style of LinkedIn personal profile pages. They are much cleaner and information is easier to find.  The other features are great but not a huge deal.  If you’re interested in getting your new profile quicker, visit: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/sample.  If not, the new profiles will be rolling out to everyone in the next few months.

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