Something is definitely happening over at Linkedin at the moment. Not only has the promotion of sales navigator and their other B2B sales selling tools really ramped up, but I have started to notice a lot of ads creeping into my newsfeed for advertising on other social channels.
Snapchat, facebook... they're all starting to plug their wares within the Linkedin platform. As a marketer, it can be challenging to take a big picture view over social channels, as we don't get to see any visibility over screen time, trends of how people are spending their time on the platforms, and whether usage is in decline or growth. Of course, we have our own assumptions.
Something else I have noticed on Linkedin is how engagement seems to be changing with the platform. Post an 'article'... barely any views or responses. Post a 'post', more views, but certainly no where near what it might have been 12 months ago. Either I've become a very boring content generator, or something's shifted in the algorithm over who sees what. I prefer to think it's the latter, but feel free to give me feedback otherwise.
The thing that's great about social media is that it can be really specifically targeted. I did my first sponsored post through Linkedin this week, just to test the water and see how it went for engagement. And what do you know, for what I would describe as very average content (deliberately), loads of views, a few clicks and even a few enquiries. So when you pay for it, the platform definitely has reach.
Of course, these social media channels are all billion dollar businesses, and they're going to be looking to turn a dollar. I always felt that Linkedin (in Australia especially) was massively underutilised as a platform, and now I feel like it's hitting the tipping point that facebook was at when they monetised their newsfeed. Sure, I'm seeing loads of ads, but is there enough content from the people I like and respect to keep me engaged?
Social media has more power of reach now than many other platforms. I believe if it is managed poorly, it can disappear just as quickly. I just hope that we're not seen as being so hopelessly addicted to social media that the content turns to shit and people still turn up for it. The number of ads for social I am now seeing in social, I feel like I've hit social saturation.