LinkedIn's New Features for 2024

Discover LinkedIn's latest features and redesign. Learn how the updated interface, creator mode, and analytics can level up your networking. Discover how to make the most of these new features.

Jun 29, 2024

∙ Paid

As we've seen, LinkedIn's 2024 updates offer a wealth of new opportunities for professionals to engage, learn, and grow. From the collaborative power of "Contribute Expertise" to the strategic insights of the "Weekly Sharing Tracker," and the streamlined networking of "Grow" and "Catch Up," these features are designed to help you make the most of your LinkedIn experience.

But as with any new tool or resource, the key to success lies in understanding how to leverage these features effectively. By staying informed, experimenting with new strategies, and adapting your approach based on what works best for your unique goals and audience, you can fully harness the potential of LinkedIn's 2024 upgrades.

LinkedIn Contribute Expertise

Contributing to collaborative articles can broaden your reach, help you grow a following, and build a reputation on LinkedIn. You can also earn a Community Top Voices badge when members find you to be one of the most upvoted contributors to collaborative articles for a particular skill.

With a new redesign, LinkedIn is pushing collaborative articles even more. As you can see, the "Contribute Expertise" received its prominent space.

Imagine if you could easily tap into LinkedIn's vast community of professionals to spread your ideas, drive meaningful discussions, and establish yourself as a thought leader. That's precisely where LinkedIn's "Contribute Expertise" feature shines.

With a new redesign, LinkedIn is putting collaborative articles front and center, inviting users to lend their voice and perspective to timely topics. Picture this: you see an intriguing question posed by LinkedIn, perhaps "What's the secret to crafting a compelling resume?" or "How can businesses adapt to the rise of remote work?" If you have experience and wisdom to share, you can dive right in, penning your unique take.

The beauty of Contribute Expertise is that it leverages the collective brainpower of professionals worldwide. Each article becomes a melting pot of diverse viewpoints, anecdotes, and smart strategies. And the cream inevitably rises to the top. When the LinkedIn community finds your ideas particularly insightful, they can upvote your contribution. Rack up enough upvotes and you could earn the coveted "Community Top Voices" badge, spotlighting you as a leading thinker in your category for 60 days. (But you can totally brag about your 60-day badge all year long!)

But beyond personal acclaim, contributing has a more altruistic upside. Collaborative articles become treasure troves of illuminating advice and fresh perspectives for all professionals to learn from. Whether a job seeker is wondering how to negotiate a raise or a marketer wants tips on resonating with Gen Z, they can mine the wisdom of experts who have been there and done that.

There's an added bonus for LinkedIn (but not for you!). All of this user-powered content creation is an SEO goldmine. As articles spring up around the most searched professional queries, LinkedIn reaps the reward of greater visibility and user engagement. Each contributor moonlights as an unwitting SEO ally.

Interestingly, Contribute Expertise is currently a web-only feature, not yet available on LinkedIn's mobile app. LinkedIn's mobile push is manifesting in other intriguing ways, like the rise of LinkedIn games.

LinkedIn Games: Keeping Users Engaged and Coming Back for More

LinkedIn Games may seem like a recent addition to the platform's lineup, but they've actually been around for several months now. LinkedIn's introduction of these games is a strategic move aimed at boosting user engagement and retention.

I also believe this is just the beginning of a larger vision related to skilled-based hiring. What started as a simple incorporation of games into the platform has the potential to revolutionize the way our skills are assessed and how hiring decisions are made in future.

LinkedIn's success (at its core) hinges on having an active, engaged user base. When users regularly visit the site, interact with content, and respond to messages from recruiters, it creates a vibrant ecosystem that benefits everyone involved.

Recruiters, who invest significant funds to tap into LinkedIn's talent pool, particularly rely on response rates and ROI to justify their spending. If user activity dwindles, recruiter ROI takes a hit, and they may look elsewhere to allocate their budgets.

Enter LinkedIn games, a savvy tactic to keep users coming back for more. As of now, there are three games on offer, each with its own unique twist:

Pinpoint is a game similar to The New York Times' Connections game, but with a reversed concept.
Crossclimb offers a mini crossword experience with a unique twist where players rearrange the answers into a word ladder.
Queens presents a blend of Minesweeper and Sudoku, challenging players to strategically place queens in each row, column, and color without any overlaps.

But LinkedIn isn't stopping at just three games. Expect to see more brain-teasers and puzzles added to the mix over time, each designed to pique user interest and keep them lingering on the platform a little longer.

It's a win-win strategy: users get an engaging diversion in their workday, while LinkedIn boosts the metrics that matter most to its bottom line. So the next time you see a new game pop up on your LinkedIn feed, know that it's not just a frivolous distraction, but a carefully crafted hook to reel you in and keep you coming back for more.

Streamlining Connections with "LinkedIn Grow" and "LinkedIn Catch Up"

When LinkedIn revealed its new AI features, they mentioned a major redesign to weave these changes right into the platform. They are here!

If you're a regular LinkedIn user, you might have noticed a recent change to the platform's "My Network" section. LinkedIn has now split this area into two distinct tabs: "Grow" and "Catch Up". If you haven't spotted this update yet, don't worry - LinkedIn often rolls out new features gradually to smaller user groups before expanding them platform-wide.

The idea behind this split is to make it easier for users to expand and nurture their LinkedIn community. By grouping various connection opportunities into dedicated spaces, LinkedIn aims to provide a more streamlined, user-friendly networking experience.

Grow: Building Your Professional Network

The "Grow" tab is all about expanding your LinkedIn network. This is where you'll find all your pending connection invitations, allowing you to review and respond to each one individually.

Whether you're open to connecting with a wider circle or prefer to keep your network more curated, the Grow tab gives you the control to shape your community as you see fit.

Catch Up: Staying in the Loop

The real game-changer is the new "Catch Up" tab. This feed aggregates important updates about your existing connections, making it easy to stay informed about key milestones in their professional lives.

When a connection starts a new role, celebrates a work anniversary, or has a birthday coming up, you'll see it highlighted in the Catch Up feed. Previously, these updates were mixed in with your general Notifications, but now they have a dedicated space for more focused engagement.

One thing that might spiral out of control is those automated tools that go around liking every user and their updates. But, we'll see how LinkedIn tackles that.

What's particularly handy about the Catch Up tab is the ability to filter these updates. You can choose to see: All updates, Job changes, Hiring announcements, Birthdays, Work anniversaries, and Education updates.

Personally, I keep the Job Changes and Work Anniversaries filters turned on, as I find these to be the most relevant to my efforts, but I will tell you more at the end of the article and reveal how you can use them.

LinkedIn's Grow and Catch Up update may seem like a small tweak, but it has the potential to make a big impact on how we build and maintain our professional communities.

The LinkedIn Metric You Can't Afford to Ignore: Weekly Sharing Tracker

Tucked away in LinkedIn's array of analytics is a this metric that most users overlook: the Weekly Sharing Tracker. Don't let its low profile fool you - this stat has an impact on your visibility and reach on the platform.

You might have seen LinkedIn's gentle nudge: "We suggest taking 3 actions every week". But here's the thing - this isn't just a polite recommendation. It's a crucial clue to cracking LinkedIn's engagement algorithm.

So, what exactly counts as an "action" in LinkedIn's eyes? It's not just about hitting the like button. LinkedIn's engagement formula is more complex, favoring active, substantive interactions.

To boost your visibility, you need to be posting content, adding thoughtful comments to others' posts, and contributing your insights to ongoing conversations. These proactive forms of engagement carry far more weight than passive likes.

LinkedIn's emphasis on active participation makes sense when you consider the platform's goals. LinkedIn wants its users to interact, collaborate, and learn from each other. When you're consistently sparking or joining discussions, you're not just boosting your own visibility - you're contributing to a richer, more vibrant LinkedIn ecosystem.

Think about it: if you're deeply engaged in a lively discussion, even if it's a heated debate, you're likely to keep coming back to LinkedIn to continue the conversation. That's exactly what the platform wants - users who are invested, active, and constantly returning to the site.

If you're curious about your own Weekly Sharing Tracker, it's easy to find. Just navigate to your profile and click on "Show all analytics". This will bring you to your LinkedIn Dashboard, where you can see a wealth of insights about your activity and impact on the platform.

LinkedIn New Post Search

LinkedIn has recently rolled out significant improvements to its search functionality, providing users with more granular control over their content discovery experience. One of the most notable additions is the ability to filter search results based on the timeframe in which the content was posted. Users can now specifically look for posts from the past 24 hours, the past week, or the past month, making it easier to find the most recent and relevant information.

Another exciting update is the introduction of the "Content type" filter. This feature allows users to refine their search results based on the format of the content they're looking for. Whether you're interested in videos, images, live videos, collaborative articles, or documents, you can now tailor your search to focus on the specific type of media you prefer.

To illustrate the effectiveness of these new search features, consider the example of how you can now easily find specific types of content shared by your connections or people outside your network. For example, Magdalena recently shared a review of my book Full Stack Recruiter on LinkedIn, and she included an image in her post.

In addition to these content-based filters, LinkedIn has also introduced the "From Member" filter. This powerful tool enables users to search for content posted by a specific LinkedIn member.

By leveraging these new filters, users can save time, discover valuable insights, and engage with the most relevant posts and discussions in their network.

LinkedIn Features 2024

As LinkedIn continues to evolve and innovate, it's crucial for professionals to stay agile and open to new possibilities. By embracing change, continuously learning, and actively participating in the LinkedIn community, you can position yourself for success in an increasingly dynamic and competitive professional landscape.

So go ahead, dive into LinkedIn's new features, and start exploring how they can help you build your brand, expand your network, and unlock new opportunities.

The future of your career is waiting - and with LinkedIn's 2024 updates, you have more tools than ever to shape it.

Share this article or any other article to unlock exclusive premium content (guides, strategies, insights) behind a paywall. Discover how to do it here!

Do you know a recruiter who could benefit from this? Share this article with them.

New LinkedIn Notifications and LinkedIn AI

LinkedIn's new AI-powered search feature has the potential to revolutionize the way recruiters and professionals find and connect with talent. But as with any cutting-edge technology, there are bound to be some growing pains.

If you're ready to take your LinkedIn searching skills to the next level and gain a competitive edge unlock the full article now.