LinkedIn has had a makeover, but it’s probably still dying

Unless you’re a CEO eschewing the Facebook movement, or you’re looking for a job, it’s unlikely you spend more than a few minutes per week on this social media platform.

For a while now, LinkedIn has felt like it’s on its last legs, and while brands still do (and should) invest in a presence here, it can often feel like those days are numbered. These feelings of a slow death were only amplified when Microsoft bought LinkedIn last year, a move that signalled troubled times for both businesses.

But what’s most striking – although not surprising – is the latest changes to the platforms design. For the 15 years this social media platform has been running, the interface has changed very little. It didn’t take Microsoft long to realise that an outdated look makes for an outdated platform.

And yet, we can’t help but feel it’s a waste of money. What wasn’t failing was the design, it was – and is – the purpose of the site. Business social networking is a highly exclusive device, that only few truly benefit from. And even then, those who benefit from it need not use it often, like you might with Facebook or Instagram. Those hard-hitting business articles can be found on any platform, so why should people spend extended time on the site?

Many simply use LinkedIn as a way to find jobs or employees, or to stay in contact with the various networking contacts they’ve made over the years. These activities can take 5 minutes or less each week, and unfortunately that simply isn’t enough time to make a social platform profitable.

If Microsoft truly wanted to make a palpable, useful change, it would start taking a look at the function of LinkedIn – not the appearance. There are many beneficial things that LinkedIn offers, but when it continues to market itself as a social media site, rather than a learning tool, it loses a great number of people.

For instance, the learning courses it offers are on-brand, and keep people on their site – but they come with a price tag. This doesn’t sit great with most people, because social media is designed to be free, and with access to a plethora of free education out there, why should they pay LinkedIn a monthly subscription? Advertising, or paying at the end for a certificate would be more likely to entice people, and would keep them on the LinkedIn website, we think. The problem also being, many people don’t know about this option. Microsoft needs to take this opportunity to start advertising these tools more. Invest in some PR, and get people flocking to LinkedIn for the right reasons – or risk going the way of Google+.

But, we’ve spent enough time criticising the platform, what do you think? Do you like the new interface? Or do you think it was wasted? Let us know!

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