LinkedIn updates their game with Elevate app

Sharing is at an all-time high

Sharing content has become one of the best ways to get your business noticed. In May 2013, Facebook reported that 4.75 billion pieces of content were shared daily.

While this includes the statuses of friends as well as businesses, it’s important to note that sharing is a vital part of the social media experience. However, branding through content sharing can be difficult. Not only do you have to make your message heard among the thousands of others, but you also have to remember that it is easy for people to stop following your brand.

LinkedIn is expanding its reach

LinkedIn, which is used almost exclusively for college, employment, and business connections, is increasing its reach with a mobile and desktop app called Elevate. It is an app that empowers the employees of a company to share their message to a broader audience. Currently with LinkedIn Elevate, employees can share content on LinkedIn and Twitter, but plans are in the mix to add other social networks.

For businesses, LinkedIn Elevate will boost their presence. Individuals are often thought to be more authentic than a business. The shared content will seem more credible coming from employees of a company, while building on your brand. Elevate includes analytics for businesses to show people are engaging with the shared content.

For employees, Elevate may mean social media shares quota to encourage more engagement. Right now, only two percent of employees re-share content that their company shares. However, this could mean that the content isn’t compelling enough to share, or that they don’t want their social media used to build their employer’s brand. It might because no one asked them to share. It will be interesting to see how Elevate affects the sharing algorithms.

Who can use the app today?

Currently, LinkedIn Elevate is only available to select companies by invitation only. The projection is that the app will be available this summer for Android, iOS, and desktop computers. It is a paid app. While it’s not the only app in this market, it is aimed at the broader appeal of employees. Companies who use Elevate will benefit from more sharing and page views.

LinkedIn should benefit as well, because Elevate complements the advertising and recruitment services that are part of its revenue stream. Adding Elevate to its arsenal demonstrates that LinkedIn is raising their game.

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