As with all things, it won’t always be sunshine and Roses. For all its recent accomplishments and milestones, LinkedIn had to drop some bad news just before the weekends. Reluctantly, LinkedIn announced that it is phasing out a couple of creator features. On that note, carousel posts, profile videos, and the in-image linking option will all soon be axed. Though this won’t spell the end of the world for users, it does lower LinkedIn’s utility.
“Thanks to your invaluable feedback, we’ve learned that some of our creation tools aren’t facilitating your ability to share all of your amazing experiences and expertize with your community. This includes carousels, profile video, and the ability to embed clickable links within the image or video of your posts. So, starting June 26th, we’ll be removing these tools, though your current posts will still be viewable.”
Damaged, But Not Downed
Of all the removals, carousel posts are likely the ones that have a huge impact. Internal stats reveal that carousel posts on LinkedIn generate good engagement levels for many users. Before LinkedIn actually added a native carousel posting option last July, users were already posting ‘pseudo’ carousel posts. Users made use of LinkedIn’s PDF attachment option, where each page appeared as a single, scrollable frame.
Unfortunately, despite reports stating good numbers, users haven’t warmed up to it as optimally as LinkedIn would have wanted. Hence, the platform will be scuttling the feature, effective June 26. Technically, you can still post non-ad carousels after the fact, but you’ll have to settle for sharing PDFs. With all things considered, that’s not really such a bad tradeoff. After all, LinkedIn had no native carousel posting option, to begin with, so losing it should not hamper its current growth.
Next on the chopping block are profile videos, which LinkedIn added in 2021. Even back then, it never felt like it would be a huge winner. As it turns out, the assumptions were correct. For context, profile videos allowed users to share a short clip that then linked to their profile image. LinkedIn even added more prompts for profile videos last year, allowing people to make better use of the option. It was a good move, but apparently not good enough. In the end, not even an expansion was enough to inspire higher take-up, leading to the eventual extinction of the option before month’s-end.
Lastly, LinkedIn will also be shelving its option to add clickable links to images and videos. Added just last August, even LinkedIn’s relatively new link sticker option failed to catch on. On the bright side, despite low adoption rates, it did add another way to drive referral traffic back to your site. Still, it probably wasn’t enough since LinkedIn is also sinking this feature.
The Wrap
What all of these removals have in common is that they are all barely a year old. Again, these are unlikely to make a noticeable impact; besides leaving users with fewer creator features. Regardless, this is something to be mindful of, as these removals factor into some users’ processes. If you must make adjustments to ensure your LinkedIn strategy keeps running smoothly, then make them. You may have fewer ways to post after June 26, but that doesn’t always mean you’ll have lower results.
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