Until recently, business marketing on social media has consisted of big players such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and to a lesser extent, LinkedIn. However, with the recent launch of LinkedIn Creator Mode, LinkedIn is trying to become more of a player in the realm of social media marketing.
What is LinkedIn Creator Mode?
LinkedIn rolled out Creator Mode last year to allow LinkedIn users to better engage with their audiences.
Key features of Creator Mode include the ability to stream live video and a way to get followers/connections to subscribe to your newsletter.
Recently, LinkedIn also rolled out new analytics tools to help you better understand how people respond to your posts and engage with them. The tool includes impressions, engagements, and a trends graph to see how your analytics change over time.
Who Can Be a LinkedIn Creator?
Anyone can be a LinkedIn Creator. It doesn’t matter if you’re simply a LinkedIn member, a professional organization, or a company.
However, you need to meet specific criteria to access some of the Creator tools, such as live video and newsletters.
LinkedIn Creators who want to access these tools must have an audience of at least 150 followers/connections, recent shares of content on LinkedIn, and a history of following the company’s Professional Community Policies.
What Does LinkedIn Creator Mode Cost?
At this time, LinkedIn Creator Mode costs nothing. It’s a simple switch that you toggle on and off on your LinkedIn profile.
That’s not to say that LinkedIn will not charge for the service later on down the road.
For example, LinkedIn has a premium feature that costs anywhere from $19.99/month to $119.95/month, depending on your business and the features you want to include with your LinkedIn profile.
How is LinkedIn Creator Mode Different from LinkedIn Influencer?
LinkedIn Creator Mode is different from LinkedIn Influencer mostly because anyone can join. You can choose whether or not you want to be a Creator.
Whereas to become LinkedIn Influencer, you must be invited. LinkedIn has an editorial team that looks for active members in the LinkedIn community who are executives in large organizations such as Fortune 100 companies or startups or are recognized leaders and industry experts.
How is LinkedIn Creator Mode Different From a Basic LinkedIn Profile?
The one key difference between LinkedIn Creator Mode and your basic LinkedIn profile is the way you connect with people. In a standard LinkedIn profile, you “connect” with your coworkers, friends, family, etc.
However, in a LinkedIn Creator Mode profile, you can connect with someone or invite them to follow you. A person can do both or one. A connection is someone that you can communicate with via LinkedIn. It’s someone who allows you to see all of their connections, work history, etc. Conversely, they can see all of yours. You must approve a connection.
On the other hand, a follower does not have to be approved. A follower is simply someone asking for a notification every time you put out a new newsletter, post something new on LinkedIn or shoot a live video. This person is following the LinkedIn content that you post.
What Are the Benefits of Creator Mode?
The difference between follower and connection can significantly benefit prolific LinkedIn users. Some users want to connect only with people they know but still want to share content with the greater LinkedIn community.
LinkedIn Creator Mode can help them do this by creating two different groups of connections on LinkedIn.
Another benefit of LinkedIn Creator Mode is that it’s another opportunity to reach your audience. Like Facebook or Twitter, you can share links, post videos, or create your own content through LinkedIn Creator Mode.
The only thing that makes this system different from other social media platforms is the ability to share a newsletter. You can essentially build your newsletter base through LinkedIn.
Should I Use LinkedIn Creator Mode?
So, is LinkedIn worth your valuable marketing time, or would your time be better spent dealing with your already established social media profiles like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter?
There are a few factors to take into account when making this decision. For one thing, who are you trying to reach?
To date, LinkedIn is regarded as a professional platform. It’s designed for business connections, and while you may be related to your connections or hang out with some of your connections socially, you are on the platform to grow your networking group.
This is an important distinction. Social Media Examiner points out that LinkedIn is an excellent tool for companies looking to grow a professional network and following.
Another thing to consider is how many people you are connected to.
According to LinkedIn Coach Greg Cooper, LinkedIn Creator Mode is best for people who have a vast networking base (i.e., more than 5,000 connections).
Cooper says it may also be suitable for “prolific” content creators or people who plan to build a live broadcast following. Creator Mode makes sense in these instances because it gives you access to the Live mode and newsletter features.
However, in most instances, the connections on LinkedIn are far more critical than the followers.
Written by Erika Towne