Maybe Microsoft finally read one of my messages, or maybe LinkedIn is no longer seeing “record levels” of growth.
Anyway, inside Microsoft’s latest earnings updateFor the first time since 2018, LinkedIn’s engagement metrics were not reported.
As regular SMT readers know, every time Microsoft releases its quarterly update, it includes a brief note on LinkedIn’s performance, and that brief summary is always a repetition of:
“X% session growth with record levels of engagement.”
Which can’t be true, right? LinkedIn certainly doesn’t see record levels of engagement every quarter. But that’s what LinkedIn and parent company Microsoft have been working on in almost every quarterly update since Microsoft acquired the professional social app.
But perhaps, looking to the future, Microsoft will turn a new leaf. Whether LinkedIn’s growth has slowed, I don’t know, they didn’t say.
Whatever the case, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky has found a few LinkedIn specific engagement data to accompany Microsoft’s update.
According to Roslansky:
- LinkedIn has seen a 24% increase in responses this year. That’s a significant increase, and it’s interesting to consider how LinkedIn’s evolving feed algorithm is helping to drive more engagement by showing users more posts they’re likely to be interested in. Although some have also suggested that this is due to an increase in bot interactions on messages (which we’ll get to later in this update).
- LinkedIn has now seen three consecutive quarters of double-digit growth in video uploads. LinkedIn has previously reported that video watch time increased by 36% year-on-year in 2024of short form video creation is growing twice as fast as other message formats, while video posts are also shared 20x more than any other content type in the app. If you don’t use the power of video, you’re missing out on opportunities.
- LinkedIn also says that the improved hiring processes powered by the AI Hiring Assistant have helped significantly increase InMail adoption for several major companies. LinkedIn’s Hiring Assistant provides automated hiring tools, including generating candidate shortlists and planning workforce scheduling job interviews and providing follow-up. LinkedIn expanded access to Hiring Assistant to more regions last month.
In terms of financial performance, Microsoft reported that LinkedIn revenue “rose 10% and 9% at constant exchange rates, driven by Marketing Solutions.”
Although also:
“The Talent Solutions business was impacted by continued weakness in the recruitment market.”
But even with these headwinds (note: I only use this term because I saw the real financial analysts do it), Microsoft said it expects LinkedIn to deliver 10% revenue growth going forward.
So the platform is doing fine. Not great, and there is no “record involvement” this time. But it’s fine, it’s all good, and LinkedIn continues to leverage unique opportunities based on its professional data set.
Which is extremely valuable. No other platform has access to the same amount of professional insights, and that should ensure LinkedIn is well positioned to capitalize on the value of its data through evolving AI offerings. Because to maximize insights 1.3 billion membersyou need to process a lot of data, and AI tools can do this in an instant.
And for example, if an AI project wants to project future career opportunities, or highlight training gaps or market potential, LinkedIn data would be the ultimate input. That’s why LinkedIn is also cracking down on data scrapers to protect the value of its data assets.
Another focus on this front is taking action against fake engagement and eliminating spammers and scammers from the app. The more LinkedIn can clean up its data, the more valuable it will be, and the company is taking action to crack down on false activity, through updated rules and legal enforcement.
Last month, LinkedIn’s VP of Product Oscar Rodriguez wrote a post outlining the platform’s efforts to combat fake engagementfocusing specifically on engagement pods, which are an increasing problem in the app.
LinkedIn is aware of this and is now implementing more processes to combat fake engagement.
According to Rodríguez:
“Our goal is to make engagement pods ineffective. We’re constantly improving our systems to spot suspicious patterns, flag posts that look artificially promoted, and limit their reach in the feed. We also crack down on third-party tools, such as browser extensions or plug-ins, that enable this type of manipulation. In addition, we reduce the number of low-quality messages, including clickbait, promotional content and automated responses. When we spot patterns that indicate a person or company is creating this type of inauthentic engagement around their own posts, it can impact how that content is distributed across the platform. In addition, if necessary, we take legal action against third-party tools that attempt to cheat the system.”
In August, LinkedIn updated its rules around inauthentic engagement to cover more of this type of activity, while LinkedIn says it has blocked more than 80.6 million fake accounts at the time of registration between July 1 and December 31, 2024.
So yes, there is more fake engagement happening on the app, but LinkedIn is working to counter this and reduce the distribution of related activity.
Finally, LinkedIn also recently updated its rules around the use of user data for AI training, and how members can opt out if they wish.
Starting next week, LinkedIn will be allowed to share more user data with Microsoft and its affiliates for ad targeting, while it will also have more capacity to use member data for AI training, as it chooses.
That may be an issue for some, especially given the sometimes sensitive nature of professional information, but again, you can opt out if you wish.
But it’s another part of LinkedIn’s broader push to maximize the value of its unique professional data set, which could ultimately make LinkedIn a lot of money if it chooses to grant such licenses to other providers. That would require another privacy policy change, but perhaps that’s where LinkedIn is headed at this point.
Overall, though, LinkedIn remains solid and continues to produce results, even if not at the “record levels” that all of us LinkedIn analysts know and love.
But video performs well and people respond more often. It might be worth spending a little more time sifting through the comments on posts.
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