Recent Changes To Linkedin Groups for Facilities Managers

We really love LinkedIn Groups, it’s a place to share news, discover the latest products and swap tips for our industry. However, lately they’ve been feeling a bit misused. Spam has become an increasingly common and actual users have been leaving to avoid the problems that come with unwanted solicitation and unrelated content. LinkedIn clearly was picking up on this and decided to make some much needed changes. There were twelve changes made total, but we’ve condensed the information for you, facilities managers. Here’s everything you need to know about the recent changes made to LinkedIn Groups.

Elimination of Promotions Tab

To keep posts on topic and to avoid direct sales pitches, LinkedIn developed the “promotions tab” to help separate useful posts from those that were less desirable. They received feedback that this confused members, and good information was being wrongly placed into this category by managers. They have decided to completely remove the promotions tab and will have all posts published on the group’s feed. This leads us to the changes to content moderation. 

Changes to Content Moderation

• LinkedIn has decided to allow all members’ posts to go directly to the group feed. However, managers of groups can still remove unrelated, spam or insensitive content. LinkedIn claims their filters are stronger, and will do a better job of eliminating the unwanted posts before they become public. Managers can also mark offenders who repeatedly post unwanted content on the group’s page. 

All Groups Have Been Made Private

LinkedIn stated that they believe constructive conversation happens best in a trusted environment, so they have made all groups “private”. This means a user must request and be granted permission to join before they can participate and view posts within the group.

All Groups Now Standard or Unlisted

To eliminate the confusing amount of settings that were possible, they have streamlined all groups to be either one of two categories. Standard or Unlisted. The group’s owner may choose which category his or her group should be depending on the nature of their group’s content.

Standard

• Groups with this label do show up in search results and any member can invite any of their 1st degree connections to join.

Unlisted

• Groups with this label don’t show up in search results and only the group’s owner and manager can invite members to the group.

Images and Mentions in Conversations

If you start a new conversation you will be able to mention another user in your post so they will be notified of your contribution to the conversation. Even bigger news, you can now select your own photo to post in a conversation! This is a great addition because many users know, before this change LinkedIn selected a photo from your post for you. This gave you limited options as to how large and which photo you were allowed to select. Now you can choose which photo has the greatest impact for your post. 

Elimination of Subgroups

LinkedIn found that their user base was confused when it came to the differentiations of the created “side groups” off of main groups. To eliminate the clutter, they have labeled all groups as “regular”, and have eliminated the category of “subgroup” permanently. Don’t worry, if you had a few subgroups they will automatically become regular groups without any actions on your part.

How do you feel about the recent changes? We think this is a step in the right direction for LinkedIn, to keep the platform clean and straightforward. It also keeps the focus on educational and networking opportunities for the user. Is there anything you wish wasn’t changed, or any additional edits LinkedIn could have made? Let us know in the comments below! Also, check out our blog, 12 Little Known Things You Can Do On Social. 

If you would like step-by-step instructions to these changes or you would like more detailed explanation as to the motivation behind them, please visit LinkedIn’s website.