Last updated on April 17th, 2015 at 02:43 pm
LinkedIn is one of the most important social media networks for B2B professionals, and on Monday the social company announced its entry into the social media management space with a new app called Elevate.
Elevate uses human curation and algorithms via LinkedIn’s newsfeed services Pulse and Newsle to allow company employees to share links over LinkedIn and Twitter. More social networks will be added in the future. There is also a scheduling feature so content can be shared at times when it will attract the most attention.
Elevate is a paid app available for Andriod, iOS, and desktop platforms. If you want to try it, though, you’ll have to sign up for an invite. The app is currently undergoing a closed pilot testing phase and plans for the final product to be available in Q3.
LinkedIn ran a private pilot round in Q1 with companies like Unilever, Adobe, and Quintiles participating. The results were positive. According to LinkedIn, “Quintiles employees who participated in the pilot received four times more profile views and made two times more connections, and Unilever employees drove four times more Company Page views, two times more Company Page followers, and six times more job views.”
Elevate aims to turn employees into social professionals because only two percent of employees share content created by their companies. Through the use of Elevate, that percentage could rise and allow LinkedIn to access an untapped area of opportunity.
A paid social engagement app makes sense for LinkedIn because it’s been taking steps lately to increase its range of business services. Just recently the social company acquired Lynda.com for $1.5 billion, adding to its portfolio an e-learning site with tutorials, videos, and courses on a wide range of topics from IT to management practices.
Elevate would be one more addition to its revenue generating services, which includes its Talent Solutions and Marketing Solutions. LinkedIn generated $643 million in revenue through those services last quarter.
Elevate still has a long way to go, but one thing is for sure: LinkedIn isn’t shy about going deeper into the B2B space.
