LinkedIn is taking some design inspiration from Facebook and Twitter.

The professional network is rolling out a new profile design for its premium members Wednesday, a new look that includes a larger profile photo and a customizable header image that spans the width of the screen. Users can either upload their own image, or select from a gallery of header images provided by LinkedIn.

The new look is similar in style to other major social networks like Facebook and Twitter, which are becoming more visual in their designs. Twitter began rolling out its new design in April, and just recently completed the transition for all users last week.

LinkedIn’s new profiles are only available for premium members right now. The rest of LinkedIn’s members — those using the service for free — are expected to get the new look in “a few months,” according to a company blog post.

New profiles weren’t the only update premium members received on Wednesday. The new design was part of a larger suite of tools added to the premium service, including enhancements to how premium users appear in search results.

Premium users can now pick from a set of personalized keywords to add to their account in hopes of showing up more frequently in search, and when they do, their profiles will be twice as large as members who are using LinkedIn’s free service. LinkedIn has 300 million registered users, and “a little competitive edge can go a long way,” the company wrote on its blog.

Premium users can also set their profile to “open,” a setting that will allow them to receive messages and make their profile visible to anyone on the platform. Premium members could previously opt-in to this feature, but now it will come standard with premium subscriptions (users can always opt out). Unlike the profile redesign, these other features are exclusively for premium members.

Wednesday’s announcement places a greater emphasis on paid memberships. LinkedIn also announced a new premium service called Premium Spotlight, a much cheaper version of the premium membership with fewer perks. The company is calling it a “starter package.”

Paying members have always received superior service on the platform, but membership fees are the smallest of LinkedIn’s three revenue streams, making up just 20% of total revenue in Q1. LinkedIn makes the bulk of its revenue from an area of its business known as Talent Solutions, the recruiting side of the service for businesses posting jobs and seeking qualified candidates. Talent Solutions makes up close to 60% of LinkedIn’s revenue.

As LinkedIn continues to grow — and competition for jobs and visibility on the platform increases — it’s likely the paid membership portion of LinkedIn’s business will grow as well. Adding new features to distinguish paid memberships from free ones will be important for thecompany moving forward.

LinkedIn’s new profiles will be available to premium members beginning Wednesday. Others interested in receiving the profile early can request one here.

 

Author: Kurt Wagner
Source: Mashable