LinkedIn Creator Mode 101
This week, LinkedIn completed its roll out of Creator Mode - which means that next time you post, you’re likely to get a pop-up encouraging you to turn on the new setting.
But what does Creator Mode actually do? Is it worth it? And should you turn it on?
What happens when you turn on Creator Mode?
Turning on Creator Mode makes three key changes to your LinkedIn profile:
Your connect button turns into a follow button.
The activity and featured sections move to the top of your profile, above the ‘About’ and ‘Highlights’ section.
You can add up to five hashtags on your profile, based on what you “talk about’. For example, I could use this new line to say:
“Talks about #degrowth #overconsumption #sustainability #environment and #ethicalmarketing” (These hashtags aren’t clickable - and they don’t show up if you ‘hover’ over someone’s profile.)
And that, in essence, is what Creator Mode does.
There’s been a lot of hype, but there have been a fair few people who have turned it on and been… underwhelmed.
Why has it been launched?
The way people use LinkedIn has changed. It’s become more chatty, more conversational, more - well, more networky. That’s a good thing from LinkedIn’s perspective: the more fresh, useful content there is, and the more discussion that occurs, then the longer people will spend on the site.
There’s a lot of talk of using Creator Mode to ‘grow your following’, or the use of hashtags to succinctly explain what you ‘talk about’. Demonstrating expertise, igniting conversations and building communities are at the forefront of what’s going on.
When the LinkedIn team talk about the new mode, you’ll hear the words ‘Creator’ and ‘Thought Leader’. Swap those out for ‘Influencer’ - and Creator Mode makes a lot more sense.
LinkedIn is embracing Influencer culture.
What’s the response been?
Detractors cry that take up of Creator Mode has been very limited. But that’s not really the point.
Detractors also point out that Creator Mode doesn’t ‘do’ very much. But that’s not the point, either.
Because Creator Mode isn’t designed for everyone.
LinkedIn language makes it clear that it sees the platform moving towards ‘communities’, niche specialisms and thought leadership models. By developing Creator Mode, LinkedIn is making that happen. It’s starting to serve a small, niche community that it believes is central to its future: The Content Creators.
Creator Mode brings those creators together as a community. It’s there to make them feel valued. It’s not so much about what Creator Mode does: it’s about what it signals to the ‘thought leaders’, who need to decide whether LinkedIn is worth their time and effort, when Stories, Clubhouse, Lives and community platforms all offer attractive ways to build a following.
Should I turn on Creator Mode?
Honestly? I don’t think it really matters whether or not you turn on Creator Mode - yet.
Among those who have been using it, there’s the odd one or two who say that their ‘following has exploded’ or they’re getting ‘loads more engagement’.
Significantly more report that the number of connection requests they’re receiving has nosedived - and hasn’t been replaced by an increase in followers or engagement.
The majority? They haven’t seen any real difference.
The logical conclusion is that Creator Mode is LinkedIn dipping its toe into Influencer territory. The Creator Mode team have dropped strong hints that there is much more to come.
Moving forward, the decision as to whether to turn on Creator Mode will depend on what you use LinkedIn for, and what your professional goals are.
As a writer and the founder of a service-based business, there is a huge amount of potential for me to showcase my work and areas of expertise.
But right now, Creator doesn’t cut it.
Anyone who takes the time to look at my profile probably doesn’t care whether my Activity section is above my About section. The hashtags are a succinct way of demonstrating what you do - but it’s fairly straightforward to replicate this approach in the existing format. These features are ‘nice’ - but they’re no big deal, either way round.
Follow versus connect
The ‘follow’ button is proving to be the deal breaker that’s stopping many users from adopting Creator Mode.
When you turn on Creator Mode, your ‘Connect’ button automatically turns to a ‘follow’ button. And you can’t change it.
Which seems to miss the point. If we’re to engage in conversations, most of us want to connect rather than be followed. Genuine conversation isn’t about one person putting out their thoughts and waiting for comments. It’s about engaging with other people’s conversation starters, too.
There’s also the issue of mutual connections. Us humans like familiarity. If someone has a bunch of mutual connections, it’s a useful indicator that we have plenty in common - plenty of reasons to network. But if we all start following each other, then we lose that ice breaker.
It’s still possible to send a connection request to someone using Creator Mode (it’s hidden under the ‘More’ button). But the button implies you don’t want to connect with people - and not everyone knows where to find it.
How to turn on LinkedIn Creator
If you decide that LinkedIn Creator is for you, then it’s straightforward to turn on:
View your Profile
Scroll to your Dashboard.
Directly under your stats, the first option is ‘Creator Mode off’
Click on this text to get started.
Is it worth turning on Creator Mode?
It depends. If you want to part of the first wave of LinkedIn Influencers? Well, perhaps.
If you want to encourage people to connect with you? Probably not.
Does it really matter whether you turn it on or off? For 95% of us… No. Not yet, at least.
It’s clear that LinkedIn Content Creators are an idea that’s here to stay - but this first, cautious iteration is a little all over the place.
Personally - I’m not turning it on. The loss of that Connect button is a deal breaker for me. But I’m certainly not ignoring it - instead subscribing to the LinkedIn for Creators newsletter, and following LinkedIn’s own content supremos Daniel Roth and Keren Baruch.
Are using Creator Mode? If so, what’s your experience so far?