With the huge importance every social media site places on mobile marketing and mobile access, it’s shocking that LinkedIn just now seems to be getting on board. It’s long been a complaint that LinkedIn’s mobile app is lacking in features. But, with the introduction of LinkedIn mobile photo sharing, they are slowly getting more “social” and catching up to the other social media sites.
Last year, LinkedIn introduced the ability to share photos via status updates on the desktop version of their site. The practice of photo sharing has been accepted by many LinkedIn users. However, there have been some concerns. One is that photos could only be uploaded via desktop. The other is that people share inappropriate, annoying, and otherwise distracting images on LinkedIn.
The LinkedIn mobile photo sharing, called LinkedIn for Phone, solves at least the issue of uploading images from your mobile device. As of its launch in April, the mobile photo sharing app is available to iPhone users (although not iPad). It is rolling out to Android users and the mobile web over the next couple weeks. As an Android user, I usually seem to be one of the last to get these updates. However, I already have access to the mobile photo sharing feature. Check your device to see if you already have the feature, too.
Here’s what the status update and camera icon looks like on my Android device.
How do you add images to your LinkedIn updates? It’s really pretty simple. Start a status update on the LinkedIn app, or from the mobile website, as usual. You’ll see the small camera icon (much like you’re used to seeing on other social media sites). Click on this and choose the image to upload. Select “Choose” or “Use” to select and add the image. Otherwise, select “Back” or “Cancel” to go back without attaching the selected image.
You also have the ability to choose with whom you share the update/photo. Select the “Share with” button and choose from the drop down options. These include Public (default option), Public + Twitter (if you’ve connected a Twitter account), or just your connections.
If you decide you want to remove an image after it’s been uploaded, you have to delete it from the desktop site. You also cannot remove a comment someone else leaves on your image. You can hide the comment, though.
Photos uploaded to status updates are single images. There is no current ability to create albums or to share multiple images. I also am only able to upload images via the in-app status update on LinkedIn. I can’t take a photo and share it directly to LinkedIn like I do to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
LinkedIn mobile photo sharing is currently only available for profile use. You cannot use this feature to upload images to your company page. For more information on how to use the photo upload feature and its restrictions, check out this help page from LinkedIn.
While all this solves the issue of uploading images, it doesn’t solve the issue of people sharing irrelevant images. LinkedIn published a list of suggested content to share via images to help alleviate this issue. And they also recommended avoiding certain types of images. They recommend you avoid duck faces, photos from parties, and vacation photos (duh!). I would like to add that people need to stop over-sharing LION images, (excessive use of) motivational quote images, and the “brain-teaser” challenge images.
Instead, focus on sharing images from conferences or conventions, photos of your daily activities at work, snapshots of new projects or products, photos that represent your skill set or expertise, images from community or charity events in which you participate, or photos that represent you in a professional setting.
A good photo that highlights your business skills, success, or professional personality can greatly enhance your relationship with your customers, associates, and potential clients. Any photo uploaded to your LinkedIn profile should enhance the professional nature of your profile, not distract from it.
And photos on LinkedIn, just like other sites, generally receive higher levels of engagement than other types of posts. The strategic addition of photos to your LinkedIn updates could increase your reach and engagement on this highly beneficial platform if you’re still struggling to gain results from LinkedIn.
Have you tried it out yet? What do you think?
