With social media demographics beginning to skew older, LinkedIn is bucking the trend by targeting two new demographics–teenagers and college students.
Beginning September 12, LinkedIn will be available globally to users 13 and up. Not only that, but University Pages have been rolled out. The strategy is a two-handed approach: First, it expands the reach of the network; and secondly, it cultivates long-term users.
LinkedIn indicates that its University Pages will be the foundation of its education services strategy. The pages will be similar to business pages, in that members can connect with one another inside the group, and outside users can learn more about the institutions and its members.
University Pages could be an interesting starting point for a more robust employment connection product in the future, considering that fits into LinkedIn’s mission. But at the very least, in the short term, it should start encouraging younger users to sign into the network at an earlier age.
There are two very important things communicators must ponder here: One, LinkedIn will soon be a platform where brands can reach an even larger audience; and two, brands will have a platform to communicate with budding stakeholders, which is an opportunity to develop brand awareness.
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