LinkedIn has updated its mobile app for the first time since 2011 and will run a small test of "sponsored content" i.e. ads in the stream.
The test comes after LinkedIn announced a similar test of sponsored content in its iPad app in January. This would be the first time a LinkedIn phone app would sport the ads.
Like other recent app updates, the update for iOS and Android has a heavy emphasis on photos. This makes the difference between the new app and the old one immediately apparent:
As with the previous design, there's a big emphasis on the news feed, but with shorter updates and more emphasis on who is doing the sharing.:
Profiles also include bigger photos that can expand. The idea, says LinkedIn rep Julie Inouye, is that you can use the app to help identify people in real life. "It's for road warriors, meeting people they don't know for the first time," she says.
Navigation has also been tweaked. Tomer Cohen, LinkedIn's mobile product lead, says things that were three to four taps away are now just one tap away.
The overhaul comes as 27% of users are now accessing LinkedIn via mobile vs. 15% a year ago. In addition, nearly 30% of job views come from mobile devices.