Right after posting this tweet on the state of networking during virtual events
Most agree that networking at virtual events is a problem.
Yet Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Snap do social networking.
The question is should we ask virtual event tech to deliver it or integrate with those that do it right?
— Julius Solaris (@tojulius) October 26, 2020
a source, who wishes to remain anonymous, broke the news that LinkedIn is actively looking to enter the virtual event market.
LinkedIn has recently sped up its investment in virtual events. A little known fact is that the platform offers a virtual event solution.
Effectively this is their LinkedIn Live product plus the event posting feature. By all means a great initiative but definitely not up to standard considering:
- The size of the business networking platform
- The needs of event professionals
I’ve already discussed how disappointing LinkedIn continues to be , mostly because I love the platform and they keep on missing on the biggest opportunity they have to really connect people: events.
Before we get to the news, which is quite juicy, eight days ago LinkedIn announced some more features coming to company pages, the hub of events, such as lead capturing. Once
The idea is to roll out tools to sign in with LinkedIn and see your connections attending the event.
There is more than that, specifically to do with interaction. It’s in the works but we were not able to confirm at the time of writing.
This is potentially a game changer. The sign-in with LinkedIn opens up a lot of opportunities for again, not mind blowing but a step in the right direction.
LinkedIn Wants to Step it Up
The news that my source shared is that LinkedIn is launching tools that integrate with existing virtual event platforms.
The idea is to roll out tools to sign in with LinkedIn and see your connections attending the event.
There is more than that, specifically to do with interaction. It’s in the works but we were not able to confirm at the time of writing.
This is potentially a game changer. The sign-in with LinkedIn opens up a lot of opportunities for attendees lacking context in virtual platforms — even more so if the set of tools they are planning to launch includes interaction elements.
While this story is developing and clear details are not public yet, it is clear that tech giants are starting to move more aggressively into virtual events.
More to come.
