Two years and I haven't added a description to my job on LinkedIn - they phrase it as a question & I do it straight away.
The LinkedIn profile completion % has been used as an example of persuasive design for years - on how to encourage members through playing on our human need to complete items and break down tasks into manageable goals. However LinkedIn have a new method to entice visitors into providing more information on their profile - questions.
The profile completion % is a great incentive at the start of profile creation, however it is likely to become less effective as they become long serving members of the community. As the tasks to reach 100% are a lot more perceived effort such as "Ask for a recommendation". No-one wants to email and ask for a recommendation - its very daunting and against our nature to ask another individual to publicly write what they think of us, and we don't want to impose on those we are friends with. Also, prompting members to complete areas of their profile through the normal "edit" functionality again has its hurdles to cross. Members are likely to perceive their LinkedIn profile as an extension or replacement for their C.V. - editing it in the traditional way is very formal and requires a lot of thought and planning, which can lead to the member procrastinating and leaving the task for "another day".
Short and snappy questions change the attitude the member has towards their profile. It's no longer a formal document. It can be short, informal and to the point.
Pros of questions
- Informal and plays towards our need to answer questions about ourselves. Think of all those "50 questions about me" surveys you've completed online.
- Less thought required - allows for a quick response and stops procrastination as the form is right there.
- Reminds members to keep their profile up to date on areas which are likely to change or areas they have not completed yet.
- Prompts members to think about their profile content and ask themselves "what is missing?"
- Long term - Linkedin can feature and add to the profile template and encourage all members to complete the new information
Cons of questions
- Encourages shorter answers as the input box for the question response is small and may lead to not getting the same level of detail as going through the edit function.
- Too easy to do? With no spell check and formatting members make mistakes and do not represent themselves in the best light. My profile is now likely a prime example of bad spelling, typos and grammar through the use of the question boxes.
- Simple to hide the questions, but no clear method of getting them back when you want a prompt to help you start updating your profile. If you can hide a feature it should always be clear how to get it back.
Up to date profiles are important to Linkedin as their content is their business. LinkedIn understand the value of up to date, accurate and detailed profiles and as such need to encourage members to provide as much information as possible. Rich content will lead to more accurate search results, more members linking back to their full LinkedIn profile, and the LinkedIn targeted marketing can become more accurate and demonstrate better results to potential customers. Questions are an ideal way to prompt members to provide as much content as possible and to keep it up to date.