Your LinkedIn Inbox Just Got a New and Improved Look

The LinkedIn Inbox is one of the top 5 destinations on LinkedIn, making it an important part of many business conversations taking place on LinkedIn every day. In fact, the inbox is often where new connections and conversations begin for business insights and professional opportunities, like partnerships, hiring and new business.

Today, we’ve started to roll out a new, freshly redesigned and easier to navigate inbox experience to help you better manage and build your professional relationships on LinkedIn. As you explore your new inbox, you’ll find:

  • A cleaner and more streamlined  design with larger pictures to make it easier to follow and manage your professional conversations.
  • A  centralized navigation on the left side of the inbox and within each message to help you quickly move between your messages and invitations.
  • A  preview of each message when browsing through your inbox to make it easier for you to scan your messages and prioritize which to open first.

newinbox

The best part is that leveraging your LinkedIn Inbox to deliver a powerful message is really easy to do. Follow some of these tips for writing effective LinkedIn messages from our LinkedIn Career Expert, Nicole Williams -- following the first two tips alone can increase your likelihood of a response to your message by 50%:

  1. Mention people you know in common. Referencing someone you both know can be a great way to break the ice and establish rapport. You can always find common connections on the right side of the recipient’s LinkedIn Profile.
  2. Limit your message to 100 words or less. Making your note direct and to the point will help the recipient understand why you’re reaching out and how you can help each other. Short messages are also easy to read on mobile devices, so be clear about why you’re getting in touch to increase your chances of a quick response.
  3. Get noticed. To get the recipient's attention, send a personalized LinkedIn InMail message that reads something like, "I've done my research and I really admire your career. I am thinking about a job in XYZ and you are the obvious expert. May I ask you a few questions?
  4. Do try to be helpful. You want to make sure you can bring value to the person you are reaching out to so that they can do the same for you down the line. Let them know you have studied their profiles and professional experience. Highlight why you are reaching out to them. “I see you are a member of the Dallas Marketers Association. I have a client who is moving down there who might be an asset to your firm – would you like me to make an introduction?”
  5. Be prepared. Before sending any messages, make it clear you've done your homework and ensure your profile is completely filled out. You need to make this as easy on them as possible and demonstrate you are worthy of being a part of their network, because ultimately it's going to affect their professional reputation.

Over the next few weeks, the redesigned inbox will become available to English-speaking members and will ramp to all members around the world in the new year.

linkedin-inbox-details-view