There has been some huge news in the digital world over the past few months. In a deal worth a whopping $26.2bn, Microsoft acquired the business tailored professional social network, LinkedIn. This deal has the potential for businesses to expand their horizons even further in the social media sphere.
So, let’s start with the basics. LinkedIn is a business-orientated social networking service. It is an ideal platform for building your professional identity online. More than 433 million people worldwide use LinkedIn to discover potential professional opportunities, business deals and to reconnect with old colleagues. You can also find the latest news, inspiration and insights into your profession. As a social media platform, LinkedIn is unique in that it is tailored for, and used specifically by professionals. The acquisition was Microsoft’s most expensive purchase to date, paying almost 7% of its market cap for LinkedIn. It is money well spent as Microsoft now has the advantage of having access to every piece of information LinkedIn can provide about how people work.
LinkedIn isn’t just a social network; it’s a multifaceted platform in that it provides an excellent way to track opportunities and to find and develop the skills you need to stay competitive in a world where change is constant. The information you can source from LinkedIn will be invaluable to businesses, and this is where Microsoft has swiftly swooped in. Microsoft will now start to integrate its services, such as Office 365 and Microsoft Dynamics, with LinkedIn. The integration will allow users to showcase their documents to fellow professionals, enabling Microsoft to spread their social reach. It also provides LinkedIn with the advantage of having the Microsoft Office system at their fingertips.
Through individual and organisational subscriptions and targeted advertising, new opportunities for monetization can be created. The backing of Microsoft has the potential to strengthen the LinkedIn advertising tools such as sponsored updates. This tool is handy for reaching the demographic targeting for large businesses that LinkedIn provides.
The marriage of the world’s professional cloud and the world’s professional network could be a hugely impactful one for businesses and professionals alike. The merger provides Microsoft with a key way of boosting the company’s social networking presence. In turn, LinkedIn will receive the social fabric and technological advantages that Microsoft can offer. The actual potential of this merger will become prominent in the following months as both servers start integrating with each other. But, for now, it is looking like a very promising duo.
