Creator Mode. What is it? Do I need it?

LinkedIn is currently rolling out a new option to all members called Creator Mode. Confusingly it was launched at the same time as the Cover Story feature so there was some initially some confusion over whether the two were linked. They are not.

If you have less than three thousands connections and create fewer than 3 posts a week I would argue you don't need Creator Mode and it could be counterproductive

What exactly is Creator Mode?

Creator Mode is aimed at people with relatively large networks who regularly (or prolifically!) post on LinkedIn.

The immediate benefit of Creator Mode is that it displays your content and key topics you post about more prominently on your profile. Specifically:

✅ members can list up to five posting topics as hashtags on the top of the profile

Fig 1: Creators can show up to 5 content topics at the top of their profile

✅ the featured section and your activity section are now displayed ABOVE the About section.

✅ your follower numbers are displayed at the top of the profile

✅ and finally but very importantly when a member tries to connect they are shown a prompt by LinkedIn that you would prefer to be followed rather than connect - see below.

Fig 2: Members are encouraged to follow rather than connect to Creators

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Creator Mode?

Many prolific creators on LinkedIn are inundated with connection requests. In some cases literally hundreds every day. It is more manageable and productive therefore for these people to encourage people to follow rather than connect. Since it's also easier to follow someone than connect this is a good way for the creator to grow their audience more quickly, and once that audience grows to a certain size, say 15,000 or more, it starts to develop a momentum of its own. A large following suggests the individual has something valuable to say.

For the average user, however, especially someone with 3,000 connections or less who is not a prolific poster, I believe Creator Mode can be a big disadvantage as connections are arguably more important than followers to that person. Remember that a connection brings significant benefits over following. For example, you can see a connection's network (subject to their settings), you can message them freely. you can ask for an endorsement or recommendation or an introduction...

NEW: Creators get access to LinkedIn Live and Newsletters

At the end of November LinkedIn gave priority access to its LinkedIn Live and newsletter features to active Creators. LinkedIn Live is a powerful way to build and nurture a community of followers and the newsletter service means whenever you publish a LinkedIn article subscribers automatically get a push notification and an email notification.

How do I turn Creator Mode on/off?

If you have Creator Mode it will be in the dashboard of your profile page.

1. Click View profile.
2. Go to dashboard
3. Creator Mode button is found in your dashboard
4. Turn Creator Mode On
5. Click Next on the preview pop-up window.
6. Add topics (hashtags) to indicate the topics you post about the most.
7. Click Save.
8. Use the same process to switch the Creator Mode off.

Creator Mode the Future

There are many prolific creators in my network, their initial response to Creator Mode has been lukewarm, In some cases it appears to have produced little tangible benefit in fact for many people it seems to have had a negative impact on post engagement (LinkedIn later admitted this was a glitch).

It looks like LinkedIn has big plans for Creators, however, and is currently advertising for country based Creator Managers - see Fig 3.

Fig 3: LinkedIn Creator Manager Job Ad for London UK Role

Conclusion

In the UK around 3.5% of members posted at least once in the last 30 days, in the US that figure was 2%. That figure includes people who have simply shared company page posts. The number of people who share 3-5 original posts or more per week and have a significant (5,000+) network, is pretty small, this is who Creator Mode is aimed at and works well for.

For everyone else it would almost certainly be better to focus on growing connections, unless....

a) you are a prolific blogger with good existing engagement on your content

(b) you have or plan to build a live broadcast following

In these cases the reduction in connections may be worth sacrificing for access to LinkedIn Live and newsletter features, however both features are only useful if you have a reasonable audience size. In my opinion it only makes sense to turn on Creator Mode to get these features if you have an absolute minimum of 2,500 connections.

If you are a prolific content creator, Creator Mode and the nascent supporting programme is good news, LinkedIn along with other social networks is finally recognising that the free contributions of content creators are the oxygen that keeps the platform alive and are preparing to find ways to reward you for that.

Do you agree with my point of view? I would love to hear your views on and experience of Creator Mode in the comments below.

More about Greg

Greg Cooper is a LinkedIn specialist and a volunteer mentor for the Prince's Trust based in Bristol, UK. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing. For over twenty years Greg ran an award-winning direct marketing agency working with leading technology companies like IBM, SAP, and Siemens. 

The Prince's Trust works with young people, providing free training to help them build confidence, develop their skills, and start a career. Greg is involved in mentoring young people who want to run their own businesses.