DURATION: 5 DAY DESIGN EXERCISE
Linkedin:
The Challenge
The 5 day LinkedIn design exercise I was given opened with an introduction and task that read as follows:
Introduction
LinkedIn enables professionals to be more productive and successful by helping them stay informed and build meaningful relationships. A productive content ecosystem relies on a healthy balance of content contributors and consumers that share and learn knowledge about their industries, careers and professional interests. For many members, however, it feels scary or risky to contribute to the platform since their actions are tied to their professional identities.
Task
Design an experience that helps novice contributors overcome the barriers to sharing.
Initial Questions...
I read the project introduction at least 5 times, parsing each word, before several questions hit me. One of those questions centered around the definition of what Linkedin considers a "contributor". Here's Oxford's take:
Contributor •noun \con·trib·u·tor \ : A person who writes articles for a magazine or newspaper.. --Oxford Dictionary
By definition, it's limiting. I was willing to bet a "contributor" was merely anyone who "contributes" to the network in the various forms available: photos, likes, article links, commenting, as well as article writing and more. I began to suspect that there was likely a contributor tier system that ranked according to greatest engagement potential. If so, article writing would be at the top of the list. Not only due to exclusiveness, however its ability to generate all other forms of contribution to the network in the form of likes, shares, comments, etc.
At its root, contributing is sharing and stems from the latin word: contribuēre, which translates to mean "to bring together". This had me wondering if there was research on sharing. A quick Google search on the term: "The Psychology of Sharing" returned back results to a 2011 New York Times Marketing study. Although it was insightful it didn't explore friction or barriers on sharing and lacked context specific to the Linkedin platform.
Other Words
There were other words I took mental note of such as "scary" and "risky". Oftentimes, unpacking user emotions can lead to great insights and underlining needs.
I also challenged myself on the notion of what "novice contributors" were. They could be more than just new users however users that perhaps were unaware they could "contribute" at all; or perhaps they were aware of the feature and shied away due to other factors still unknown.
Site Analysis
I'm pretty familiar with the LinkedIn contribution features on the core app (likes, sharing, article writing, etc.) not to mention some of the interaction and deep linking that happens between the Linkedin app ecosystem. I reviewed them again just to take notes on the full experience, including onboarding. One thing I discovered, however not shocked by, is how the article writing option (LinkedIn Publishing) is exclusive to the desktop experience. This makes sense given mobile is mainly used to consume or create brief content while desktop is almost always the more appropriate platform for creating extensive content. A 600-1000 word article can easily take between 1-3 hours or more depending on your writing skill level and subject.
Differences of option on mobile vs desktop.
“A 600-1000 word article can easily take between 1-3 hours or more depending on your writing skill level and subject.”
First time flow through contribution features after onboarding.
Article Writing feature (InPublishing) only available on desktop.
Research Surveys
It was now time to communicate with real users and understand their comprehension and sensibilities around sharing. Finding new users to the site would be a challenge, howevever I could survey existing users who might still have barriers to sharing. I first considered friends however felt my findings could be bias due to the fact that (1) most of my friends work in tech and are almost always liking or sharing a post on LinkedIn (2) most are PMs, designers, and devs that may have similar use cases around sharing. I wanted to make sure I was sampling from a diverse pool of LinkedIn users who met the following criteria:
Sceener
LinkedIn members
Currently employed
Uses LinkedIn either once a day or 2-3 times a week
User Survey
My goal was to create a series of questions that would help unlock the answers to the "whys" around the barriers to sharing. I felt a user survey would be sufficient for quick learning. I used Google Forms for collecting feedback and Usertesting.com for screening representative users and recording the test. I personally prefer to record surveys to better feel out a participants experience through the questions. A long pause, sigh, laugh or burst of frustration can communicate so much.
(Left) Usertesting.com screener questions (Right) List of industries and job titles of participants.
“I wanted to make sure I was sampling from a diverse pool of LinkedIn users...”
(Left) Results on comprehension of LinkedIn features (Right) Results unpacking barriers and solutions to article writing.
Insights & Patterns
After combing through the results of the survey, insights began to emerge. Participants were familiar with all the sharing tools and used the majority of them with the exception of one: Article Writing. This was due to one of two reasons (1) They didn't feel strong in their writing skills or (2) they didn't see the value in writing an article related to their field of work. It was clear that there wasn't a feature discoverablity issue, however an issue that might be solved with education. LinkedIn Learning immediately came to mind as a possible solution. The other solution could be addressed with compelling copy and other tools.
“It was clear that there wasn’t a feature discoverablity issue, however an issue that might be solved with education. LinkedIn Learning immediately came to mind as a possible solution.”
Writing Phobia?
I was curious if a writing phobia existed after hearing two subjects voice deep insecurities around their skill level and discomfort knowing others could see their work; it turns out there is such a thing: Scriptophobia.
Scriptophobia •noun : Scriptophobia is the fear of writing in public. --Phobiasource.com
I was mainly interested in treatments and strategy ideas however could find very little other than anti-anxiety medications. I concluded that the two subjects were battling nothing more than insecurities after reading about more serious cases like a woman not being able to sign her signature in public.
“I sometimes feel intimidated writing for everyone to see. ”
Ideation
I first began jotting down possible solutions during and after synthesizing the results. The first idea centered around using LinkedIn Learning videos to help users build the skills to feel more confident in their writing.
LinkedIn Learning
I combed through a list of training titles. Although there were many LinkedIn platform training videos, I could only find one course on writing. This was a gap as well as an opportunity to produce more video content on writing. I watched the full tutorial (LinkedIn: Writing to be Heard) to get a feel for things however realized the course was for users already comfortable with writing.
Other Ideas
Other possible solutions involved integrating into other popular publishing platforms like Medium.com given some participants mentioned they’d published on other platforms however not LinkedIn. One click could push the same content to LinkedIn without the need for recreation.
My final thoughts were to tease out the idea of incorporating LinkedIn Learning and other tools into a desktop experience.
Today only one course focuses on writing: "Writing to be Heard on Linkedin
Wireframes
Before I sketched and wireframed, I explored the “Help Center” option on LinkedIn Publishing. I discovered that there were a few buried, yet helpful, videos and slides. They helped to inform me of the kinds of videos a user might might find resourceful. Given their placement, a user would have to leave their page and go to and fro just have get help. If it’s meant to be helpful, why is it buried?
Also, I no longer was I thinking of “LinkedIn Learning” and its full stack of tools, however videos that were brief, to the point, and relative to the barriers communicated in research. It also opened me up to think beyond articles and more about content (slides, infographics, etc.) The design would have to be adaptive.
Blank Canvas vs Workspace
Platforms like Medium.com attract writers who want to share stories and who likely are comfortable in their writing abilities, however LinkedIn is different. Users aren’t lead to Linkedin to share stories. Therefore, many have to be encouraged, motivated, and educated into doing so. They need more than a blank canvas. They need a workspace with tools that serve as reinforcement.
“Platforms like Medium.com attract writers who want to share stories and who likely are comfortable in their writing abilities, however LinkedIn is different. Users aren’t lead to Linkedin to share stories. Therefore, many have to be encouraged, motivated, and educated into doing so.”
Flow showing the layout of video and content within the LinkedIn Publishing platform.
High Fidelity Designs
Below is the current LinkedIn Publishing interface with a “Resources” button to the top right. Once clicked, a tray slides out with videos and content. (The tray slide out is an interaction already used with LinkedIn Work). The UI style treatments are inspired by both LinkedIn and LinkedIn Learning.
The idea was to (1) have tools be accessible within the same space without leaving and (2) have the tray feel similar enough to Linkedin Learning’s side bar interface to reduce learning curve.
Additional Designs
Takeways
Summary
The design solution presented aims to get LinkedIn members to overcome barriers to sharing by focusing on the one sharing activity that is least performed but has the highest amount of value to the LinkedIn ecosystem. By helping users develop their writing skills, the value, trust, and quality of LinkedIn published articles grows exponentially over time. The platform will not only be attracting contributors but manufacturing them; talented ones at that.
“The design solution presented aims to get LinkedIn members to overcome barriers to sharing by focusing on the one sharing activity that is least performed but has the highest amount of value to the LinkedIn ecosystem.”
Opportunities
This was only a 5 day design exercise however with more time I could have been done more. Below is a list of opportunities and next steps I would have taken if time wasn’t limited and with more access to data.
Interview users who have onboarded in the first week.
Interview users who have written and published articles on the LinkedIn platform
Test and validate the usability of the proposed design
Test the content quality of both videos and content
Learn more about how Linkedin members use comments
Request sharing data from the data science team
Interview other cohorts who are less engaged with Linkedin
Thank you