Microsoft Acquired LinkedIn – What You Need To Know

So you heard about Microsoft acquired LinkedIn with a whopping $26.2 billion. The media are reporting that there will be a lot of synergies between both the mega brands from scaling our favorite MS Office to the growth of online training.
LinkedIn is packed with over 433 million users and they are mostly in the corporate industry. For obvious reasons, the acquisition by Microsoft is not a big shock since many social media influencers predicted that Mircosoft will buy several media companies down the road. With the huge bankroll, you know exactly what I mean!
In this article, you will discover something important facts that you need especially if you want to scale up your business strategy for the year (and even next). Let’s dive in, shall we?
Microsoft Acquired LinkedIn - What You Need To Know

LinkedIn is a social media platform

A social media platform for corporate users, that is. As more millennials are joining the rat race in social media, business owners (and brands) are having a hard time trying to reach out to the right audience for their niche.
Well, it makes sense since not all products can be advertised (and sold) to the Generation X, Y and Z.
LinkedIn is a social media platform and it will stay in such a form in a very long time more. Therefore, stop whining about how bad LinkedIn is, or how much spam you can get with it.
LinkedIn is powerful and it can strike a lot of power if it (the social media strategy) is done correctly.
What you need to know:
Start building a small audience on LinkedIn and participate in it at least once a week. LinkedIn is expected to maintain (if not grow) in the coming months/years.
 

Online training – An ever growing trend?

Online training is indeed a growing trend. There are a lot of online training portals which you can leverage in today’s world and it doesn’t stop there. Courses are phrased at super affordable prices and we can easily learn something new daily with just a few dollars.
Still not convinced?
Early last year, LinkedIn purchased Lynda for $1.5 billion. And Lynda isn’t just any online training portal. It is in fact, one of the best (in terms of quality) that anyone can find.
Instead of going over to classes and tutorials, online training portals offer a quick and efficient way to learn something new and fast.

No wonder brands such as StudioPress is also engaging in online training to further boost their business and influence level.

 

Buying spree

Yes, brands are doing it. Social media is already huge in most countries and works like a charm in various platforms.
Bigger companies are working to acquire social media companies because of various reasons:

  • Enormous user database
  • Technology
  • Profitability

Taken directly from Content Marketing Institute’s blog, Arrow Electronics who is a global electronics and supply chain company had made a deal to purchase a portfolio of technical and electronic media properties from UBM. The move had benefited Arrow Electronics as it assisted the company to become the leading media company in its own field.
 
See also: 6 Effective Tips To Spice Up Your LinkedIn Marketing
 

(Calculated) Risk is there

Purchasing (or acquiring) another business is common but when a huge sum is involved, the risk increases dramatically. This is the exact case in this matter where Microsoft acquired LinkedIn for a $26.2 billion dollars.
However, when it comes to such large figures, there is also a term called as ‘calculated risk’.

What is calculated risk?
According to Dictonary.com, calculated risk is a chance taken after careful estimation of the probable outcome, as in Taking their dispute to arbitration was definitely a calculated risk. This term uses calculated in the sense of “planned with forethought,” a usage from the mid-1800’s.

With LinkedIn enormous user database of over 433 million professional users, Microsoft is able to guarantee a bright future especially in building the path for the company.
However, there are still some who are worried that the acquisition may prove to be a bad move since LinkedIn has a long history of small earnings. Therefore, Microsoft may be spending the entire acquisition amount solely on user database instead of a combination of database and technology.
 

How you (social media marketers) can leverage from this acquisition?

We know that changes will come into play in LinkedIn in the coming months. For example, the integration of LinkedIn and professional tools such as MS Office will be more seamless and will even be our real future in the coming years.
Apart from that, there will be more opportunities where you are able to take LinkedIn marketing to a whole new level. Quoted directly from the CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, “nothing will get connected or linked without users opting in”. This means that it is pretty clear that new features will be rolled in the near future to further woo users to use LinkedIn (while making it more productive for business people).
As a social media marketer, you can still leverage LinkedIn even when you are just starting out in that platform (like right now). As a business person, it is important to understand that you need to build a portfolio to display your ‘artwork’.
If you have a LinkedIn account, this is the time where you should login to LinkedIn and start updating your profile. Take time to create a powerful portfolio (or a few portfolios) as you stand a great chance in being able to generate leads and business opportunities from LinkedIn.
 

My personal takeaway on Microsoft acquisition

The acquisition is pretty timely as LinkedIn is struggling to be a major player in the social media industry. Sure, it is the largest platform that has professional users but when compared to other platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn is still very far from the mark.
The acquisition will play a significant role in the company’s growth and most probably, increases its stake in the challenging and highly competitive niche.
Lastly, start integrating your LinkedIn account with social media automation tools such as Hootsuite and Buffer. The last thing you do not want is to lose out to your competitors who have already ‘engage’ with LinkedIn ahead of you.
 
See also: Tips on Getting the Most Out of Your LinkedIn Profile