LinkedIn Expands Top-of-Feed News Banner Test

LinkedIn is expanding its test of a news banner in the mobile app, which highlights top stories that you may want to engage with above the main feed.

As you can see in this example, shared by social media expert Lindsey Gamble, the news banner provides a rotating headline summary of trending news stories of the day.

As explained by LinkedIn:

“The LinkedIn News banner is an easy way for you to discover and stay current on timely professional news stories and perspectives. You can access the LinkedIn News banner at the top of your Feed on mobile. If you click on the story, you will see relevant articles and LinkedIn posts, including posts from top publishers and journalists, that our editors curated for that topic.”

As LinkedIn notes, the listings are curated by its editorial team, with the banner serving as another means to encourage more contributions to trending discussion in the app.

“You can remove a LinkedIn News article that appears at the top of your Feed at any time by hitting the close icon on the top right corner of the banner, which will remove the banner from your Feed for 24 hours.” 

LinkedIn first launched the news banner in a limited test last October, but now, it’s being expanded to more users.

But not to everyone just yet. At this stage, the news banner is being expanded to users in the U.S., Canada, and India.

Which may seem like an odd test pool, with India in the mix. But India is LinkedIn’s fastest-growing market, and a key opportunity for the platform to expand its usage.

That’s especially true due to the reformation of Twitter, with X losing traction among some groups as a key news source. Which is a gap that LinkedIn can fill, and while it’s still in a relatively early adoption phase in India, now is a good time for it to try out new elements like this.

It could be a handy addition, providing more insight into trending topics in the app, which could help you boost your LI presence.

We’ll keep you updated on any expanded roll-out of the feature.