Engagement & Retention project | Linkedin

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Engagement & Retention project | Linkedin

Why Choose Linkedin?

Product selection framework

Criteria	Remark
INternet First Product	Yes Business Networking, Job Search, COntent flywheel driven
Post PMF	Yes
Scale of operations	1B+ individual profiles registered 65M users search for jobs in a week Hires 6 people every minute
Retention	37% of members are MAU 40% of MAU use the app daily Average session duration is ≥ 7 minutes
Revenue	$15B in last quarter of 2023 Revenue increased by 8% in quarter of 2024

If you are a working professional, i am sure linkedin comes naturally to you. However, linkedin is also a global business, so it is crucial to understand the focus on Indian context :

India is the 2nd largest country ( by membership count )
1. There 121.2M registered members from India [1]
2. After USA and ahead of CHina

3X Revenue growth in the last 5 years in India
Linkedin is 21 years old, has 19 offices and employees 19000 people, has been through various ownership cycles- VC backed, standalone public company, and most recently a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation ($26B acquisition in 2016).

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Understanding Linedin Business

Linkedin is a multi geography and multi product company hence we should split the business according to :-

User Types
Problem statements
Products offered Similar Linedin

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LinkedIn is built for job seekers, job providers, Sales professionals & (most recently) content creators ;

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Similar, LinkedIn's product is also split knowing the above archetypes and problem statements

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Engagement

Step 1 - Understand your product

What is the core value prop of your product? How do users currently experience that core value prop repeatedly?
1. CVP: “LinkedIn members feel part of a global professional network - they can get business insights, share their own perspectives, get hired, hire someone or engage a Sales prospect.”
2. 1. The older demographic of LinkedIn users I interacted with suggested this is a bit like the digital / modern equivalent of BNI (Business Network International)
3. Users experience this core value proposition by:
4. 1. Engaging with a personalised feed containing insightful or humorous posts from other members daily
  2. Sending / receiving inbound requests for connections from other members on a infrequent basis
  3. Applying for / being offered relevant jobs from recruiters or organisations
What is the natural frequency of your product?

Feed

Action on Feed	Dormant	Lurker	Engager	Prosumer
View / Scroll	NA	Once per day	Multiple times per day	Multiple times per day
Comment on	NA	Infrequent	More than once per day	Multiple times per day
Post on	NA	NA	NA	More than once per week

Do you have other sub products? What is their natural frequency like?
1. Messaging - triggered by app notifications
2. Jobs
3. 1. View / Scroll - once per month
  2. Apply - depends
4. Groups - NA
5. Newsletter - NA / never heard of
6. Profile - once per year / when there is a major professional accomplishment
7. Learning - once per year / when mandated by the company
What is the best engagement framework for your product?
1. Depth - Time
2. 1. Why NOT Frequency or Breadth?

Engagement Framework	Key Tracking Metric	Selected	Rationale
Frequency	# of app opens per week	No ❌	# of app opens does NOT drive revenue earned by LinkedIn in any tangible way.
Breadth	1. # of LinkedIn features used in past {30 days}	No ❌	1. Not ALL LinkedIn features are relevant to a given user
Depth	1. Avg time spent per session 2. Total number of sessions per week	Yes ✅	As per below

Engagement Framework

Key Tracking Metric

Selected

Rationale

Frequency

# of app opens per week

No ❌

# of app opens does NOT drive revenue earned by LinkedIn in any tangible way.

Breadth

1. # of LinkedIn features used in past {30 days}

No ❌

1. Not ALL LinkedIn features are relevant to a given user

Depth

1. Avg time spent per session

2. Total number of sessions per week

Yes ✅

As per below

Why Depth?In simple words - IF users spend MORE time per session , THEN the UX for the user improves AND LinkedIn can earn more absolute revenue
1. More time spent on product - LinkedIn learns more about the user
2. User can now be targeted more accurately from an ads perspective & from a content personalisation perspective
3. CPI of display ads will go up
4. Higher engagement of users on platform will attract more recruiters
5. More recruiters - more recruitment SaaS & promoted job spend
6. Higher Engagement of users means more likely to share (new user acquisition ) or provide feedback (boost for creators)

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A more cynical view of LinkedIn’s Feed product is that it is a “time sink with a feel good factor” i.e. it is a substitute for scrolling WhatsApp, Facebook or Instagram - however, because of LinkedIn’s positioning as a “professional network” - the reader feels like their time was spent “productively” (a justification they provide when questioned about the doom scrolling.)

Step 2 → Define

Mention the action(s) that makes someone an active user for your product
1. For LinkedIn as a company - An “active” user (MAU) is one who performs ≥ 1 of the following actions in a given month:
2. 1. Profile update
  2. Respond to / send DM
  3. Respond to / send connection requesting
  4. Scroll - Like - Comment
  5. Create on feed
  6. Watch a Learning video
3. For Feed as a product
4. 1. Non-creator: Make one active click per day (”see more”, “view profile”, “follow from feed”, “comment” etc)
  2. Creator: Make one post per week & return ≥ 1 on same day to check engagement
Mention the natural frequency of your product
1. Dormant - views feed only if they get a notification OR have come to update profile
2. Lurker - views feed on a daily basis
3. Engager - views feed multiple times per day
4. Prosumer - views feed multiple times per day AND produces ≥ 1 feed post per week

Step 3 → Segment

To test my hypothesis - I spoke with 4 friends who I am connected with on LinkedIn and about ~10 colleagues at work who I am also connected with on LinkedIn. I also relied on Creator analytics which I have available from the past 24 months of having posted daily on the platform. Sadly, all of my interviews were done with males.

Characteristics	ICP 1	ICP 2	ICP 3	ICP 4
ICP Name	Enthu Cutlet College Student	Hungry for Growth (Early Professional)	Bored AF (Mid Career Professional)	Wannabe Leader (Late Career Professional)
Age	18-24	21-28	28-35	35+
Gender	Male	Male	Male	Male
Location	Pan India (usually Tier 1 / 2 / 3 college)	Metro city (Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Delhi NCR, Bangalore)	Metro city (Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Delhi NCR, Bangalore)	Metro city (Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Delhi NCR, Bangalore)
Marital Status	Single	Single	Married	Married
Employment Status	Unemployed or doing internship	Employed	Employed	Employed
Income Range	NA	3 to 15 Lakhs per annum	15 to 50 Lakhs per annum	50+ Lakhs per annum
Profession	Student	Sales, Tech, Operations, Support	Sales, Tech, Operations, Support or General Management	Sales, Tech, Operations, Support or General Management
Type of Employer	NA	IT, BFSI, Healthcare, Telecom, CPG	IT, BFSI, Healthcare, Telecom, CPG	IT, BFSI, Healthcare, Telecom, CPG
Living Situation	At hostel / at home	In a different city with flatmates	With spouse + children	With spouse + children
Interests
Frequently used Apps	Social - WhatsApp, Snapchat, Instagram Shopping - Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Business Apps - NA Networking - Linkedin, Music - Jio Saavn, Spotify, Amazon Music Education - YouTube	Social - WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter Shopping - Amazon, Flipkart Food - Swiggy, Zomato Payment - Google Pay, PhonePe Business Apps - Slack, MS Teams Networking - Linkedin, Music - Jio Saavn, Spotify, Education - YouTube	Social - WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter Shopping - Amazon, Flipkart Food - Swiggy, Zomato Payment - Paytm, PhonePe Business Apps - Slack, MS Teams Networking - Linkedin, Music - Jio Saavn, Spotify,	Social - WhatsApp, Facebook Shopping - Amazon, Flipkart Food - Swiggy, Zomato Payment - Paytm, PhonePe Business Apps - Slack, MS Teams Networking - Linkedin, Music - Jio Saavn, Spotify,
Business Content Preference	Consumes new age sources such as Finshots, AJVC etc Uses Instagram as edutainment by learning from creators. Self education journey on YouTube	Consumes new age sources such as Finshots, AJVC etc Uses Instagram as edutainment by learning from creators. Self education journey on YouTube	Consumes what co-workers & industry peers share on WhatsApp Reads online publications which may not be mainstream + mainstream newspaper(s)	Consumes what co-workers & industry peers share on WhatsApp Reads mainstream newspaper each morning
Hobbies	NA	Nightlife Exercise /wellbeing	Time with family Exercise / wellbeing	Time with family Exercise / wellbeing
Time vs Money	Excess time, no money	No time, no money	No time, has money	No time, has lots of money
Time Spending Habits	Have lots of free time between lectures & exams Fills this gap by scrolling online - desire to learn is strong.	Work absorbs most of weekdays Mornings are reserved for self e.g. exercise or yoga Evenings & weekends are for social or professional events	Work absorbs most of weekdays Weekends, mornings & evenings are reserved for spouse, children & parents - includes meals, outings & leisure time.	Work absorbs most of weekdays Weekends, mornings & evenings are reserved for spouse, children & parents - includes meals, outings & leisure time.
$ Spending Habits	Has limited pocket money Mostly spent on food & outings around college	Has bare minimum savings due to EMIs & living expenses Spend on basic leisure like PVR Cinema or outside food	Making progress with saving Spends money on domestic travel & infrequent fancy meals	Significant savings Spends money on overseas travel, children’s education etc
Goals	Seeking an internship placement for this summer OR placement after final year (PPO)	Seeking a promotion at a well regarded company	Seeking excitement or challenging opportunities in the professional context	Looking to identify emerging leaders (individuals & companies) - stay on top of trends - build a strong team. Preparing for career advancement by building external credibility.
How to identify?	Title includes works like “Student, Candidate” Educational degree which is full time (as per profile) is yet not completed	≤ 5 years of professional work experience listed on LinkedIn profile.	5 - 10 years of professional work experience listed on LinkedIn profile. Job title includes words such as “Senior Manager, Director” etc	10+ years of professional work experience listed on LinkedIn profile. Job title includes words such as “, Director, AVP, VP” etc

Natural frequency based segmentation

Criteria	Dormant	Lurker	ENgager	Prosumer
Membership Type	Free plan	Free plan	Premium plan	Premium plan
Frequency of usage	Once per month	Once per day	Multiple times per day	Multiple times per day
What do they use?	1. Profile 2. Messaging	1. Feed (Scroll only) 2. Messaging 3. Profile	1. Feed (Scroll & engage) 2. Messaging 3. Profile	1. Feed (post, scroll & engage) 2. Messaging 3. Creator tools 4. Profile
Create v/s Consume?	NA	Consume	Consume	Create
Time spent per day	NA	NA	~10 minutes	~1 hour
Goals	Keep their digital CV on LinkedIn up to date & clear notifications.	Keep abreast with business news, insights & discussion topics.	Actively engage with business news, participate in insights generated & be present in discussions.	Share their opinions / insights based on news , experience or observations with a view to generate discussion(s), buzz or influence.

Step 4 → Engagement

For the “demand” or “consumption” side of LinkedIn Feed - the core value proposition is getting unique insights / perspectives from other professionals. Hence, there is an element of scarcity mindset which needs to be created along the lines of “You are missing out” but this needs to be done in a subtle way.

Whimsical Link

Goal	Dormant - Lurker	Lurker - Engager	Engager - Prosumer
Problem statement	A dormant user is one who only returns to LinkedIn as a result of a notification (e.g. connection invite) or to update one’s own profile. The dormant user has lost motivation / interest / no longer sees value in the LinkedIn feed. The problem to solve here is HOW do we surface appropriate content on the Feed to convince the user to return once per day.	A lurker is a user who consumes content passively by returning once per day. The lurker presumably has other sources of “time sink” (e.g. Reels) & “learning” (e.g. YouTube) which LinkedIn is NOT able to completely fulfill. The problem to solve here is HOW do we surface SUFFICIENT appropriate content to convince the user to return > 1 per day.	An engager visits LinkedIn for content consumption > 1 per day. This user isn’t able to get over the high activation energy (”blank canvas problem”) to write a post but thrives on consuming what others have posted. The problem to solve here is to make it as EASY as possible for them to get their first few posts on LinkedIn instead of sharing LinkedIn posts by others on close group messaging platforms.
Success Metrics	{X} % of Dormant cohort targeted converts to DAU with ≥ 3 minutes per day app usage time (observed over a 1 month period)	{X} % of Lurker cohort targeted converts to DAU with ≥ 3 minutes per session app usage time for ≥ 3 sessions per day (observed over a 1 month period)	{X} % of Engager cohort targeted shares ≥ 1 Feed post per week (observed over a 1 month period)
Current alternative	1. These users get their entire content digest from 3rd party sources such as: - News: Print newspaper, TV - Edutainment: YouTube, Reels - Insights: Newsletters, Podcasts	1. They would supplement their LinkedIn content consumption via content from other sources such as: - News: Print newspaper, TV - Edutainment: YouTube, Reels - Insights: Newsletters, Podcasts	1. They would find a relevant topic - industry, company, connection or interest - from a 3rd party source (e.g. news or WOM) 2. They would proceed to share the link + a short blurb of the same on: - Close friend circle WhatsApp group - Personal Facebook / IG page - Or, on Twitter
Solution	Provide a sequence of push notifications about generic preferences based on profile: 1. Own company 2. Co-workers in own company 3. Competitor’s 4. Thought leader(s) in own industry	Provide a set of push notifications about relevant content based on individual past preferences such as: 1. Followed accounts 2. Hashtags of interest 3. Own company 4. Company’s followed 5. Own connections	Provide a set of weekly personalized prompts to the user via email containing starting points for a post
Metrics to track	1. For each push notification in sequence: - What was the CTR % - What % of CTRs completed ≥ 3 mins of active scroll on LinkedIn Feed? 2. % negative actions resulting from notifications - Notification mute - Notification dismissed - App Uninstall 3. After the entire sequence, what % of Dormant cohort now is a DAU for LinkedIn with ≥ 3 minutes per day app usage time (look at full month data)	1. For each type of notification in sequence (hashtag based, followed account basis or connection basis): - What was the CTR % - What % of CTRs completed ≥ 3 mins of active scroll on LinkedIn Feed? 2. Split (1) further by the TIME slot which the notification was sent at (11 AM v/s 3PM) 3. % negative actions resulting from notifications - Notification mute - Notification dismissed - App Uninstall 4 . After the entire sequence, what % of Lurker cohort now is a DAU with ≥ 3 minutes per session app usage time for ≥ 3 sessions per day (observed over a 1 month period)	1. {X} % of Engager cohort targeted over 4 weeks shares ≥ 1 Feed post per week (observed over a 1 month period) 2. % negative actions resulting from notifications - Report spam - Unsubscribe 3. For each email sent - What is the CTR%? - What % of CTRs result in a post actually being shared?

Retention 📊

Step 1 → Understand

Bird's-eye view

What is your current retention rate in terms of users? (per external sources)
1. MAU - ~37%
2. DAU - ~16.8%
At what time period does your retention curve flatten? Draw the retention curve
1. First 2 weeks are critical to get a new user from account creation to lurker
2. 1. Involves following notable public personas from industry / country
  2. Involves connecting with co-workers / fellow students / persons on your email contact book
  3. Involves seeing a post from a company / person you know & engaging
3. Retention curve (i.e. opened the app ≥ 1 times per day for ≥ 3 minutes average session duration)
4. 1. D0 - 100%
  2. D1 - 75%
  3. D2 - 60%
  4. D7 - 30%
  5. D14 - 17.5%

Microscopic View

Which ICPs drive the best retention?
1. The Enthu Cutlet ICP has high retention because they have free time & a naïve belief that they can learn from everyone - they interact with / share all posts
2. 1. They also discuss the posts within college WhatsApp groups
  2. They bring the eyeballs which encourage the prosumers to produce content on Feed
3. The Prosumer has the highest retention because they are fundamentally hooked to the “numbers game” (reactions, follower count etc)
4. 1. They will engage with depth across multiple sessions per day because LinkedIn either provides them fame / credibility / leads / revenue
What channels drive the best retention?
1. Push notifications
2. 1. This is a dopamine hit since LinkedIn isn’t viewed as a “spam” app
3. Email updates (”social” tab of Gmail)
4. 1. The open rates here tend to be quite high because emails are information rich
What sub-features or sub-products drive the best retention?
1. Feed - this is a multiple times per day use case
2. Messaging - this can be a once per week use case
3. Jobs - this is a once per quarter / year use case
4. Profile - this is a once per quarter / year use case

Step 2 → Define

For this step, out of the 15 LinkedIn users I had interviewed, NONE have churned. Hence, I had to reach out to ~10 friends from college / school via our FB Messenger Group to get their perspective.

Reason given for churning off LinedIn	Classification	Proposed solution
Found job; don’t need LinkedIn anymore	Voluntary	1. Highlight interesting content from LinkedIn Feed 2. Highlight content from work peers OR company
Life priorities have taken over	Involuntary	1. NA
Work priorities have taken over	Involuntary	1. NA
Finding platform too distracting - have taken measures to cut back usage	Voluntary	1. Introduce YouTube style “usage reminder” after {X} minutes
Company I’m now working at doesn’t use LinkedIn actively	Voluntary	1. Highlight interesting content from LinkedIn Feed 2. Highlight content from industry leaders OR competitors
I get too many unsolicited emails & notifications from the app	Voluntary	1. Highlight the “Who Can Reach You” feature
Found creator(s) elsewhere such as YouTube, Twitter or Instagram	Voluntary	1. Invest in proprietary content (e.g. Alok Kejriwal <> LI Creators) 2. Cultivate new creators (LI Creator Accelerator Program)

List of Negative actions

Negative action	Generic v/s Product specific
Clicking EITHER “I don’t want to see this” or “Unfollow” from feed scroll for ≥ 3 times in one session	Product Specific
Weekly time spent in app drops to ≤ 50% of previous month trend	Generic
Mute notifications from app	Generic
Move app away from mobile home screen	Generic
Provide ≤ 3 star rating on app store	Generic
Sign out from account on app	Generic
Uninstall the app on mobile	Generic
Hits “Hibernate Account”	Product Specific
Hits “Close Account”	Product Specific

Step 3 → Resurrection Campaigns

Here, I would like to focus on retention of the “Lurker” segment of users because it takes an insane amount of effort + luck to convert a user from Dormant into Lurker. And, losing a Lurker undoes the LinkedIn content flywheel.

Segmentation os user type	Lurker	Lurker	Luerker	Prosumer	Prosumer
Negative action which acts as the trigger	Clicking EITHER “I don’t want to see this” or “Unfollow” from feed scroll for ≥ 3 times in one session	Weekly time spent in app drops to ≤ 50% of previous month trend	Uninstall the app on mobile	Weekly time spent in app drops to ≤ 50% of previous month trend	M {X} post count is ≤ 50% of M {X-1}’s post count
Rationale for acting upon this trigger / negative action	The Lurker is getting value from LinkedIn by passively absorbing content on the feed. IF in a single session, they are showing signs of frustration or boredom - this is worrying - will they leave LinkedIn for content elsewhere?	The Lurker is getting value from LinkedIn by passively absorbing content on the feed. IF their current active time spent is below trend - something might be going wrong with the content being surfaced.	If the Lurker has uninstalled the app - there is NO way for LinkedIn to deliver its value proposition to the user.	Prosumers are the content producers. In their absence, the content flywheel will break. We ought to figure out what is going on.	Prosumers are the content producers. In their absence, the content flywheel will break. We ought to figure out what is going on.
Copy	“Insights you can’t miss out on - curated for you” CTA: “Read”	“Insights you can’t miss out on - curated for you” CTA: “Read”	“Want the information without the notification? Subscribe to LinkedIn’s Daily Roundup on email- curated for you” CTA: “Subscribe for daily insights”	"{Name}, the time to share your thoughts is now!”	"{Name}, the time to share your thoughts is now!”
Channel	Push notification	Push notification	Email	Email	Email
Offer	Offer #1 - Check out curated feed for you	Offer #1 - Check out curated feed for you	Offer #1 - Subscribe to LinkedIn Daily Roundup on email	Offer #1 - Speak with Creator Manager Offer #2 - Offer prompts based on location, industry, hashtags they talk about	Offer #1 - Speak with Creator Manager Offer #2 - Offer prompts based on location, industry, hashtags they talk about
Frequency	Once per day for 3 consecutive days	Once per day for 3 consecutive days	Once per alternate day for 3 total attempts	Once per week for 2 consecutive weeks	Once per week for 2 consecutive weeks
Timing	Starts from a Monday between 10 AM and 11 AM	Starts from a Monday between 10 AM and 11 AM	Starts from 1 hour after app uninstall	On a Monday between 10 AM and 11 AM	On a Monday between 10 AM and 11 AM
Success metrics	1 . CTR % 2. Negative - “Dismiss” click 3. Negative - Mute notifications 4. Time spent in app for subsequent week is ≥ this week	1 . CTR % 2. Negative - “Dismiss” click 3. Negative - Mute notifications 4. Time spent in app for subsequent week is ≥ 25% higher than this week	1. Open & CTR % 2. Average newsletter open rate for 1st week 3. % of uninstall base who reinstalls app	1. % of at-risk cohort which returns to Prosumer cohort for a ≥ 30 day consecutive period 2. Open & CTR % 3. Negative - “Report Spam” click	1. % of at-risk cohort which returns to Prosumer cohort for a ≥ 30 day consecutive period 2. Open & CTR % 3. Negative - “Report Spam” click