Can Facebook Threaten LinkedIn's Dominance with New Features?

Facebook FB is looking to increase its presence in the e-learning and jobs marketplace.  Reportedly, the social media giant’s job tool solution launched in 2017 helped people find more than 1 million jobs.

The company is now introducing Learn with Facebook.

Notably, the company also provided updates to its already existing tools - jobs and mentorship. Apart from their page, businesses can also post jobs in groups they are part of. Moreover, people in groups can directly choose their mentors/mentees based on the list of relevant skills and expertise.

Facebook Joins LinkedIn in the E-learning Space

Facebook currently made available free to access introductory sessions including Ace Your Interview and Manage Your Content Marketing among others. These sessions also feature insider tips, case studies and others resources from industry experts.

Facebook also partnered with third parties like Goodwill Community Foundation and community colleges to further support users who wish to extend their learning experience.

However, the market is currently dominated by Microsoft’s MSFT LinkedIn, which already has more than 13,000 courses on its platform, per Techcrunch. In first-quarter fiscal 2019, LinkedIn sessions were up 34%, reflecting acceleration in engagement.

Moreover, LinkedIn is boosting its features with relevant acquisitions. The acquisition of Lynda.com helped the platform to host diverse set of courses. Further, LinkedIn recently announced its intention to acquire a startup, Glint, which offers Employee Engagement, Team Effectiveness, Employee Lifecycle and Manager Effectiveness solutions.

Further, robust performance of LinkedIn’s subscription products comprising membership, recruitment and education programs reflect the content quality.

Alphabet’s GOOGL Google Is another strong player in the market. Google is continuously updating its search algorithms to help users collect, categorize and sort job postings from the web. Although the company does not specially provide courses, it provides information on training programs depending on the type of job being searched and its availability.

However, with 1.495 billion Daily Active Users (DAUs), up 127 million year over year, in third-quarter 2018, Facebook may get a quick head start in the game despite being a late entrant in the market.

Facebook, Inc. Revenue (TTM)

Facebook, Inc. Revenue (TTM) | Facebook, Inc. Quote

Diversifying Offerings on the Platform

Facebook is constantly looking for initiatives that increase user engagement and improve time spent on the platform. Apart from just pushing artificial intelligence (AI)-based feed, Facebook is bringing in features and content to help distinguish it from other social media platforms like Twitter TWTR.

In September, the company launched a free feature called Facebook Dating in Colombia. The company, which generally allows third-party dating websites to access users’ data, will use the data for its own good.

Additionally, Facebook is betting big on live streaming as it continues to strike back-to-back deals. In August, the company won rights to air La Liga’s tournaments in the Indian sub-continent and Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) in the Latin America region.

We believe Facebook’s efforts to add features to the platform will boost its user bases, especially in fastest growing markets like Asia Pacific, with revenues growing 37.6% year over year.

Facebook currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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