Allocating LinkedIn's Top-Right Feed Slot: Sponsored Ads or Connection Suggestions

You are the product manager for the LinkedIn feed. The top-right position of the feed page can hold one of two modules: sponsored ads, or a "People You May Know" panel that suggests members to connect with. Decide which one you would put there, explain the reasoning behind your call, and describe how you would check that it was the right one. ```hint Compare them on equal terms An ad pays off the moment it is shown, while a new connection pays off over the following months. Work out how you would put one impression of each on the same scale before you choose. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Is this the desktop layout, where the page has a right-hand column, or should the answer also apply to the mobile app? - Is the feed's priority this year revenue, member engagement, or network growth? - Must every member see the same module, or can the slot be assigned member by member? - Do the sponsored posts inside the feed and the connection suggestions elsewhere in LinkedIn stay as they are, whichever option wins? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - The purpose of the feed page and of this slot, and how each option serves LinkedIn's business - Member segments compared, with how the value of each option changes from one segment to another - A method for weighing immediate ad revenue against the slower payoff of new connections, counting only what the slot adds beyond surfaces that already exist - A clear decision, the reasoning behind it, and the evidence that would reverse it - A test plan with a success metric and guardrails that accounts for effects that build over weeks or spread to members outside the test group ### Follow-up Questions - If the test showed the ads module lifting revenue while new members made fewer connections, how would you decide? - An invitation sent by a member in one test group lands with a member in another; how would you measure the true effect of the connections module? - Advertisers lose some inventory if the slot moves away from ads for part of the audience; how would you assess the effect on the ads business?