Facebook is clearly on track to becoming the one-stop platform for all types of content. From taking on the likes of YouTube and Instagram to prioritise video, to eBay with Facebook Marketplace, the site has been keen to diversify.

And just this week, Facebook added job listings to its Facebook Business section, enabling companies to post jobs on their own pages, or a designated new jobs page. In this way, will the platform soon be able to compete with LinkedIn? Companies looking for employees will now be able to post free listings when composing a normal status update, and these will be displayed in News Feed. Already, the update has started rolling out to business pages in both the US and Canada.

But what makes this feature different? After all, companies were still using their Facebook pages to post job ads before the update. However, Facebook’s intention is to make these posts easier to discover, especially by people who don’t already follow the company in question. Secondly, the feature comes with a number of new benefits for page admins, who will be able to monitor applications, create tailored posts, and contact job applicants on Messenger. For those seeking work, he or she will be able to search by specific location, role, and whether they’re looking for full or part-time positions. Job seekers will then be able to hit a special “Apply Now” button in order to send applications directly through Facebook Messenger. The potential downside to this is that recruiters will be able to see the applicant’s profile- with Facebook traditionally known as a more personal and social platform, might the site be making a mistake mixing business with pleasure?

This is where we think LinkedIn still has a potential edge- it has solely been designed for companies and job seekers, where professionalism, thought leadership, and career networking has long been harnessed. And LinkedIn’s new company page design should surely work in the platform’s favour too- the interface is sleeker and clearer, focusing on three specific areas- the company’s overview, jobs, and company life. This means a business page that is a lot more targeted, speaking to potential candidates as opposed to Facebook business pages, which attract multiple sectors- fans and customers included.  However, many businesses, and especially B2Cs, actively use both Facebook and LinkedIn, and so the feature might help them reach a broader pool of skilled job-seekers. As it stands, LinkedIn’s user base is a mere 467 million to Facebook’s 1.86 billion, so there’s potentially a lot more talent for businesses to choose from.

The update is also a chance for Facebook to monetise, with job postings set to become another form of on-site advertising. Businesses will be able to pay to have their listings displayed as ads in order to extend reach in News Feed. On its business blog, the company said that it simply wanted to take opportunity from the existing traffic already heading to business pages- according to the site, over 1 billion people already visit these each month. And enabling job seekers to apply through Messenger too, will be a way for Facebook to tap into its extensive mobile user base.

Do you use Facebook to either post or seek new jobs? Will the update encourage you to use Facebook more for this purpose? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital and share your comments on our Facebook page.