LinkedIn's October updates: digital business cards, pinned comments and paid advice sessions

In mid-October 2026, LinkedIn announced a batch of new features aimed at helping people build professional connections and, for some, earn money from what they know. Reporting from Social Media Today and TechRadar filled in the details.

Here's the short version:

• Digital business cards. A customizable card with your headshot, your role and a QR code (a square barcode a phone camera can scan) that opens your profile. You can save it to your phone's digital wallet.
• Pinned comments. The author of a post can pin one comment to the top of the discussion.
• An updated creator dashboard. One place to see how your posts are performing.
• Advice Sessions. Verified Premium members can offer free or paid one-on-one consultations from their profile and take payment on LinkedIn.
• Private notes. A way to jot down details about your connections, like where you met.

Not everything is live for everyone yet. LinkedIn says the business cards are rolling out globally over the coming months, and Advice Sessions started with U.S. hosts.

As Social Media Today pointed out, LinkedIn tried profile QR codes back in 2018, and they never really caught on. The difference this time is design. You can personalize the card so it looks like something you'd be proud to hand someone, and it lives in your phone's wallet, right next to your boarding passes.

I like this for local business owners because so much of our networking still happens face to face: chamber mixers, trade shows, job sites, the line at the coffee shop. Paper cards get lost in a truck console. A scan takes two seconds and lands the other person on your profile.

That's also the catch. If the scan lands on a profile with an old photo, a blank About section and a job title from three jobs ago, the card did its job and your profile let it down.

Pinned comments sound small, but they solve a real problem. LinkedIn tested the feature in 2022 and shelved it, so it's been a long wait. Now, when you share something, you can pin the comment that matters most. That might be the link to your full blog post, an answer to the question everyone's asking, or a thank-you to a customer who chimed in.

A tip: LinkedIn has long been thought to show posts with outside links to fewer people, so many business owners put the link in the first comment instead. LinkedIn hasn't confirmed how links affect reach, so I won't promise anything. But pinning that comment at least keeps it from getting buried.

The updated dashboard is worth a weekly look. You don't need fancy analytics. Just notice which posts got real conversation and do more of those.

Advice Sessions let verified experts with a Premium subscription offer one-on-one consultations, free or paid, right from their profile. LinkedIn handles the payment, and it plans an experts showcase page so people can browse consultants by category. The coverage I read didn't say what fees LinkedIn takes, so check the terms before you sign up.

For most local service businesses, I wouldn't rush into this one. If you're a plumber or a boutique owner, your customers aren't booking you through LinkedIn. But if you sell expertise, like bookkeeping, coaching, HR or consulting, a free 20-minute intro session could be a low-pressure way to start conversations. You'd need Premium and profile verification first, so weigh that cost against how much of your work actually comes from LinkedIn.

Here's what I'd do this month:

1. Refresh your personal profile first. Current photo, a headline that says what you do and where ("Roofing contractor serving Surprise and the West Valley" beats "Owner"), and a short About section written the way you'd talk to a customer.
2. Link your website. Your profile should send people somewhere you control. Your website is the one place online you fully own, which is why I build every site so the client owns their domain and content.
3. Set up your business card as soon as it shows up. Keep the design simple and match it to your brand colors.
4. Use pinned comments on purpose. When you post, add one helpful comment and pin it: a link, a next step or your call/text line.
5. Skip Advice Sessions unless you sell expertise. Spend that time on your Google Business Profile instead, which usually matters more for local customers.

LinkedIn is one piece of the puzzle. If you'd like help keeping your social profiles, your Google profile and your website telling the same story, my social media management page explains how I work.

And if you run a business here in Surprise or anywhere in the West Valley, this season is full of in-person networking, from business mixers to community events. Make sure the profile people scan matches the website they find when they search for you. My Surprise, AZ SEO page covers how I help local businesses get found. Call or text me anytime at 480-550-2871.