It would be easy to underestimate the genius of this Feature Announcement. The 2 screenshots above tell the story of “my first try”.
Screenshot 1: Contextual Tip with Cutout.
So LinkedIn don’t spam me with a new feature either by carousel or popup, they don’t want to interrupt my usage flow. But on the other hand, we are so conditioned to just tap the “Like” that we’d never know the Reaction is just a long-press away.
So when I’m looking at an article, they show me, teach me with just a simple tip and a few words how to express myself better than just a “Like”. Notice how little screen real-estate is taken to communicate this powerful new feature. They even give me an “X” dismiss if I don’t like it.
Screenshot 2: Mission Accomplished.
I’ve held down the like and selected the “Celebrate” icon because the article deserves some applause. That was super-easy but:
a) I would never have known I could do that without the tip.
b) The instructions were simple, clear, contextual for me to try it practically. I didn’t have to read a blog post or watch a video.