This is Part Four of our ongoing educational series. Our goal is to aid our users in understanding the constantly shifting Social Media landscape.
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LinkedIn 101
: A practical guide
Unlike Twitter and Facebook, LinkedIn is easily navigated with fewer social etiquette rules and conventions. Individuals can start communicating with users immediately while following general business communication standards.
Because LinkedIn operates much like an interactive rolodex and resume, it is important that your profile is complete, accurate and up-to-date. This is your opportunity to raise your and your company's profile in a medium that is professional, personal and believable. Some things to consider in creating your profile:
Getting Started
Launched in 2003, by former- CEO Reid Hoffman (now Chairman of the Board), LinkedIn is a social networking site primarily used for professional networking.
Now managed by Jeff Weiner, it currently has 80 million registered users and is the preferred site for business professionals. At the time of writing, LinkedIn is being used by approx. 12 million small business employees, 5.5 million hi-tech professionals, 1.5 million C-level executives and 1.3 million small business owners -- a powerful group for you to do business with.
Profiles read like resumes, highlighting an individual's career and professional interests and the site is widely used to expand networks, job hunt, source recruits, share insight and establish sales and marketing opportunities.
Current and past jobs: Make your profile read like a resume, listing your current and past jobs and the duties you performed. Including ROI statements to show how you added value to the company will showcase your strengths and business acumen while also strengthening your profile within the business community.
Summary / specialties: These should read like an elevator pitch -- in 30 seconds or less, offer a high level summary of your areas of specialization and what makes you unique. Another option is creating a list of key attributes and qualifications. This will increase your chances of appearing in search results.
Keywords: Including key words in your profile will help individuals find and connect with you. For example, within the 'people search' function, including the keywords 'accountant' and 'Vancouver' will pull individuals who have included these terms in their profile. By highlighting the areas you would like to profile, potential connections will have a better chance of finding you.
Education: Include your educational qualifications, including high school, post-secondary, additional higher education and certifications. This may help fellow alumni and peers find and connect with you.
Recommendations: Solicit recommendations from former/current colleagues, superiors, business partners, vendors or clients to enhance your profile and provide credibility. Recommendations serve as an informal letter of recommendation or reference and can have a lasting impact on potential business relations and future employers.
Company website / social media accounts: Include your company website as well as your other social media account URLs. This will help individuals connect with you across multiple channels and increase your online footprint.
Reading List: Including a reading listWeiner, CEO offers a human side to your profile by displaying your personal and professional interests. It may also be an excellent ice breaker while also presenting you as an engaged and informed member of your professional community.
Sourcing Connections
Creating a company profile will help potential business contacts learn more about your organization as well as profile your company to potential recruits.
- Under the 'company' tab, select the option to 'add a company' by submitting the name and a legitimate email domain that coincides with a company website.
- Fill out the information completely and accurately, keeping in mind that keywords are important to allow people to search for your organization.
- Include the basic description, number of employees and industry.
- You will also be able to include a logo, location and company blog, if desired.
- A company listing will also allow for all of your job postings to automatically appear on your profile, along with links to the profiles of all current employees and their connections.
Like all social media sites, the ultimate goal is building connections. What makes LinkedIn unique is that because profiles are more extensive, you have a better understanding of the individuals you're connecting with. This is one of the reasons why it is the preferred site for business networking. There are several ways to source connections:
People search. You can perform a search on individuals you may know by typing their name in the box on the top right hand side, when the "people" function is selected. For popular names, filter results by location, company, relationship, industry, school and profile language.
Advanced people search. For more extensive results, advanced people search allows you to search by keyword, then use the same filter criteria as in the standard people search. For example, you can search for the term "marketing" or "CEO", giving you a list of people with that keyword in their profile. Premium accounts also let you filter by group, seniority level, interests, function, company size, years of experience, Fortune 1000 ranking and when joined LinkedIn. Upgrading to a premium account may be a good investment for companies looking to use LinkedIn as their primary database tool, or as a strong complement to their existing business development tools.
Add connections. You can also search for individuals by typing in their email address. This would need to match the address they used when they signed up for their account.
Colleagues. Search for current or past colleagues from the companies you have listed in your profile. LinkedIn will find the companies and compare to others in your network, then narrow results by the years you worked there. You can then send direct invitations to those individuals.
Classmates. Like with colleagues, you can search for individuals who attended the same school during the same period or graduation year as you. There is no additional filter tool, so if you attended a large school, this may be a challenging way to find individuals.
People You May Know. As the name suggests, this feature allows you to find individuals with whom you may have a common connection. There are a couple of ways in which this happens:
- LinkedIn searches the contacts from the email address(es) you used when you signed up for the service. When one of these contacts signs up on LinkedIn, it recognizes this link and suggests them as a contact.
- If you are using Outlook, LinkedIn can trace the emails of individuals with whom you have emailed and will also suggest them.
- The keywords in your profile will also provide a link to potential connections, which underlines the importance of filling out your profile in its entirety and including key words that match your interests and skills.
- Having common connections with other users is an additional factor.
You will notice on the right hand side of the screen, three suggested people you may know. You can choose to connect with or delete them from this category. By selecting "see more", you will have a longer list of potential contacts, including reference to any shared connections. On the left hand side of the screen, you will find filters, by current/past company and school, which will help you target individuals with whom you have a greater likelihood of knowing. Reference search. If you are using LinkedIn as part of your recruitment strategy, the reference search tool allows you to source individuals who were your candidate's colleagues. While a paid service, you can find unbiased information from sources that are not directly submitted as part of a candidate's reference list.
Saved searches. Once you create a search, save the criteria. You can later rerun the same search and find individual who are new to LinkedIn or who have changed their profile information.
Groups
Getting involved in groups is a great way to connect with other LinkedIn members with similar interests, but who may not be part of yours or your contacts' networks. Perform a search based on interests, alma mater, professional association, company alumni or other area. Keep in mind that regular interaction in groups can become quite time consuming, so carefully pick a few groups where you feel you'll derive the greatest benefit.
Engage in the conversation by posting topics or contributing to existing discussions. Posting a relevant news article is a good way to start a discussion without much effort. It can be a good way to gauge your peers' opinions on a topic affecting your industry or profession. This may also afford the opportunity to connect with some of the members of the group and build additional online or offline relationships.
Like with other social networking sites, it is important to observe the discussion before jumping in. See the tone and types of posts that are generated and selectively respond to subject matters in which you have a strong knowledge base. Many groups also have guidelines to follow, so read and understand these before engaging in the discussion.
Other Ideas
When you create your company profile, LinkedIn will automatically complete a company analysis and the connections that your employees have on the network. It will calculate your company's medium age, top schools and other companies in which you are well connected. This will offer candidates and future business relationships the opportunity to learn more about your firm and its composition.
Users are able to follow your company to learn about new opportunities, hires, and events taking place within your organization. It also allows you to include your Twitter feed to increase your social media following.
Integrate Other Accounts Use the widget tool to import other elements, such as your Twitter stream or corporate blog. This will help you integrate your social media accounts while also helping you manage your time and resources.
Try using polls. Perform market research by polling users. Use the information to provide feedback on company strategy, or better yet, consider sharing findings with your social media followers through status updates, articles and blog posts.
Share knowledge. The Questions page includes hundreds of questions from users, by subject matter and language. This is a simple way to engage in social community dialogue. In addition, consider linking your answer to your blog or other social media account to increase traffic and followers on multiple sites.
Market yourself. Include your LinkedIn URL on all of your communications, including marketing literature, business cards, email signature, website, email newsletters and other social media accounts to help build your online following.
Business development. Ensure each member of your sales department has an account so they can source leads, research companies and identify contacts for future business opportunities. With a large portion of the business community on LinkedIn, you will be missing opportunities if you are not leveraging the information and networking opportunities.
Offer recommendations. Whether a former colleague, supplier, vendor or someone you did business with, offer a recommendation that will be displayed on their profile. This strengthens their reputation in the market and it is likely that they will return the favour. You also can send out recommendation requests to your close contacts.
Post presentations or examples of recent work. As a business development tool, this acts as a sort of professional portfolio. Individuals who are sourcing vendors or suppliers may be more inclined to connect with you after viewing some of your work.
Get introduced. LinkedIn allows you to see the names of individuals with whom you share a common connection. This will be displayed with the number 2 next to their name. Individuals who are twice removed will have the number 3 next to their name, but you will not be able to see their surname. Ask your contacts to introduce you to individuals you'd like you meet.
Recruit. You can post a job for $195 for a 30 day posting or purchase a multiple posting package. For a more targeted approach, you can also post jobs within groups or post a link on your status directing people to your website. Another strategy is proactively looking for recruits through your connections or by targeting your competitors' employee lists.
Find experts. If you're looking for a conference speaker, executive panelist, guest blogger or case study, find individuals through groups, searches or introductions. Even if they do not reside in the same city, they may be interested in participating in a webinar or online discussion.
Direct sales and marketing. Include promotional information on your status update or within groups, staying mindful that you are not using hard-sell techniques. You can also purchase LinkedIn advertising that can be targeted by industry, seniority, geography, job function, age and gender.
LinkedIn is a powerful tool and one that can provide immediate return for you and your business. With a little knowledge and creativity, you can connect and engage with individuals online while establishing advantageous relationships offline. The result is greater collaboration and growth opportunities.