Six reasons why media professionals should use LinkedIn (and here’s how)

By DAN MASON

A new member joins LinkedIn’s fast-growing professional network every second.

Impressive. But even though more than half its 70 million users are reported to be outside the US, the profile of LinkedIn among media professionals in countries like Africa, the Middle East and eastern Europe remains relatively low.

Language has a lot to do with it – LinkedIn is currently only available in English, Spanish, German, French, Italian and Portuguese. So has culture and country-specific attitudes to online networks.

But it seems the picture is changing. The country with the fastest-growing LinkedIn membership is now India, with over three million users, and the network boasts members across 200 countries.

LinkedIn’s strength is that it isn’t just another social media platform. In fact, I don’t see it as social at all.

Think of LinkedIn like a business breakfast: a place to catch up with professionals you know and be introduced to those you don’t; a place to tap into the latest industry buzz; a place to listen, learn and have your say.

And, like a business breakfast, you don’t have to spend all day on LinkedIn to get a return for your time. It’s up to you, of course, but you can build a credible presence on LinkedIn in less than an hour week.

So, if you’re a media professional new to LinkedIn and wondering what’s in it for you, go grab a coffee and croissant, and let’s consider six reasons why now might be the time to sign up …

Welcome to the business breakfast ... hosted by LinkedIn

REASON 1: Build your online profile

In the connected world, online relationships are based on trust … just like in real life. So as a media professional – empowering communities, conversations and connections – your personal brand is your passport.

Your LinkedIn profile is a personal statement about who you are and what you do. It’s the cornerstone of your network; how people looking for an expert in your field will find you – and where potential employers might come not just to check out your credentials, but how you present yourself and who you connect with.

What’s more, Google loves LinkedIn. So your LinkedIn profile will serve to increase your online visibility and help you get found.

HERE’S HOW

• When you first sign up for LinkedIn (it’s free) leave at least a couple of hours to build your profile. Invest the time up front – it will pay dividends later.
• Don’t just plonk your resume into your profile (though you’ll need it handy for career dates). Use your own voice to describe yourself (imagine you’re meeting someone for the first time at our business breakfast). Include your personal interests, too.
• Pay particular attention to your strapline – it’s the first thing people see after your name. And include a photo (preferably the same as you use on other sites).
• Be honest and make sure your resume and profile tally … you never know who might visit.
• By default, LinkedIn will make your profile as public as possible. But you can choose the level of privacy to suit you, as well as how often you receive email updates with your LinkedIn network activities.
• You can change your public profile URL (what others type in to find you) to something more memorable by clicking on Edit Profile in the Profile drop-down menu, then Edit Public Profile Settings.
• If you are multilingual, create your profile in more than one language for increased visibility. Click on Editor Profile in the Profile dop-down menu and you’ll see the Create Another Profile button to the right.

Changing your Public Profile URL may look better on links and be more search-engine friendly

REASON 2: Expand your contacts

Present and past colleagues, business associates and former schoolfriends will form your immediate circle of contacts (LinkedIn calls them your 1st degree connections). A connection is made only when an invitation, either way, is made and accepted. It’s personal.

So far, so good. But the real power of LinkedIn is that you also get to see your contacts’ contacts, and THEIR contacts (so-called 2nd and 3rd degree connections). A couple of dozen 1st degree connections can easily open the door to several thousand 2nd and 3rd degree connections.

Welcome to your LinkedIn network, which will expand still further to include members who belong to the same special interest groups as you. And as your network grows, so LinkedIn becomes ever smarter at suggesting new connections with similar professional interests.

As you browse, LinkedIn flags up your 1st, 2nd and 3rd degree connections, and those who belong to shared groups. Depending on the privacy settings individuals choose, you’ll see full details of your 1st degree connections. You can contact these directly, as well as people in your groups. But you’ll probably need an introduction though a mutual contact if you want to contact your 2nd and 3rd degree connections. You see limited information about those outside your network.

After you’ve completed your profile, the next step is make some connections. It’s easy …

HERE’S HOW

• From your Home page, go to Add Connections. LinkedIn will already have a list of suggestions, based on the information in your profile.
  You can also allow LinkedIn to search your Gmail or Hotmail accounts for matches, import your own list of contacts from Outlook or Apple Mail, or insert the email addresses of contacts you’d like to connect with.
  Aim for at least 20 connections at this stage and remember to personalise your invitations. From now on, you’ll see activity updates from your connections on your Home page.
• Who should you connect with? As a guide, choose people you’d feel comfortable sharing your mobile number with. And don’t send invitations to people you don’t know. That’s spam.

LinkedIn makes it easy to get your network rolling

REASON 3: Gain intelligence and share knowledge

Groups are a huge strength of LinkedIn. There’s a huge number of them, too – over 650,000. Groups are places to ask questions, share information, find the thought leaders in your field and expand your network.

As a media professional you might well join a mix of media-specific groups as well as those focusing on the country or industry you cover.

You can join up to 50 groups (such as the Thomson Foundation Network » for professionals who have trained with us or been involved in a Thomson project) as well as sub-groups for more specific conversations.

You’ve made your initial connections – now it’s time to join a few groups …

HERE’S HOW

• From your Home page, select Groups in the Search drop-down menu and enter a subject you’re interested in. Choose to join groups with active conversations and those that aren’t full of self-promoting waffle. After you’ve clicked on the Join Group button, you may or may not have to wait to be approved by the group administrator.
• LinkedIn has just revamped the appearance of groups, making it easy to join conversations, ‘like’ a conversation (so it becomes highlighted as a Popular Discussion), and ‘follow’ individual members of a group. Another new feature is the Top Influencers panel on group pages, spotlighting users who add most value to the group that week (and may be worth following).
• The jury is out on whether LinkedIn is right to go down the Following route at all – it’s not Twitter or Facebook, after all. First degree connections automatically become your followers (and you follow them), otherwise it’s your choice. You can unfollow people by clicking on Following in the Groups drop-down menu, then on People I’m Following in the sidebar. Each person in the list carries a Stop Following button.
• Here’s more on the new look for LinkedIn Groups »

There are over 640,000 Groups on LinkedIn ... where the conversation really takes off

REASON 4: Research

LinkedIn is a Swiss Army knife for media types – good for finding expert sources, preparing for an interview or keeping an eye on company comings and goings.

HERE’S HOW

Let’s say I’m looking for a source on the media industry in Zimbabwe. I’ve a few options:

• Select People on the left of the Search field and click Advanced. Enter the keyword ‘media’ and select Zimbabwe in the Location drop-down menu … in my case, LinkedIn returns 175 results.
  To refine this further, I look down the left-hand menu to Relationship. ‘All InkedIn members’ is checked by default but I can see I share the same groups as six people in this search. I check the Groups box and, bingo!, up pops the CEO of a Zimbabwe media company and media research project who – because we have a group in common – I can contact directly.
  (If I’d found a 2nd degree connection I wanted to contact, I could request an introduction via our mutual aquaintance. You have a limited number of these introductions before LinkedIn politely asks you to upgrade your account).
• Or … I could update my status with a request, broadcast to my connections.
• Or … I could ask a question in appropriate groups I’ve joined (or search for relevant groups, join, then either ask the group or contact a member directly).
• Another handy research tool is the often-overlooked LinkedIn Answers. Members can pose a question on any subject by clicking on Answers on the More drop-down menu. Your question appears in your connections’ updates, as well as on the Answers tab.
  Although Answers is still quite US-centric, it’s a good place to look for sources, ideas and angles. Take this result that poses the question: How can we help the people affected by the current disaster in the Gulf? » There’s good stuff among the 77 responses.
  TIP: Set up an RSS feed to keep track of questions and answers in your chosen category. Click on Answers in the More drop-down menu, and select a category or sub-category from the list on the right. At the bottom of the column you’ll see the orange RSS icon.
• Company profiles (which aggregate information from individual profiles relating to a specific company) are a good way to track promotions, departures, opportunities or – if there’s something brewing – find former employees who might be willing to comment. You can now follow a company from it’s page, or from a mention of the company within an individual’s profile. LinkedIn will ask you when and how you wish to receive updates.

Ask questions ... find answers and expert commentators with LinkedIn Answers

REASON 5: Find work

LinkedIn is becoming an important marketplace for both employers and jobseekers (and freelances). Want to give yourself a head start? …

HERE’S HOW

• Nothing beats glowing testimonials from trusted sources. So why not ask? Go to  Recommendations in the Profile drop-down menu, and click on Request Recommendations. There you can select a connection (up to 200, in fact) and send them a request. Make sure you include a personal message and don’t forget to say Thank You if your contact responds positively.
• Follow companies you are interested in working with (see Research) and search the LinkedIn company pages to target the right people to contact.
• Obvious one. But there’s a Jobs tab!
• Your profile is searchable, so if you’re a freelance looking for travel-writing commissions, say so.
• Make sure your profile is up to date. Don’t say you’re unemployed, even if you are. And follow the tips below …

Requesting a LinkedIn Recommendation: Nothing beats a good testimonial from a trusted source

REASON 6: Promote yourself

No-one can blow your trumpet for you, as the saying goes. So let LinkedIn project the professional image you’d like others to see.

HERE’S HOW

• Do you have news on your latest project to share? Update your status (the ‘share an update’ window on your Home page).
• If you have time, build your reputation as a thought leader and someone who adds value to the conversation by starting and joining discussions. (That’s definitely not the same as filling the conversation with marketing spam).
• If you have a blog, create a feed to your LinkedIn profile. You do this with a LinkedIn application in the drop-down menu below the right sidebar of your Home page. There’s an application for WordPress blogs and another, powered by TypePad, that will link to your blog AND those of your contacts.
• Similarly, the Tweet application will display your tweets. If you use Twitter for professional conversation, fine. If you use it for social chit-chat, my advice is DON’T use this application. However, here’s one very good reason for launching the Tweet application, if only temporarily. The application’s Connections tab displays your contacts complete with Twitter Follow buttons.
• Other applications that might add kudos to your LinkedIn profile enable you to display your Amazon reading list and Slideshare presentations.
• If you’ve gone to the trouble of building a LinkedIn profile and network, don’t forget to advertise it on your blog (there are several flavours of LinkedIn badges » if you don’t want to create your own). Think about including a link on your email signature, too.
• Tip: LinkedIn allows you to publicise your website (under Settings/My Profile) with pre-selected categories like My Website and My Company. Assuming you’ve allowed LinkedIn to display your details, select Other and modify the link to include your name (such as Thomson Foundation). This will increase search engine visibility.

You've worked hard to build your profile ... now promote it with the help of LinkedIn Applications

… so that’s it. I hope you found this particular business breakfast to your taste. If you’ve found other ways LinkedIn has helped you – or if you don’t think it can – please leave your comments.

And, if you have a past or present connection with the Thomson Foundation, you’ll be welcome in our LinkedIn Network Group »

Bonus tip: If you want a hard copy of your LinkedIn profile to forward, keep as a back-up or convert into a resume, click on View Profile in the Profile drop-down menu and look to the right of your header information (in pale blue). There you will see a PDF icon. Click and, hey presto, a PDF of your profile.



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