At this point, you probably have some idea of how important LinkedIn is for professionals. Ubiquitous as it already seems, the social media platform is only getting bigger, with over 300 million members as of May 2014. And it’s quickly becoming an indispensable tool in the professional services marketplace. Our recent research found that 60% of buyers check out a potential provider on social media to learn more about them, with the vast majority of those searchers flocking to LinkedIn.
The service is constantly expanding, so we’ve updated our LinkedIn Guide for Professional Services Executives to help you keep up with all the changes, and it’s available now as a free download. So what’s included in the guide, and what’s changed in the third edition?
What’s Inside
Anyone can sign up for a LinkedIn account, but that’s not enough to build an effective presence. As LinkedIn becomes an increasingly powerful tool, with an array of features and options, many professionals are unsure of how to make the most of the platform.
We wrote this guide to clear up the confusion, breaking the issues down into easy-to-digest sections.
- Understand what you can accomplish on LinkedIn and lay out a strategy to achieve your goals.
- Get an overview of the most powerful features available on the social media platform.
- Use this easy, efficient schedule to get started on LinkedIn no matter how busy you are.
- Take the next step and build your brand using LinkedIn’s unique tools.
- Step-by-step instructions for taking advantage of LinkedIn’s essential community-building feature.
- Use LinkedIn to generate more qualified leads and drive more business.
Taken together, the guide is designed to give the busy executive everything you need to get started building a strategic presence on LinkedIn, with clear instructions and explanations of key concepts.
We also cover research behind the effectiveness of LinkedIn, offer helpful resources, and look forward to the future of the platform.
What’s Changed
In this third edition, we’ve added new material including:
- Exploration of LinkedIn’s new long-form publishing feature, a powerful tool previously only available to select users
- A walkthrough of Showcase Pages for companies, a way to clearly project related but distinct sub-brands
- Visual, step-by-step instructions for starting and cultivating a LinkedIn Group, one of the most effective features on LinkedIn today
- Insight into the Pulse content aggregator, an expansive new way for LinkedIn to connect users with the content that is most relevant to them
- New mobile features, including a dedicated Pulse app
Plus, we’ve updated the guide throughout to keep it up-to-date with the most current LinkedIn experience and features.
Whether you’re a veteran LinkedIn user or just getting started, we hope you’ll find something useful in the guide. You can download it free here. We’re always looking for ways to make it better, so your feedback and questions are very welcome.
And if you like the guide, we’d love to hear from you on LinkedIn!
