7 Reasons To Use Linkedin!

Linkedin is a professional network with over 120 million members in over 200 countries and territories. It was founded in 2003 and by the end of the first month had 4500 members. As of 30th June 2011 Linkedin were adding 2 users a second. They recently completed their IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in May 2011 under the stock symbol LNKD and have a market capitalisation of around £7.5 billion.

Here are 7 reasons to use Linkedin;

1. Market Research - Finding local companies and spying on your competitors.
2. Looking for Work - Improve your career by making contacts with employers in your industry and Linkedin's job section may be helpful.
3. Getting Advice - Connect with people for advise or utilise your network by updating your status with your question.
4. Improving Connections - Use Linkedin to connect with people who may be useful in the future, people you have met and know.
5. Looking for Employers - Professional can use Linkedin to connect with potential employers and understand where your employers are to get in contact.
6. Promote Your Company - Join groups, get involved in discussions and start your own groups.
7. Make Yourself Visible - Get involved, communicate with contacts and show your skills but don't be annoying!

Let us know what you think...

Twitter & Social Media Help!

[POSTS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED]

5 Things to Write About on Twitter and Others!

Twitter Updates...when you need something to say!

5 Things to Write About on Twitter and Others!

Here's a few things that you could write about through your social media;

1. Promotions - Why not run a promotion through your social media so that everyone that follows you can get a discount!  e.g "10% off all products if you follow us on Facebook!"


2. Questions - Ask questions of your users to engage them and you may even get a bit of market research! e.g "Why do people where socks and sandals? #Crazy"


3. Company News - Tell your follows you "what's happening" at your company! e.g "Moved offices, have a new employee and featured in the press! [press link] #AmazingDay"


4. Facts - Give your audience a some facts that relate to your business! e.g "10k people order umbrellas every summer because their cheaper!" - Just an example, probably true though!


5. Friendly - Just give your readers a message to let them know you appreciate them and get seen! e.g "Good Morning! hope you had sweet dreams :)"


Bonus Box - Use hastags when possible (#theyhelp), Try to reply to people and show them you appreciate them!

Let us know what you think...

Social Media Developer/ Publisher Tools

All of the social platforms offer developer tools from like buttons with Facebook to real time status plugins on twitter check all of them out and with knowledge of your audience choose ones that will engage them best.

Facebook

http://developers.facebook.com/?ref=pf

Twitter

http://twitter.com/about/resources

http://dev.twitter.com/

LinkedIn

http://developer.linkedin.com/index.jspa

http://www.linkedin.com/publishers?trk=hb_ft_pubs

Let us know what you think...

Apply with LinkedIn

LinkedIn which was launched in 2003 and now has over 100 million users has launched an application button for developers. The service which operates in over 200 countries allows professionals to network online. The company went public on the 19th may 2011 and today have a market cap of over $9.5bn (USD).

The new button will allow candidates to use their LinkedIn profile to apply for jobs when the "Apply with LinkedIn" button is displayed. See more Below or on LinkedIn Developer Page. Is this more good innovation from social networking sites to make sure they don't fade away fast and the recent professional users for Google+, do LinkedIn need to be scared.

Let us know what you think...

What will IPO's mean for us users?

With a number of IPO's in the pipeline from many of the major online services we use, are we going to see less user targeted features and more shareholder "profit making" features. Just  recently we have seen Linkedin go public on the 19th May this year and they have profits of just over $15m for the 12 months ending 31st December 2010. Shareholders are probably happy at the moment though - LNKD share prices are holding on the NYSE.

However with some of our other future IPO's such as Groupon later this year and also Facebook expected next April - these companies are said to not be making profits. A little consideration needs to be taken in to account at whether these organisations will come under pressure from their shareholders to give them a return. Will we see any changes in the user experience for the products we use online? I'm not saying they are all going to start charging monthly subscription but perhaps more adverts.

Let us know what you think...@snaksocial

Google+...Should LinkedIn be scared?

OK this story was broken a while back but I have received an invite to try it out. I have seen some cool features with the new google+ which I think is going to be really helpful for some business people. Their idea to give invitation has only made the buzz more appealing because we can see the product but only a number can touch it.

The first cool feature is the hangouts which I think is going to be really helpful for any conference calls which if you want this service at the moment many people use Skype's group video calling which costs around £5 per month (not much but still...).

I have also seen sparks now this can be quite cool for sharing news stories perhaps industry news with colleagues and can also help you to collectively gather cool stories that you'l find benefit the people you work with.

Circles has got to be one of the coolest things because this will allow you to put your contacts into what can only be called "circles" so that you can share certain information with those who you wish to target. In a business sense (which this article is targeted to) the circles will be great for putting your contacts in to different circles such as media contacts, editors, directors, programmers & so on. this could be great for finding new staff, getting answers, marketing the business etc...

My conclusion is that the odds are stacked against Google+ becoming the next Facebook but I think it will be one like Twitter, Foursquare, LinkedIn and so on because it will be used "as well as" not "instead of". Remember though I haven't actually tried Google+ yet. With all these useful features for business as well as people I believe that allowing integration with a company like Linkedin will give Google+ a strong position for a more mainstream social growth if it doesn't grow that way at first.

Let me know what you think...