Linkedin In the News - Facebook for Professionals and Businesses

Linkedin Contacts and iPhone Contacts App Are Game Changers

I am a huge fan of Linkedin.  And I have reported here and elsewhere that it is the most critical social media channel for business owners, managers, and professionals.  I said that when they had 80,000,000 users, and again when they went public with 150,000,000 users (last year), and again when the hit 200,000,000 users, and who knows where they go from here.  They now have about 225,000,000 on board and with the news today about Contacts and Contacts iPhone App, the sky isn't the limit.  To infinity and beyond!

So what is the big deal about contacts.  We all have various kinds of address books, contact lists, etc., all over the place.  Well, this contact app goes a bit beyond any other.  Name, address, phone, company, email, website, picture.  All good.  Add resume, previous work history, notes, associations, summary of current company services, their connections, and so much more.

You can organize these connections by anything you care to.  "Linkedin!  Are you listening to me?  Please allow us to update to the news stream by groups like we can on Facebook and Google+.  This is a critical missing piece.  Correct it and you'll own the space for a decade."

Do you think I'm hyperventilating over nothing.  Check out these articles from today.

Nine Out of Ten Execs Use LinkedIn

Roughly nine out of ten (88%) business executives use LinkedIn “often” or “very often,” according to a survey of 139 suits by DHR International, a corporate headhunting and management consultancy, as reported by BusinessNewsDaily. What’s more, 73% said that LinkedIn is their favorite social network, leaving Facebook and Twitter in the dust.

In terms of frequency of use, 65% of suits surveyed said they use social media daily, while 27% said they use it on a weekly basis (and no more frequently). On average they spend between 30 minutes and an hour per week on social media, with a quarter saying they use it for between one to two hours and one in five using it more than two hours a week.

PC World had this:  Why it's time to take LinkedIn seriously

From my nearly 700 LinkedIn connections, I tapped a slew of entrepreneurs with more than 500 connections each about how they use the platform. The consensus: Time using LinkedIn is well-spent. Here’s what they said. 

"I use LinkedIn as my online Rolodex to keep track of my contacts and reconnect with old colleagues. Using the advanced search functionality I can find people with specific experience in a particular geographic area. This has helped me find vendors, strategic alliances, as well as suggest candidates for job openings… I like the recent ability to customize my profile layout, embedding the slideshare widget under appropriate positions."
—Felena Hanson, founder of the San Diego co-working space HeraHub
"LinkedIn is essential to my business. We use the information to determine how to target our business development efforts which increases our efficiency and reduces interruptions to contacts we might have contacted who weren't the right role. Because of LinkedIn we reach out and make the right offer to the right contact most of the time. This increases our sales and, we think, our reputation with our business partners."
—David Eads, founder of the Atlanta-based strategy consultancy Mobile Strategy Partners

You probably got an email from Linkedin today.  Follow the instructions.  Try it out.  If you didn't, maybe you don't have an account.  Get one.  Check out the articles elsewhere on this blog about Linkedin, and get a bunch of connections.   

If you need help getting set up and maximizing the opportunities on Linkedin, I'd be happy to help you through that process.  I have one opening for a client as of this date.  Call me.  Randy Kirk 310-910-1848