Linking-In Some Professionalism: A PR Professional’s Best Tool (Part 5)

Social networking has evolved quite a bit since I became involved circa 2003, and my amusement in tracking the trends over the last several years grows and grows. My first experience with the movement was www.friendster.com. I had never heard of a website to keep track of friends, look at pictures and all the other inane things we as people love to follow online. In time Friendster became old news, but interest and pseudo-addiction to social networking blossomed in my consciousness. About six months later, a good friend suggested www.myspace.com. Once I created an account, there was no turning back. I stayed on myspace for quite a few years until upgrading to www.facebook.com, which I covered in an earlier entry. So why am I spending valuable words and time explaining websites to catch my eye over the years? Why bother explaining trends?

Well just like people, the internet tends to mature with age. Things a person found interesting six years ago are definitely not the same as what they would now. For instance, I look at myspace as quite juvenile in terms of communication and website satisfaction. I associate it with a part of my life more focused with dating and drama, than actual clean fun and keeping up with friends. And so my focus and goals are now more on professionalism and making an impact in my chosen field of work. Though I still continue to use facebook in a variety of capacities including business functions, there is a new website introduced to me fitting a better capacity based solely on professional networking. Though www.linkedin.com is not very new, it offers great options to those wanting to extend their career with another muscle in the long arm of social networking.

The premise is quite similar to facebook, but where one puts personal information, a user instead details business and work highlights. Instead of friends, it is wise to hunt for coworkers from the past and present to add “direct connections” to your “network.” By adding to your network, you then gain what is called “secondary connections,” or people in your direct connection’s networks. The network can help find jobs, but also has many other functions. Keep in mind this is not a simple job website! Yes, your resume does have information integral in completing your Linked-in profile, but there is a lot more to it. Also remember many businesses are searching this website to see if potential employees have a profile. With information actively available about professional history, it makes you more marketable!

Linked-In also provides great opportunities for professional branding. Many businesses have their own company profiles, and the site even allows direct question/answer sections; quite a good tool for building good reputation. The website also allows members to form groups for specific communication between specialists in a given trade. This can create a good place for “inbound marketing,” something any product-based business should take an active interest in. For the novices like myself, inbound marketing is permission-based marketing, or hooking a customer without making him feel pushed into making a purchase. Using the group, other professionals promote the brand for you; at least on paper, anyway.
Regardless, I am still working on my Linked-In profile and building my network. It’s slowly becoming a great tool to add to my public relations drawer. Take a look and judge for yourself!