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How I Was Wrong About LinkedIn
I've always considered LinkedIn more of a place to prospect for a job than anything else. And since I haven't been in the market for one in a while, I've paid it little mind. Plus, if I'm being honest: I've always thought LinkedIn was kind of... well, boring. If Facebook was a rave at a cool downtown hot spot, LinkedIn was a stuffy reception with piped-in music at one of those cookie-cutter function facilities conveniently located at the end of an exit ramp. Does that sound harsh? Perhaps. But now I've realized that I couldn't have been more wrong. LinkedIn, it turns out, is a happening place: It has more than 60 million members in over 200 countries, on all 7 continents. Execs from every Fortune 500 company are there. And 81% of business-to-business marketers use LinkedIn. All that info is from our latest case study collection, LinkedIn Success Stories: How 11 companies are using the global networking site to achieve their business and marketing goals. In the collection, our own Kim Smith details LinkedIn's slew of new features and recent applications, and gives an insider's view of how those tools are being used by 11 organizations to conduct research, demonstrate thought leadership and expertise, attract users to events, and win new business. One of my favorite quotes in the case study collection is by Patti D. Hill, CEO of Penman Public Relations, who likes the enduring aspect of LinkedIn. "Twitter is real time, and you're a blip on the screen," she says. "LinkedIn waits for us. Like email, it's there when you want it." In short, while I wasn't looking, LinkedIn has amped up to a full-blown party—one you don't want to miss. My bad. How are you using LinkedIn? PS: In case you missed it, LinkedIn's Community Manager, Mario Sundar, last week gave MarketingProfs Pro members a tour of LinkedIn's features. It's a great primer on using LinkedIn if you haven't yet begun to take advantage of the goodness there.
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