6.5 things you may have missed about LinkedIn

The social network we all know and love, LinkedIn, has been busy making improvements lately. They have quietly grown to over 70 million users and it appears that steady slow growth we are used to is accelerating. If you haven’t been following all the news here are 6 things you may have missed, plus a bonus item:

1. LinkedIn Groups Overhaul

Groups are a great way to connect with the broader LinkedIn network, to find new contacts through shared interests and to discuss specific topics. And now this great resource has gotten better. Last month LinkedIn rolled out an improved look and feel with the goal of replicating face-to-face conversations. The new design also makes it easier to use. With a new voting system, content that is valued by the group will rise to the top and will be surfaced for all to see. Combined with the new following capability, LinkedIn has made it easier than ever to stay up to date on group discussions.

2. LinkedIn Inbox Updates

Speaking of email, LinkedIn has completed an overhaul of their built-in email system. Like Groups it all starts with an improved look and feel that you will notice right away on the home page. In addition, they’ve made it easier to manage emails through bulk actions, something we are all used to in our traditional email clients. And although it sounds strange you can finally delete messages in LinkedIn. This is great from a user’s perspective but compliance officers should take note that real-time archiving should be the goal if you are going to open up access to LinkedIn in a compliant fashion (as it relates to FINRA 10-06).

3. Improved Twitter and LinkedIn integration

I’ve shared before my belief that you get the most value from your social networking investment when you integrate your activities together. LinkedIn just made this process easier. They’ve updated their Twitter application to follow LinkedIn Connections directly from LinkedIn.com. Once you’ve installed the application, access it using the “More” menu and start following your connections.

4. LinkedIn “Likes” Addition

We are all familiar with this concept. You read a status update on Facebook, see a picture, watch a video and you click that little “Like” button letting your network know what you are reading or watching and the fact that you appreciated the content. Well this functionality is now available on LinkedIn. Liking a piece of content in LinkedIn will trigger a news feed update so your network can see what you are reading. On Groups, members who consistently contribute to discussions, and have a large number of followers, will be marked as “Top influencers”, making their ‘Like’ worth more than others. Keep this in mind as you work to grow you reach and influence across the 70 million LinkedIn users.

5. LinkedIn Compliance Guide

With all the opportunity LinkedIn provides many regulated firms have been grappling with the compliance issues and trying to balance those with the business benefit. To help jump-start your efforts we’ve outlined almost 30 LinkedIn features, explaining each in detail, associated it with a content type (based on FINRA 10-06), classified it according to the FINRA/SEC guidelines, offered a set of compliance considerations, and provided a specific recommendation to help jump-start the creation of your social networking policy and plan. If you haven’t downloaded this free guide, get yours today.

6. LinkedIn Best Practices (Webinar)

Like many people we talk to, the conversation quickly turns from “how can we open up access” to “how do we get the most out of our investment.” Thanks to Kip Gregory, Principle of The Gregory Group, and Mike Williams of Socialware, you will get answers to this question and so much more. They share their expertise on how advisors and agents can use this great resource to help drive their business. While the webinar took place in June you can watch a recorded version here.

6.5 Upcoming webinar on LinkedIn Social Networking Compliance

If you are looking for more information on understanding the compliance issues with LinkedIn be sure to register for our upcoming webinar taking place on July 13th. Learn more and register here.

I hope you find these resources helpful. Stay tuned for more great content and updates. And don’t forget to check out our newly revamped site for Socialware Insights – all of our Guides, Resources, Webinars and more now live under one roof.