Most people are familiar with the basic features of LinkedIn such as connecting, groups, answers, applications, etc. There are some cool features that often get missed by the average user. Here we look at five under-utilized tricks you may not be familiar with.
One of the benefits of writing a book (in my case two books which will be released on June 1st) is that you reacquaint yourself with some features that are not always top of mind. These five feature won’t make or break your LinkedIn experience but they are useful. Drum roll please…
Add a You Tube Video to Your Profile
You can do this with either Slideshare or Google Presentation. My perspective was that Google Presentation was a little faster, but you should try both to see what works for you.
Here is how you would add a video using Google Presentation:
- Add the Google Presentation application
- Go into Google Docs and create a new presentation
- Click on Insert (top link) and click on Video
- Search for your video on YouTube and choose your video
- Click on File (top link) and choose Rename – rename your presentation
- Go back into Google Presentation from your Profile
- Click on your video and Post to Profile
When the slide show is clicked the video will play.
Create an Email Signature on LinkedIn
You can use LinkedIn’s Email Signature Tool to add a LinkedIn signature to your Outlook (2003, 2002 XP, and 2000), Outlook Express, Mozilla Thunderbird, and Yahoo email accounts.
Here is an example (there are 17 templates available):
To create your signature do the following:
1. At the bottom of each LinkedIn page there are three rows of text links. Click on ‘Overview’ at the bottom of your home page in the ‘Tools’ row.
2. Click on the ‘Try it Now’ button in the ‘Email signature’ area at the bottom of the ‘LinkedIn Tools Overview’ page.
Once you fill in the information you would like to include click the text link “Click here for instructions”. This will open up a pop up window with the html code and instructions.
Customize your Search Views
When you conduct a people search or a Group member search you get a list of the results. At the top is a drop down to choose how to view the results. You can choose Basic, Extended, or Create a New View. Choosing the New View opens a pop up window that allows you to include what you would like in your view.
This is a Premium feature that is available for a time to all types of accounts. Use it while you can and don’t be surprised if one day it disappears if you have a free account. LinkedIn wants to suck you in and once enough people use it, it will become a carrot to get you to upgrade to a paid account
Have new questions emailed to you based on a topic
Track topics based on keywords and categories in LinkedIn Answers to review and respond to questions posed by other LinkedIn members. When you look at a category on the right side at the bottom of the Browse box is a text link to “Subscribe to new questions in” whichever category you are currently viewing.
Add Personal Contact Information to your profile
At the bottom of your Profile Edit page is a space to include the following information:
- Phone number
- Instant Messaging ID
- Address
- Birthday
- Marital Status – do I see an eHarmony tie in coming down the road?
There a lot more relevant information that LinkedIn should allow you to share so let’s hope they expand this down the road.
Wrap Up
That’s it for today. On Monday I expect to release two new LinkedIn Books and a Work Book.
1. The LinkedIn MBA: This guide looks at just about every page and link and explains their purpose and it’s use. This detailed book will provide everything you need to build your LinkedIn foundation.
2. The LinkedIn MBA Workbook: The companion piece walks you through creating a “Killer” profile and building your online credibility through questions and exercises.
3. LinkedIn Marketing Secret Formula: This book is pure strategy and details the strategies I have developed and used that have resulted in prospects calling me to do business. It identifies the three LinkedIn networks you can use to communicate your message, indirectly, to tens of thousands of LinkedIn members. I also detail the secret process I have used to drive traffic to my blog going from 2,200 visitors in March to close to 50,000 in May.
The books are available on the blog by going to http://www.socialmediasonar.com/book.html
Have a great weekend… I’m off on a camping trip with the family to recuperate before the book release.
Sean Nelson
