Maximize Your Networking Success with LinkedIns Latest Updates

Maximize Your Networking Success with LinkedIns Latest Updates A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a blog about the latest LinkedIn updates in the graphics and media realm, including the new inclusion of GIFs. There have also been many to LinkedIns networking tools, including SEO analytics, ease of job referrals, and LinkedIn Group functions (it seems the rumors that Groups were going to be eliminated were just rumors). Here’s the run-down of LinkedIn updates to help you with your networking success in LinkedIn: SEO (Keywords) Identify How People are Finding You Have you wanted to know what search terms other members use to find your profile? Or did you think you needed a Premium subscription to be privy to that information? Well, look no further than your profile page, where you can scroll down to your dashboard and click on Search appearances. At the bottom of the page, youll see a section called Keywords your searchers used. This list shows the top keywords members were searching when they found and clicked on your profile in the past week. Keep in mind that most of the people who viewed your profile may not have been looking for your particular expertise, but LinkedIn’s algorithm landed you into their search results. Also look here to find out the most common professions of people viewing your profile: If you’re not happy with the breakdown you see, it might be time to adjust your keywords! Networking Private Comments @Mentions With the latest LinkedIn updates, you can now reply privately to comments using the three dots dropdown: If you want to comment on an article or update and don’t want the world to see it, use this option. Plus, LinkedIn has finally gotten with the program and implemented @mentions. To tag someone in a comment or post, use the @ symbol to get a list of potential people to mention – including people not in your network! When they see the mention, they will likely respond to your post. The people you mention will receive notification and an email letting them know you’ve mentioned them. If you get mentioned and you don’t want the publicity, you can remove the mention. See Removing a Mention of Yourself. You can also control your settings to prevent mentions. Job Search Referral Requests Are you a job seeker? You can now easily ask for a referral from connections at a company youd like to work for. Heres how: Go to the Jobs tab and locate a job opening that interests you and also lists connections: Once on the positions page, click Ask for a referral. Select a connection you know well and click Message. LinkedIn offers a ready-made message, or you can draft your own. The more personal, the better. I highly recommend that you use this feature, since 85% of jobs are found through networking! What a goldmine! Control Your Real-Time Messaging LinkedIn messaging has evolved over the last few months with the inclusion of the active status and smart reply messages. (For more on these features, read my December 2017 article on last years round of LinkedIn changes). You might like having others know you’re available to chat. If you prefer to do business incognito, theres a way to turn off the typing indicators: First, go to your Settings Privacy. Under the Communications tab, scroll down to Read receipts and typing indicators and turn the switch to Off. You’ll notice these On-Off toggle switches in other items in Settings Privacy as well. I encourage you to go through every section of your privacy settings to make sure they are set the way you want them! Groups Receiving Group Notifications You can now choose to include activity from your group posts in your Notifications, such as likes, comments, and @mentions, as well as group invitations. To control your notifications, visit the Communications tab in  Settings Privacy and review your Notifications on LinkedIn. Sending Group Announcements If youre currently a group owner, you may have notice that LinkedIn has changed the way you can send announcements to your members. You used to be able to go to the groups manage page and send the announcement from there. That link has disappeared. To send a group announcement now, go to the groups home page and click on Start a conversation with your group. Youll then youll see an option to Send an announcement. Enter the subject and details of your message, including images, and post. I recommend the â€Å"Send   Test Announcement† option so you can see what the message will look like in your members inboxes. Note that you are limited to sending only one announcement every 7 days. With all of LinkedIn’s updates, it takes a lot to remain a savvy user. I’m committed to give you the updates you need to keep on top of your KILLER LinkedIn profile and to optimize your activities on LinkedIn. Have questions? Ask and your question could be featured in a future article! To get the latest from my blog on LinkedIn topics like this, sign up for my LinkedIn Professional Writing e-list, and if you are interested in working with me on your LinkedIn profile or other strategies, you might like to start with my  20-minute live LinkedIn profile review.