Social meets Social: How LinkedIn is Tapping the Groundswell
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| Soure: HubSpot |
Part of what has helped LinkedIn to withstand the test of time is its ability to engage in Groundswell technologies such as Twitter. Chapter 10 of Groundswell discusses the power and convenience of using Twitter. Some features of the platform include followers, hashtags and searches, mentions and retweets, links, lists, and apps and tools. These key elements allow Twitter to be a one-stop-shop for rich interaction between brands and their consumers. Currently, LinkedIn has 1.5M followers and over 17.3K tweets since it opened its Twitter account in February 2008.
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This is how LinkedIn is using
Twitter for each of the five groundswell objectives:
Listening to Twitter. Many
brands are using Twitter accounts to handle customer service. LinkedIn actually
uses a separate account called @LinkedInHelp. The goal of this account is to
not attract more followers (although it does have 53.7K followers) but rather
to provide support for LinkedIn users everyday of the week. The account
interacts with users through direct message and the feed consists of mainly
praise and compliments—providing social proof for professional network.
Talking to Twitter. LinkedIn uses its main account to mainly highlight features of the platform and provide links to blog posts. Occasionally it asks questions and even posts casual tweets that receive positive responses such as:
Energizing with Twitter. LinkedIn wants to hear what customers are thinking including outside of the using the platform. It often tweets questions such as Feeling resilient today. How about you? and Fill in the blank: If I could work at one of the #LinkedInTopStartups, it would be at ____ doing ___. Some funnier questions would include its tweet for National Video Games Day with Why do you face characters called “bosses” at the end of video games? You don’t even work for them. These tweets are intended to get consumers excited about certain topics and show that LinkedIn also cares about more than getting people to use the platform.
Supporting with Twitter. Not
only does LinkedIn have an official and customer service account, but many of
its staff also has individual accounts. Last year, I was able to meet Rosanna
Durruthy, the Vice President and Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
at LinkedIn at a conference. She encouraged attendees to follow her @talentalchemist and other staff on Twitter so that they could be a resource particularly in the
job search.
Embracing with Twitter. While
I have not seen any tweets that ask directly for customer feedback, LinkedIn
retweets many posts from users so it shows that they are monitoring Twitter.
This is mostly seen on the customer service website.
Networking is one of the most
powerful ways to find resources and gain opportunities. With more and more
people going online and joining social media, LinkedIn is meeting people where
they are and making it easier to bring professionals together.
These days, having a LinkedIn
account is as typical as having a Facebook or Instagram account. Have you perfected
your bio yet?
I really like this analysis of how a social media company liked LinkedIn can still make great use of another social media company in Twitter, and the way you address its different interactions with the groundswell. I definitely have not perfected my LinkedIn bio yet but discussions of the platform in this class are really encouraging me to work on that asap.
ReplyDeleteInteresting look at how one company is using one specific groundswell technology to connect with customers. It certainly adds another dynamic since LinkedIn is another social media platform, but they seem to use Twitter like any business could (and should!) It is especially interesting to see they are providing support services through Twitter. They are supporting the groundswell by going to their customers where they are in the groundswell. Seems like a good strategy.
ReplyDeleteA few weeks ago, Clark actually did a headshot photo session for students to use for their profile pictures on LinkedIn, and to make them more professional! It's interesting that a university would contribute to their students' social media. When I was studying abroad last semester, one of my courses in London also did a LinkedIn class session. It really is an international phenomenon!
ReplyDeleteIt is quite interesting that LinkedIn is on twitter. I mean it is another social media platform that many people use. I guess LinkedIn is trying to find various means in connecting with its users and making LinkedIn feel like a different entirety on twitter as opposed to how it is being used in its own platform. LinkedIn is in a way appreciating other forms of Groundswell by using Twitter.
ReplyDelete