Social networking with a purpose

Flickr_-_boellstiftung_-_Laptop_auf_dem_Schoß
Flickr_-_boellstiftung_-_Laptop_auf_dem_Schoß

Image Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Networking online is becoming an increasingly important aspect of the PR industry. Well, any industry for that matter. I've spoken about how you present yourself on social media influences your ability to get a job, but now let's look at how social networking sites use innovative tactics to potentially create job opportunities. Specifically LinkedIn.

As the premier professional networking site, LinkedIn aims to connect people with other professionals by interest or personal connections.

The article, How to nab a job using LinkedIn's "Who's viewed your profile," gives insight into techniques the site uses to help users become better networkers. By strategically using these features, you can increase the likelihood of gaining job opportunities with organizations or people in your industry.

The "Who's Viewed Your Profile" feature is one that if used correctly,can provide a common ground for communication between another person. Whenever someone else looks at your profile it notifies you and shows their profile. As the article explains, this is similar to knocking on someone's door. You meet them, they meet you and then both of you have some common ground to talk about.

LinkedIn doesn't stop there, they also provide a slew of analytics including how often people viewed your profile, who viewed it and how people have found you. This data allows the user to formulate a sort of situation analysis for your interactions on the site. It's essentially the who, what, when, where, how of your social networking interactions.

The only part they don't answer for you... Why. The way I see it, that's the fun in it though. They give you a foundation of information to make educated an guess about why people seek you out. This also motivates interaction with the other person. I know at least for me, when people I don't know view my profile, I am incredibly curious about why they sought me out and want answers.

I personally have a LinkedIn profile that I keep up-to-date with all of my experience and projects I have worked on. But, until recently I haven't done much more with the site than endorsing skills of people I know or have done business with. The insight given in this article was particularly helpful in strengthening my understanding of how to use features like the "Who's Viewed Your Profile" in my own personal networking strategy.