10 Things you didn’t know about LinkedIn

1. LinkedIn is one of the oldest surviving and thriving networks. It launched in 2003. Think about this next time you hear “[Insert new kid on the block] is the New MySpace/Facebook…”
2. What the heck is a “L.I.O.N?” You may have seen this acronym on some user’s profiles. It is not endorsed by LinkedIn and simply means this person is a super connected person, its stands for “LinkedIn Open Connector” as in “will add anyone.”
3. Just like the other social networking behemoth, Facebook, LinkedIn is also a work in constant progress and is continuously being updated. “Event Listings” and “Product Pages” are just two of the recent deadpooled features drawing the ire of digital marketers but also keep them on their toes.
4. Knowing the benefits of advanced searches and how to utilize filters and differing account advantages can give any salesperson, researcher or HR rep. a huge edge on the competition.
5. Community groups are excellent for networking, finding useful information and even distinguish yourself or your brand as an industry leader. The largest group on LinkedIn is “Job Openings, Job Leads, and Job Connections” and has 1,387,821 members. But they are absolutely tedious to maintain and poorly structured for community managers who need data to provide actionable insights:
   a. No efficient way to analyze deep insights for owned groups
   b. No storage or time range options for analytics
   c. No way to examine engagement or users either
   d. Spammers: oy, vey, the spammers are out of control
   e. There are no third-party tools to analyze, schedule, or assist group owners in any way.
   f. There are no buttons, feeds or any sort of tool to promote groups outside of LinkedIn.
   g. When you search for groups, there is no way to filter for group size or most engaged or which ones are truly open to post.
   h. There is no way of knowing how your group ranks among others.
   i. There is a limit to how many groups you can join or moderate.
   j. There is a limit of 5 times (EVER) that you can modify your groups’ branding.
   k. You can invite large numbers of people to your group but you can’t modify or customize the canned impersonal LinkedIn message attached leading to a poor experience all around.
   l. There is an invite ceiling for groups. It can be increased by request but there is no way to gauge where you are in proximity to your limit. It varies by group.
   m. SWAM (Site Wide Automatic Moderation) has made group owners pay the price for out of control spammers. If someone is blocked and deleted in one group, they are automatically moderated (and not allowed to post unless approved manually) in EVERY other group they have joined. Most people are both angry and confused about this and just contact Group Managers who can do very little.
   n. There seems to be a disconnect between the LinkedIn mobile apps and the website. Many people using an ipad or the app don’t know how to join a group or even which group they have been invited to join.
   o. There is no way to track response rates for announcements that have been sent to a group and no way to archive or analyze past announcements.
   p. LinkedIn Polls for groups are sort of a joke: There is no way to see votes unless you vote, forget about insights.
   q. Learn from the big guys: If you care about influence more than numbers, make your group super niche to create a topical powerhouse or go broader if you want to build a amplification/prospecting platform.
6. Job seekers who have applied to a job via LinkedIn and go back to look at the listing using the mobile app cannot open or see the listing anymore. This makes no sense to me.
7. Many people under utilize their contacts: you can use services like Google+, Gmail’s Rapportive & the Outlook plug-ins to export or connect to your contacts outside of LinkedIn.
8. It is mind boggling to me how many people use an inappropriate profile picture or post content that raises eyebrows on this network. Keep it professional and stay away from made up job titles and risqué photos.
9. Everyone can now become a LinkedIn influencer and publish content. The field has been leveled and open to all.
10. The most successful groups and brand pages have a dedicated team or staff member monitoring, posting and maintaining brand promise, daily if not on an hourly basis.