When I consult on LinkedIn marketing I cover four features of LinkedIn essential for marketing: Groups, Company pages, Answers and the LinkedIn Status Bar. The last two in particular are probably the most underutilized features on LinkedIn for marketing.
If you held my feet to the fire, and told me I could only choose Answers or Status Bar going forward, I would pick the Status Bar in a heartbeat! It is truly an amazing marketing tool - if used properly.
Inadvertently, the Status Bar made the tech news recently with Twitter announcing they would no longer allow tweets to be posted back to LinkedIn. But what you may not know is that LinkedIn still allows for integration of their Status Bar messages into Twitter.
The LinkedIn Status Bar - What is It? Why Should I Care?
Right at the top of the LinkedIn homepage - next to your picture is a box that says: "Share an update." It also has a Twitter icon on the lower right hand corner that has a checkbox next to it. This is the LinkedIn Status Bar.
At 140 characters the Status Bar allows you to share quick updates with your networks on LinkedIn and Twitter. If you decide you don't want to share on Twitter, uncheck the Twitter box and you can share a longer message.
With the Status Bar you can also add a link to an article, blog post, press release - whatever you want to share. Starting to see where the marketing aspect of this comes in to play?
Once you've posted an update your LinkedIn connections can see your update on their homepage, right below LinkedIn Today - LinkedIn's newsfeed. Your status updates will also show up on your profile, if you've enabled that feature.
Another important feature of the LinkedIn Status Bar is the ability of your network to Like, Comment and Share your status. LinkedIn is constantly learning from other social networks and incorporating the features that make sense for business.
Tips on Using the LinkedIn Status Bar for Marketing
There are several ways to use the LinkedIn Status Bar for marketing:
1. Share a blog post. If you have a blog for your organization - or a personal blog - you can write up a quick summary of the post and attach a link to it on the Status Bar. It will then be shared on your LinkedIn network and Twitter (if you want to do so). Remember, your network can then share your latest update, like it and comment on it. This will help propagate the message even further.
2. Increase the reach of a press release - When you send out a release of importance, you can post it through the LinkedIn Status Bar, with a link to the complete news release and your network(s) will get the information that way.
Again, your connections can share, like and comment on the status and their networks will get the press release information too.
3. Media coverage or bylined articles - If are covered by the media or you write an article for an industry publication, post it to the Status Bar. Include the link to the article and ask your network to like, share and comment.
4. Promote an event - Hosting an upcoming event or conference? In addition to using traditional channels to market your event - write up a short description with a link to the event's website and send it out through the LinkedIn Status Bar.
5. Job Opportunities - Is your organization hiring? Let people know about it through the LinkedIn Status Bar. Post a brief description of the job and add a link to your careers page.
A Few Rules of the Road for the LinkedIn Status Bar
Like any marketing tool, it's easy to overuse and abuse the LinkedIn Status Bar. Make sure when you post that the update is not too blatant. Stay away from sales language - limited time offers, free, act now, etc.
Before you post an update, ask yourself if your LinkedIn connections would be interested in the information you're posting. If one of your connections posted what you did, would you be offended or put off? When in doubt, don't post it.
The frequency of postings on the Status Bar is another important rule of the road. Don't post the same information several times a day. If you do decide to post multiple times - do it every other day and change up the language to make it fresh.
Finally, intersperse your marketing postings on the Status Bar with information - an article or blog post for instance - that you think your connections might find interesting. Mix it up and the marketing messages you do post will be better accepted by your network.
Final Thoughts
LinkedIn has many features that can be used for marketing. But, there are rules of the road. If you try and bombard your network with marketing messages, and nothing else, you run the risk of being ignored and possibly losing connections.
Like any marketing channel, you need a well-thought-out plan in order to take advantage of it and use it correctly. Status Bar, Company Pages, Groups and Answers are key LinkedIn marketing channels. Used wisely, they can make a big difference in your marketing efforts.
As always, I am very interested in hearing your questions on LinkedIn, so feel free to send them to me and I'll endeavor to answer them in future columns.
Want to connect on LinkedIn? Send me an invite and I'll gladly accept your invitation!