This is the final article in the LinkedIn For Business series. I hope you’ve learned one or two things about using LinkedIn to build your business presence online.
In this last article we’re going to look at how to use LinkedIn applications for your blog, Twitter account and other online properties.
LinkedIn has partnered with dozens of online companies to help its users have more interactive as well as more effective profiles. These partnerships gave rise to what is referred to as LinkedIn Apps. The applications under the LinkedIn Apps banner allow users to connect other web content to their LinkedIn profiles.
For instance, you can connect your business website to your profile so that whenever your website gets updated, your LinkedIn profile will get the updates as well.
In essence, it’s content amplification. It’s a two-way process. Your LinkedIn profile promotes your business website and vice versa. Your profile sort of serves as a content aggregator of all your online accounts like Twitter, blogs, etc.
Here’s a short list of some of the best LinkedIn applications:
1.The BlogLink app. This app allows you to stay connected with all the other bloggers in your LinkedIn network. It pulls and aggregates the latest blog posts from them and feed them into your profile. This way, you stay informed about what’s happening around your trusted network.
If you have your own blog, add it to your profile as well so that your network will be aware of it. It’s as simple as getting the RSS feed of your blog and placing it into the application. This a great traffic-building tool as well if you have a lot of people in your network.
2. The Twitter app. In using this app, all your Twitter updates will be sent to your home feed. This can get annoying at first but you and your connections will soon get used to it. Furthermore, trends have shown that Twitter updates synced with LinkedIn get more interaction compared to the same tweets on the Twitter homepage. Also, Twitter updates populating your LinkedIn page will make it look fresh and updated.
3. The Amazon Reading List app. If you want to share what books you are reading to your network or you want to know what your network is reading, this is the perfect app for you. It also allows you to share the books that you are planning to read. This is a great way to find books that are relevant to your reading tastes.
4. The Box.Net app. This app enables you to share, collaborate, and exchange important data with your peers on LinkedIn. You’ll have access to free storage and collaboration features. You can even display documents right on your profile page. You can use this app to display your latest work or portfolios.
5. The Company Buzz app. If you want to know what the internet is saying about your business or company, then you better install this app. This app will tell you what people are buzzing about you. It curates the comments, tweets, and blog posts made about your company.
These are just a few of many useful LinkedIn apps. There are countless others and more will likely be developed in the future. All you have to do is find the ones that are more relevant and appropriate to the kind of business you have.
Thanks for reading and I sincerely hope that you’ve picked up a few tips on how to use LinkedIn for your business!
Article # 1: How To Set Up A Good LinkedIn Profile For Your Business
Article # 2: How To Make Start Making Connections Via LinkedIn’s Groups And Events Features
Article #3: How To Use LinkedIn Answers To Build Credibility
Article #4: How To Use LinkedIn Company Pages To Promote Your Business