Thanks for Fred Taylor for finding this article and re-posting it.
Job Seekers and Employers Look to Keep Up With LinkedIn
February 25, 2013
Kevin Allenspach
Tim Johnson grew up in Elk River, served in the Air Force and later chased his dream to be a radio personality by taking requests in studios as far away as Alaska and as near as KCLD-FM in St. Cloud.
A self-described online technology addict, he began to integrate social media into his career 10 years ago when he developed a MySpace page as the night disc jockey for a top-40 station in Anchorage.
"I didn't know what I was doing, but it gave me a chance to interact with people in a different way," said Johnson, 36, who has since completed undergraduate and graduate programs in mass communications at St. Cloud State University. Last year, Johnson became a graphics and communications specialist and social media trainer for Resource Training & Solutions. "I could build a
lot of connections instead of counting on people to use the call line."
He later progressed along with the technology to Facebook and Twitter.
There, he learned the delicate balance of marketing and advertising in
communications -- and how to make an ad not sound so much like an ad.
Increasingly, though, he's learned a lot about what other people are
coming to know: When it comes to business and careers, the best online
networking tool available may be LinkedIn, a publicly held diversified
business model with revenues coming from member subscriptions, advertising
sales and talent solutions.
"I think you have to look at some of these tools (as if they were)
specialty cable channels," Johnson said. "Facebook is about your home life.
Twitter is like happy hour, and LinkedIn is strictly business. To me, it's
become the most important way to network, find jobs and research potential
employers. With 60 percent of them using social media to vet the hiring
process, LinkedIn can make a difference up to the interview level if your
profile matches up well with your resume."
More than a resume, though, LinkedIn profiles can showcase your work. You
can post photos and link to examples of your best work. You can't do that on a
one-page resume.
According to The Wall Street Journal, 60 percent of small-business owners
say they believe social media tools are valuable to their companies' growth.
But just 3 percent said Twitter had the most potential to help their
organization.
LinkedIn topped The Wall Street Journal survey, with 41 percent singling
it out as most beneficial to their company. By comparison, 16 percent chose
YouTube and 14 percent picked Facebook.
The same survey also pointed out most business owners don't have anyone
dedicated to social media campaigns, and one-third of businesses spend no time
on social media at all.
Since 2008, LinkedIn has let small- and medium-sized businesses create
free company pages. It has about 2.6 million organizations with an active
profile, though it's impossible to discern how many are large corporations or
small businesses.
"Whatever they're doing, they're doing it right," Johnson said.
On Feb. 7, LinkedIn announced its financial results for 2012. Revenue
increased 86 percent to $972.3 million from $522.2 million. In 2013, that
number is expected to top $1.4 billion.
But it's not only job seekers who are using LinkedIn. Bruce Hagberg is
owner and CEO of riteSOFT, a St. Cloud-based company that develops commercial
data collection software for manufacturing and distribution companies. He has
used business-centric social media -- such as Praxon, Spoke and Jigsaw -- for
more than eight years. He's come to the conclusion that LinkedIn is more
relevant than anything to come along so far.
"I don't consider myself a power user, but I use LinkedIn every single
business day," said Hagberg, who has written articles about the benefits of
LinkedIn and Skype in the corporate world. "I can't say that about Facebook or
any other social media tool, though there are similarities with Facebook in
how you can make instant connections and how you put on your page how you want
to represent yourself."
"It'
s a great equalizer because you get to choose who you are and what
you say about yourself," said Hagberg, who got on LinkedIn more than six years
ago. LinkedIn launched in 2003 and now has more than 200 million users --
including executives from every Fortune 500 company.
"People might fluff up their resume, but you're less likely to do that on
LinkedIn because you're connected with people who know you," he added. "It's
still possible to lie, but it's harder. And, to another person looking at you,
the better your connections the better your brand reputation."
Advertising Option
Targeted advertising is helping to fuel LinkedIn's rise. RiteSOFT is just
one example. Hagberg's company advertises on LinkedIn but only to a group that
is interested in bar coding and labor collection technology.
Hagberg said the ads cost little for riteSOFT, which pays only when
people click on their banner. That takes users to a video demo of its
products. And Hagberg is happy to pay a little to get people who work in or
are otherwise interested in his industry that far.
"I can't point to a closed sale yet, but it's produced many solid leads,"
he said. "Time will tell. Overall, however, I can say LinkedIn has brought us
money. Otherwise I wouldn't be on it."
You never know how it might pay off. A few years ago, Hagberg was doing
market research on LinkedIn. He found a consultant in the United Kingdom who
belonged to the same LinkedIn interest group. Hagberg initiated contact and
received a response in seconds. After subsequently communicating via Skype,
Hagberg had a reseller partner that now has about a dozen riteSOFT customers.
While a basic LinkedIn account is free, upgraded plans range from $19.95
per month to $74.95 per month. The extra charges allow users to know who has
viewed their profile, access profiles for anyone in their network, search
references and send direct messages. Basic accounts restrict activity to close
connections.
Both Johnson and Hagberg use the free service, which is the level more
than 90 percent of members have. Johnson estimates about 8 percent of LinkedIn
consumers use the pay levels of the service. He said 70 million of the users
are in the United States.
"That represents about half of the American work force," Johnson said.
"You can use it to learn of job openings you might be interested in. You can
look at the resume of the person who has a job you want and see how you
compare. The things you have in common are the things you'd want to make
bullet points in any communication with an employer."
Johnson said his communications professors advised college students to
delete their Facebook accounts and open one on LinkedIn.
"If you've got pictures of yourself on Facebook with a beer bong at the
beach, it's probably pretty sage advice," Johnson said. "I've got my Facebook
account locked as tight as possible and my LinkedIn profile as open as
possible."
Johnson also advises following company pages. You might find a job
posting or run across someone you know who knows someone who works there.
"If you can get a personal introduction, that helps keep you in
consideration," he said. "On the other hand, you might find out about
someone's reputation you would potentially be working with and decide that's
not a place you want to work. That's just as important as finding a place you
want to work."
Source: (c) 2013 St. Cloud Times (St. Cloud, Minn.) Distributed by MCT Information Services
All the best,
Keith Bogen, SPHR - MS - MAHuman Resources Business Partner - Talent Acquisition Leader
Keith.Bogen@yahoo.com/ +1-609-577-1061 Mobile & Text
Chief Networking Officer - Whine & Dine Networking LLC
Business Manager - www.NAPower.com/221860
"You have not lived a perfect day... unless you have done something
for someone who willnever be able to repay you." ~ Ruth Smeltzer 
