The benefits of inviting colleagues to join LinkedIn…

Research from LinkedIn shows, that when employees share content (peer to peer) the viewing rates double that of a brand sharing content! Shared content is more credible content, the power of co-workers sharing doesn’t just come from the multiplication of reach, it’s also the result of the very different impact that content has when it comes from someone we know, rather than just brand.

There are lots of benefits to adding your co-workers on LinkedIn, your co-workers might have people who can also be useful connections, regardless of their geographical location. For example, if your employees have an average of 3,000 connections and you persuade just 100 of them to share an update or blog, that’s 30,000 more people who can see your content.

There’s a bit of neuroscience at work here as well, when somebody you know shares content with you, it positively influences your perception of the value of that content through the process of social validation, when you track the influence of different brands and influencer’s on LinkedIn, you will consistently find that the top performers have co-workers that regularly sharing their content.

Social validation works on the principles of liking and conformity. In the world of retail, when a consumer is unsure if he should go ahead and make a purchase, he often relies on the reviews for the particular product he is interested in. If the reviews are good, the chances of the consumer making the purchase are increased. Social validation works on the fact that if you see someone liking or promoting a product, especially if it is someone you are familiar with, you are led to believe that said product and/or service is credible.

I recommend connecting with as many different co-workers as possible, you never know to whom they are connected!