LinkedIn - Connecting Local & Global

Notes from my imaginary LinkedIn Diary:

Excitement in the air. Looking forward to some special moments to share. It’s finally time. It’s time to meet the people behind their LinkedIn profiles.

It's time to connect. To take our online connections offline, face-to-face. To meet real people, in the real world. Meet the locals, meet old friends, and make some new. Talk business, talk LinkedIn best practices, talk life. Beyond job titles, beyond business cards. Just us, humans. Because each of us has a story to tell.

It's time to cooperate, to support local, to inspire each other. To think - what could our common future be like? How can we make things happen? Together?

And it's time. For fun. Laughs. Team spirit. New memories, and moments to share.

People crave authentic human connections, more than ever. Don't they? Do they? Do we?

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We organised our second LinkedIn Local event last week in Nelson, New Zealand. A topic that was at the forefront of our meeting, and that actually makes these networking events so special, I think, is: people. People who Karaena Vincent Photography captured so beautifully here.

It's also a topic that I find extremely exciting and inspired to watch on social media, as we move towards a more and more digitalized, automated world, with robots, AI, yet also finding our way - as a community -, back to basics. To the real social aspect of social media - the authentic connections, the human dimension - the people. Because social media is social. It's about people.

From right: LinkedIn Local host Wayne Densem, Nelson City Councillor Mel Courtney, Jo Kitchen/ BNZ Nelson, LinkedIn Local host Gina Munro, Evelyn O'Neill/ BNZ Nelson, Mark Rawson/ Chief Executive of the Nelson Regional Development Agency, and LinkedIn Local host (and yours truly??), Bea Pole-Bokor

This is why I would like to highlight some of my takeaways and some local best practices from our guest speakers at our event last week, on how they use LinkedIn in the #NelsonTasman region.

Watch this video with some behind the scenes here from the event:

• Nelson City Councillor Mel Courtney shared how he is using the platform to connect with the people, and via messages. It’s not a one way discussion like with traditional media. It has the potential for much more - dialogue with people who have ideas, who are bold, as he said. The ability to receive information and share information in return. The ability to channel in issues, problems, inspiration and do something about it, right away. A great example of using LinkedIn to connect with people on a local level.

"The value of immediacy of LinkedIn - using it to get the message out there, and bring messages to the Council - in real time."

• Mark Rawson, Chief Executive of the Nelson Regional Development Agency (NRDA) spoke about how using the platform enables him to share the stories of the extraordinary place we live in - mentioning the two latest local success stories of the new airport- and a world class finfish research facility -, and how it can bring growth, talent and business development to the #NelsonTasman region. A great example of connecting people beyond locations and connecting local to global.

"To create an environment where talents want to be - LinkedIn is helping us do that."

• Evelyn O'Neill, our venue host from Bank of New Zealand Nelson shared how she is using LinkedIn to make a difference and add value to business owners by posting about 4 subgroup topics like:

1. Leadership & Personal development
2. Trends & looking into the future
3. Business & Banking advisory
4. "For the hell of it - because it resonated"

A great example of connecting global and bringing it back to local.

"LinkedIn is a global network – and these posts are dedicated to the promotion of Nelson to add life and personality to this community that is my home.”

Why am I sharing these examples and best practices with you? Because at the core, I feel they have a common message for us all. Many of us here have a business or an organisation to grow. And we can use social media, and LinkedIn in particular, to connect and bring people together. To inspire each other. To support each other. To grow together. As a community. Global, and especially reaching back to the roots, to local. At the end of the day, we all have a choice. We are all humans and can be #inittogether.

The original article was published here.

Group photo & video: Astonish Me Creative.

Thank you to our amazing sponsors who contributed to the success of the event: BNZ Partners Centre Nelson, HotHouse Creative, Astonish Me Creative, WildTomato Magzine, Karaena Vincent Photography, Social Media Conference New Zealand.

Watch our official video of the event here.

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Some quick tips that I love to use, on LinkedIn, too, to foster a cooperative environment and connect with my local & global networks:

• Finding partnerships and looking for the people to team up with and support each other, especially on a local level. It can be another business, a partner business, a supplier, an institution, a community organisation, you name it. Joining forces can make life much easier and much more fun, too.
• Looking for opportunities to share and recommend each other's business, upcoming projects and also content, especially with partner businesses who have a similar target audience, because this enables us to provide extra value to our own audience, too. In real life, through word of mouth, online, on LinkedIn, by sharing posts, by writing a constructive comment that your network might very much appreciate, too.
• Remember to give, and then you will get. It's a win-win. For everyone involved.
• If I know of two businesses that can be a great fit, I recommend them to each other, or connect them, via a message, a tag in a post, as they might not be aware of each other. Even in a city of 50 000 people where the degree of separation is supposed to be minimal. :)
• And my favourite: I use social media to get linked with people and meet in real life. For me, nothing can beat a realtime, face-to-face conversation, where you not only see and hear each other, but feel each other's real presence, on a much deeper level than online platforms will ever be able to provide. This can be done on a local level very easily, and even globally. I'm always thinking - who would I like to connect with next time I travel to a new destination, a person I maybe met online, through LinkedIn, and would like to take this connection face-to-face, to the real life?

I would love to hear your thoughts! What are your best practices, tips on supporting each other, connecting people through LinkedIn, or helping each other grow?

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I am looking forward to seeing you face-to-face, at our upcoming events, maybe at our next LinkedIn Local early next year, and in the meantime, looking forward to staying in touch here, too.

Shoutout to:

• the founder of the LinkedIn Local Movement Anna McAfee.
• my co-hosts Gina Munro and Wayne Densem with who we are beyond excited to bring the LinkedIn Local initiative to our lovely region.
• my fellow Kiwi hosts in Auckland, Hamilton, Dunedin, Wellington, Christchurch and the Bay of Plenty, with who we support and inspire each other.
• my fellow global hosts all around the world, in particular D.P. Knudten and our sister city in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, with who we started at the same time.
• our amazing local & global network of inspirational people, our amazing sponsors and everyone who made this happen.

What is LinkedIn Local?

Starting off as a local initiative in the little city of Coffs Harbour, Australia, to connect the local community, in an informal, pitch-free event that is all about building genuine relations, the local has quickly grown global. The movement has taken the world by storm, with now 1000 events, 60 different countries and 360 cities participating worldwide, inspiring people to take their online connections offline, based on the ideals of authenticity, respect and collaboration.

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About Bea Pole-Bokor

A professional diplomat by training, and a digital diplomat at present, Bea helps businesses raise their profile, share their stories & promote their brand through Social Media. She believes in the power of social, and the power of people doing great things together.

You can read more articles on her blog, and find out more about her upcoming activities, workshops on B!Social. For creative stories find her on Instagram / Facebook for more tips & inspiration. You can also follow the hashtag and the #bsocialnow channel here on LinkedIn.