What Are Some Of The Lesser Known Hacks On Linkedin?
Julia Doherty
?? Business Mentor | ?? Qualified Coach | ?? Outdoor Enthusiast" "Business success isn’t just about profit, it’s about freedom. Let’s build both. ??????
There are lots and lots of hacks for LinkedIn, and if you are not keen on upgrading to the premium packages then there are usually workarounds that can help you achieve the same results.
In this blog, I will be sharing (in my own words!) with you eleven key hacks or lesser known features of LinkedIn that may help you in your daily activities on this fantastic platform.
Note: original article was written here on the Green Umbrella Marketing Ltd website. This is my own unique content. https://www.green-umbrella.biz/2015/08/what-are-some-of-the-lesser-known-hacks-on-linkedin/
Hack #1 – Reorder your groups
When I am teaching people how to use LinkedIn properly, the subject of groups always comes up. Many people have too many groups that they are active in (in my opinion). LinkedIn limit you to 50, but for some reason, this seems to be a target to strive towards rather than thinking about using this feature of LinkedIn in a rational way. Anyway, if you are running a group on LinkedIn then you want that group to be showcased at the top of your groups on your profile. Take the time to re-order your groups on LinkedIn so that the most important groups are showcased.
Hack #2 – Find out who has viewed your profile (without upgrading)
As you may know, LinkedIn will show you a limited number of people that have viewed your profile on the free version of LinkedIn. Did you know that if you log out and then log back in again, you will see some different faces in this section? Cool eh?
Hack #3 – Turn off your activity broadcasts when updating your profile
Ideally, your LinkedIn profile should be tweaked and updated at least once every three months. However, if you are about to make lots of changes on your profile then the last thing you want to do is flood your network by posting every single tweak into your newsfeed. I suggest turning off your activity broadcasts, make the changes and then turn it back on again (don’t forget to turn it back on!).
Hack #4 – Are you logged into lots of sessions?
When LinkedIn quietly launched “sessions” I was amazed to find that my address was logged in 44 times throughout the UK. If you have been on LinkedIn in coffee shops, airports or whilst out seeing a client, then I urge you to check your LinkedIn sessions and log out. To find out what sessions you are logged into go towww.dhirubhai.net/settings/sessions
Hack #5 – Don’t pay for inmails
I am not sure about you, but when I get an inmail it is because people want to sell to me. I have therefore switched them off in my settings. If you are using inmails, put yourself in the shoes of the recipient. Are they of the mindset that you simply want to sell them something as well? If you want to write an email to someone then I have found it more effective to actually email them using their proper email address, rather than LinkedIn inmail.
How to you do this?
- Using LinkedIn, source the persons name and company
- Visit referyes.com and register a free account.
- At the bottom, go to email search
- Place the first name, last name and company web address and click search
- Hey presto – there is the email address.
I love this tool, it’s brilliant!
If you did want to message people within LinkedIn, then send them a message within the group rather than paying for inmails.
Hack #6 – Respond when someone sends you a connection request
I know this sounds obvious to most, but I don’t think many people do it. Most people tend to send connection requests because of the LinkedIn algorithms. They don’t think much about it, or they may think “this person sounds interesting and click connect”. The other person clicks accept and then that’s it. Another person in your address book is added.
Make it part of your process to respond to a connection request. Don’t miss the opportunity to open a dialogue. Do the human thing and say “hello” back – it is amazing how this will make you stand out from the crowd.
Hack #7 – Never, ever, ever send out the generic connection request
It’s impersonal and I guarantee that your conversion rate will be lower than those that are making a bit of an effort with their introductions.
Hack #8 – Use external sources to search Linkedin
We now have a commercial limit on LinkedIn for the number of searches that you can conduct. In addition to this, you are also limited to the search results, and LinkedIn will only showcase people from your network.
We all know that LinkedIn is indexed by Google, which means that every profile and all details will be searchable, if you know how.
There are two free tools that can help you find people on LinkedIn that I would recommend
2. Sourcehub by Social Talent.
The other tool that I mentioned earlier in this blog to find email addresses, also lets you look for people in LinkedIn (referyes.com)
Here is a quick video showing you the process of searching Google using external software.
Hack #9 – Find out how many connections people have
A long time ago, LinkedIn put a limit on showcasing how many connections people have to stop the “I’ve got more connections that you have” war. Then capped this at 500+ connections (showing that you have an established network).
If you want to see how many connections / followers a person has simply click on their profile and then tap the small arrow to the side (near send a message). Then come down to “View recent activity”
Here you will see the number of followers / connections a person has.
Hack #10 – Always use the surname first
This is such a simple one, but my biggest tip is to always type in the surname when either tagging people in a post, or searching for them in the search bar at the top. I have no idea why, but it works so much quicker.
Hack #11 – Always delete the URL’s when posting
Another under utlised feature of LinkedIn is the ability to delete the url in an activity update once it has pulled in the details of the post. So many people leave these URL’s in the post and it just looks ugly (in my opinion).
I hope you have found some value in these hacks and tips. If you have any additional hacks then please feel free to share in the comments below.
Owner/CEO at Terri Cruce Writes. Freelance content marketing/writing services for small business owners.
9 年Great tips. I didn't know most of them as I'm still acquainting myself with LinkedIn. Thanks for a very informative post!
Commercial Director - Risk Dashboard and IoD Ambassador for Cyber Security & Risk Management
9 年Some good tips in there, thanks...
Rich, Thanks for posting this...I hadn't heard many of these previously. I discovered that I was logged in on 4 sessions!
?? Business Mentor | ?? Qualified Coach | ?? Outdoor Enthusiast" "Business success isn’t just about profit, it’s about freedom. Let’s build both. ??????
9 年Kurt - thank you so much for those instructions. I didn't know you could do that on the app.
?? Business Mentor | ?? Qualified Coach | ?? Outdoor Enthusiast" "Business success isn’t just about profit, it’s about freedom. Let’s build both. ??????
9 年Damon, thanks for commenting. I'm a recruiter at heart, 20 years in the industry and I had my own agency for 11 of those years. I still feel that a direct email, rather than inmail is more effective (unless you are in exec search, or supplying a niche area). If you are lower level commercial then direct is best (in my opinion).