Time for the weekly update of the LinkdIn/Facebook Social Media Research effort...this stage of my research is qualitative as I am trying to get a handle on what applications are used to build business and in what ways...later, I will start working on quantative measures of actions...that's if we conclude that either application would be valuable for businesses.
Last week, I discovered ways to connect on both LinkdIn and Facebook, met new people and found out why these applications are so attractive... They essentially allow us to find and connect with people in a really targeted way. An incredibly efficient way to network and advertise. That alone may make it wise to spend a bit of time on these sites.
This week, I discovered a couple of things about Facebook...First of all, it is incredibly easy to create a contact group and to start an interactive conversation. The thread appears on your profile and all comment participants (by the way, there are 14 of you in this group) can interact with each other...a great feature for my purposes and definitely has social application potential. There is currently a conversation about uses for Facebook in a business context...and so far, everyone is drawing a clear line of distinction between work and social, LinkdIn for the former and Facebook for the latter.
I also used the search feature to find other foodies or local people...but I found it to be hard to use and not incredibly accurate with results...still found three people to add and sent messages. I also joined 5 larger groups, none of which are in my home city of Portland. In the next week or so, I plan on adding my business to Facebook to see what results I will get.
If you would like additional reading on FB, check out Managing the Gray and Face Reviews.
LinkdIn was a bit more productive...There are 15 folks participating in LI, and I joined 6 groups, all of which are local. LinkdIn actually offers suggestions about how to use their site. I searched and found this...
Leveraging
Your Group Membership
I've
joined my group on LinkedIn, now what?
You now have access to a tool that allows you to fully leverage your entire personal and professional network in one simple step. Click on the link on your homepage to browse or search your fellow group members’ profiles. Information you learn about your peers’ backgrounds and expertise will be highly relevant to your professional needs and inquiries. When you have searched and found a fellow group member you wish to reach out to, you can contact that member on a 1-to-1 basis, rather than sending your requests to a mass email list.
This seemed like a great idea...so I answered a question on nonprofits and social media and made a cool connection to a nonprofit group called We Are Media. I also asked my 92 connections this question... "I am trying to understand the value of groups in LinkdIn, will you tell me your experience?"
Out of 92, I had 17 answers...which was way more than I thought I would get. An awful lot of people had no idea what to do with groups, except find college friends...some people had other ideas, like:
- Use it to research potential employees or potential contract relationships
- Building references
- Using the groups feature to connect around a specific event
Also, Micah Elliott left me a great link to his take on being a LinkdIn newbie...check it out!
I have heard that LinkdIn is in the process of adding new features...so we will see what else comes about.
I can tell you I discovered a couple of things...One, the ask a question feature, whether it is to the whole of Linkd In or your contacts, is really great. It is a prompt for interaction, one of the very few I have seen on this site. Second, I am really ambivalent about the "don't add people you don't know well" advice that is frequently offered. I mean, if I am not going to connect with people I DON'T know, why am I using this service at all? That's what Outlook is for...
More next week...
