Learning the language of LinkedIn

Let’s face it, every time you venture to new climes there’s a twang of guilt and a hint of remorse of why you don’t speak the language. 

You come back, download Duolingo, order a Rosetta Stone CD or book a night out at the local Tapas bar – with the hope that your patchy skills will carry you through the evening without making reference to anything rude or highly inappropriate.

Our journey with LinkedIn has taken a similar route – from our initial foray into using the platform in it’s earlier iterations - through to the shape it has taken for us as a business over the past three years. It has been a learning experience, a great opportunity for us to grow our brand and improve our recruitment processes – and so far nothing too embarrassing or inappropriate has happened!

Now, let’s not kid ourselves here – LinkedIn does not make tea (at least not the last time I looked), it will not fix your car and most certainly will not listen to you sobbing into a glass of Chardonnay (or similar such tipple) after you’ve lost that promotion; girlfriend/boyfriend; cat. 

However what LinkedIn will do for you is take your business to another level. It will help you reach out way beyond your network, it will give you a voice among your peers, it will amplify your brand, it can help you align your business with other like-minded companies and it will make recruitment – because ultimately that’s what it’s about for us – easier and more successful.

Looking ahead we could always see the potential for LinkedIn in our business however our business was not ready for LinkedIn. The realisation that our brand could be served up to millions of individuals and businesses is a sobering thought. Do you have a brand? Does it resonate, what does it stand for? On a practical level does the creative execution work across all mediums, is your social media and content strategy connected and embedded in your business? Do you have brand ambassadors and bloggers? Do you have the ability to train and develop your recruiters and ensure they maximise the platforms power?

It can feel a little overwhelming and from a standing start this can take time and should not be under-estimated. Without these and many other fundamentals in play you will of course be able to use LinkedIn but you won’t really maximise LinkedIN and when the time comes to justify the spend you will find this tricky.

So to draw the comparisons back to your holiday this year, be prepared – book the restaurant, practice your best accent and download your favourite app – so when the time comes you won’t embarrass yourself, you’ll enjoy the experience, get the most from your break and feel it's been money well spent!

BPS World have been recognised by LinkedIn:

Top 25 Most Inspiring Brands

Top 25 Most Socially Engaged Company

Read the case study of BPS World, REC and LinkedIN by clicking here

Natalie Spearing is Marketing Director at BPS World. She is also a speaker on the importance of Employer Brand and sits on the Global Expert advisors panel for LinkedIn.