LinkedIn: The Secret Menu

SOURCE: Addvocate

As a Californian and lover of all things In & Out Burger, do you know how pumped I was when I found out that there was a secret menu with things such as Animal Style Fries and Protein Style Burgers. I felt like a kid on Christmas. Fast forward to my life as a professional marketer. As a pretty socially savvy content contributor I felt like I was comfortable and new my way around channels such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. And then to my shock and excitement, I found out there were more capabilities at my finger tips that I didn’t even know existed.  While the standard LinkedIn user engages with the platform simple to develop new network connections, with this revolution of content marketing taking social by storm, some users want more out of their LinkedIn Profile.

Here are 5 secret menu options that LinkedIn has that you may or not be aware of:

Pulse

LinkedIn announced pulse on their blog last winter stating: Whether you’re commuting to work or waiting for a meeting to start, even in five minutes you can turn an idea into an action plan with the right insight and knowledge. We believe these moments exist throughout the day and can be used to make you even more productive, inspired, and informed to make better business decisions about your job and your career. Pulse and LinkedIn technology have been fully integrated to offer a more relevant news experience with content tailored to your professional interests both on the Pulse app and on LinkedIn.com.

Portfolio Profiles

LinkedIn nailed it on their information page on profiles: “Don’t just say it. Display it. Now you can add your work to your profile. Showcase everything from portfolio pieces to presentations to videos.” This newer piece of functionality is a great way to help your personal brand stand out from the masses and help you get noticed.  It is simple a three step process: 1. Choose your favorite pieces of content or videos  2. Upload them from your desktop or from hosted sites 3. Let your work shine.

Education

LinkedIn for Education. Now you are talking! This is the next step in building your professional career at a young age. The tagline says it all: “Powered by the career paths of over 300 million members – our tools for students, alumni, schools, and employers can help you find your way.” As an individual you now have the power to connect with a part of your past or current existence that can help drive new connections and potential career opportunities. You can follow the schools that you have or are attending to make sure you don’t miss a beat. Students, Schools and Employeers now have a new way to collaborate.

Contact Integration

As you become more seasoned in your professional career and expand the reach of your personal brand, you continue to meet more people along the way. But some of us don’t have photographic memory and perhaps forget those business connections we have met a week, month or years ago. But remember you sent that one person you met that one day an email? Well LinkedIn can now access it and help build your network. By going to your Contacts section, you have the ability to sync your contacts from a variety of sources such as gmail, yahoo, or even your iPhone address book. This will now ensure that no contact goes cold and you can continue to build your network in an easy, fashionable manner.

@mentions

Whoever said that @mentions are only for Twitter are incorrect. Other social media platforms have pushed the @mention feature to attribute posts or pictures to certain people.  And LinkedIn has now seen the value in this attribution feature so you are now able to call out or at-mention certain people when you publish content or post a story on LinkedIn. LinkedIn states on their blog: “Mentions will make it easier for you to start conversations with your network while also enabling you to respond in real-time when someone begins a conversation with you.”

There you have it. The bread & butter of LInkedIn or perhaps it’s just a taste of what’s on their secret menu. I encourage you all to check it out and expand the reach and depth of your personal brand.