I’ve noticed recently more and more people using their Linkedin status bar. Trends in how people are using this seem to be developing with uses ranging from sharing thoughts on famous inspirational quotes, updating on personal achievements, through to directly petitioning for a new consultancy project or interim assignment. If used thoughtfully, I think the Linkedin status bar is an incredibly useful tool for any of us who want to reach out to our connections, potential clients and suppliers. Ultimately it’s all part of our personal brand, and the message that we want to convey to our personal business community. On the other hand, like on other social media networking sites it’s easy to get status update overload if the information is not thoughtfully targeted . Out in the blogosphere some folk are grumbling about the effect that the new connection between Twitter and Linkedin is having on the status updates that are coming through into Linkedin. The gripe seems to be that if status updates are unselectively pushed through from Twitter into Linkedin, content which was appropriate in one environment is going into a social environment where it may not quite fit. .
Anyway, as a result of all this status updating activity I have noticed, I began to wonder how much direct business people found they have gained from using their Linkedin status, as I have noticed candidates, recruiters, and consultants beginning to use it in a very direct way . I ran a short poll ( using Linkedin of course) and though not statistically significant by any means the results were interesting. The question was ‘Have you ever been offered a consultancy project or other business as a direct result of updating your Linkedin status bar’. 75% said no, and 25% said they had. Commentators on the poll noted that there was also a ‘sort of’ answer as the general reaching out, brand building and connecting they were able to achieve via Linkedin status had more indirectly led to business.
At any rate, this is quite something… 25% said yes!!!!! So I guess the message is, give it a go. Some great ( anonymous!) status updates I’ve seen include :’ x has successfully completed an assignment in Geneva, and developed great understanding of area Y’ ‘ ‘Y’s new product is showcasing at the Z leading industry exhibition next week’ . The key seems to be to keep it positive, informative and consistent with your personal identity.
