Email Memorandum: 10 Best LinkedIn Practices/Content (Quentin Michalchuk)

MEMORANDUM

To: Eugenia Fasciani, Claire Eccles, Hilton Ma, Members of the ENGL 301 Writing Team, Pencil Pack
From: Quentin Michalchuk, ENGL 301 Student
Date: October 26^th, 2020
Subject: Research of Best Linked In Practices

With over 80% of available jobs no longer posted in classified ads or on internet job boards, recruiters have transitioned to professional networking sites including LinkedIn (Slone, 2).  Therefore, it is more important than ever that in the competitive online environment, current and recently graduated college students’ online presence be distinguished from the multitude of others.  Listed below are ten best practices for professional networking on LinkedIn.

1. Fully Complete the LinkedIn Page – you will get 30% more weekly views (Lua)
2. List your current position – this will boost connection requests by fivefold (Lua)
3. List five relevant skills according to your current profession – this increases the chance of profile discovery and messaging by 31 times (Osman)
4. Ensure your photo is professional – it will generate 14 times more views than other types of profile pictures (Osman)
5. Include visuals – this will increase commenting by 98% (Osman)
6. Use the analytics – engagement rate, clickthrough rate, and visitor information can help in adjustment of profile marketing to suit target audiences (Reilly)
7. Post updates in the morning – according to LinkedIn, “updates posted in the morning earn the highest engagement, with a slight bump occurring again after business hours” (“LinkedIn Pages Best Practices”)
8. Use colleagues’ LinkedIn profiles as templates – with permission, colleagues can assist with the LinkedIn building process, increasing profile readability and engagement
9. Connect with colleagues – once 150 followers have been gained, opportunity for growth becomes exponential (“LinkedIn Pages Best Practices”)
10. Consider using videos – during the Beta release of LinkedIn video, videos were shared 20 times more than other content (Lua)

These practices are focused around content instead of structure because LinkedIn structure can be variable; one should emphasize readability over maintaining a recipe. Eye-catching unique qualities are key (one can always find templates online); these will set you apart from others.

Works Cited

“LinkedIn Pages Best Practices.” LinkedIn Marketing Solutions, business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/linkedin-pages/best-practices.

Lua, Alfred. “The Quick Guide to LinkedIn Marketing: 9 Best Practices.” Buffer Library, Buffer Library, 30 June 2020, buffer.com/library/linkedin-marketing/.

Osman, Maddy. “Mind-Blowing LinkedIn Statistics and Facts (2020).” Kinsta Managed WordPress Hosting, 19 Oct. 2020, kinsta.com/blog/linkedin-statistics/.

Reilly, Kate. “10 LinkedIn Profile Summaries That We Love (And How to Boost Your Own).” 10 LinkedIn Profile Summaries That We Love (And How to Boost Your Own) | LinkedIn Talent Blog, 16 July 2019, business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/blog/linkedin-best-practices/2016/7-linkedin-profile-summaries-that-we-love-and-how-to-boost-your-own.

Shore, Jennifer. “17 LinkedIn Marketing Best Practices.” Inbound Marketing Agency, www.smartbugmedia.com/blog/17-linkedin-marketing-best-practices.

Slone, Amanda Ruth, and Amy L. H. Gaffney. “Assessing Students’ Use of LinkedIn in a Business and Professional Communication Course.” Taylor & Francis, 9 Sept. 2016, www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17404622.2016.1219043.