Informed Podcast by Mark Williams. The podcast for LinkedIn™️ users

Show notes   News   LinkedIn pay a measly $1 compensation to users who had their password stolen. Company pages get a new feature - notifications. A bank is accused of asking it's employees to limit the information in their profiles so that they won't get headhunted. Company sue former sales employee for taking LinkedIn contacts with them and lose because the contact list was “easily discoverable through public sources” and did not involve a lot of effort to compile, it would therefore not be considered a trade secret. Quite right to! This article can be found here but warning - its a subscription site (with a free trial). Sex offender nearly gets into trouble for using LinkedIn. Commentary   Follow up to my piece about LinkedIn ads last week. Carl sent in this funny screenshot which shows how the algorithm picks up words and feeds 'relevant' ad's to you! Could LinkedIn be considering 'retiring' groups - My prediction is that groups could be gone by the end of this year. The new homepage design hints that status updates (with links) are something that LinkedIn also wants to get rid of. The pattern LinkedIn normally demonstrates is to make a popular feature less useful/easy to use before 'retiring' it. Questions   Where can I see how many views my updates have been getting?   ANS = You can't! The new homepage design has removed this feature. Sometimes you can see the stats for your last update. This is in the top section of your homepage but only occasionally shows and can't be manually found - you just have to wait for it to appear!

Show notes   News   LinkedIn deliver impressive results for Q4 2014 as detailed here in their official announcement. They have grown membership to 347 million users and revenue for Q4 was $643m, a 44% increase on the same period last year and a total turnover exceeding $2.2b for 2014. Some of the more detailed commentary about these figures can be read here. LinkedIn launches the volunteer marketplace in the UK. LinkedIn further restrict their api making it almost impossible for anyone to develop apps that allow us to use LinkedIn in new and innovative ways. Commentary   I finally got the new home page today and I totally hate it! The major issues seem to be; You can't post a link into the text with an image status update (the workaround is to use the comments section) You no longer see the performance of your previous updates, only the most recent. There is no easy way to see how many connections you have. On the plus side.............oh, nothing!  Have you considered using a showcase page for search optimisation purposes? When the basic search is used the algorithm sorts results into categories including one for showcase pages. How long should a podcast be? Is 30 mins about right or do you think you would prefer a shorter one (15 minutes). Let me know at mark@linkedinformed.com Questions   Should I put the letter MBA after my name in my LinkedIn profile? ANS = Yes, if that is what feels right for you. It is not against the rules and it may ensure you feature in recruiters search results. It is against the rules to put any other keywords in your name field although many people do it and the search algorithm does seem to like finding words in the name field. Thank you so much for listening, I really value your support and interest.   As always I would welcome your feedback and questions. If you want to be on the show you can leave a comment by voicemail (right hand side of this page) or email me at mark@linkedinformed.com.   Help me to promote the podcast   It can be difficult to get noticed in iTunes and one thing that can really make a difference is reviews. If you enjoy the show please take a minute to write an honest review in iTunes, it would be most appreciated.   Until next time.... 

Show notes News The LinkedIn Connected app comes to Android LinkedIn have started suggesting downgrades to premium account holders - very odd! Princes Trust uses a fake homeless person profile to highlight homeless teenagers to potential employers. What are LinkedIn going to do about fake profiles? Creddle is a new CV / Resume maker from your LinkedIn profile View Art Flater's profile - go on, I dare you! Strong Q4 results expected from LinkedIn which are likely to boost other social media stocks. As mentioned I recorded this episode earlier in the week than normal. Since this the Q4 results have been published so I will cover those in more depth in the next episode. Commentary Blogging for the masses - the effect of LinkedIn publisher. With 1 million posts and more and more users starting to publish posts could LinkedIn publishing be the tool that makes blogging mainstream? In my opinion there are approaches to publishing depending on your objectives; Objective is to build your personal brand within your market / community. LinkedIn publishing is ideally suited to this. Objective is to guide people towards your website in order to build and monetize your following (online business). In this case the best tactic is to use a published post as a teaser with an incomplete post that includes a link to the complete article on your site. A good example is this post from Will Broome (the CEO of London launch who I am featuring in my new Winbusinessin serial podcast) Questions With linkedin asking us to post more, two questions:a) Where do we get cheap/free non copyright photos, or does everyone turn a blind eye? I think not!b) What is the etiquette on quoting sources? I have seen so many posts ( not yours) just quote/cut and paste chunks of others work with it looking like their own.A guide to posting without getting sued for plagiarism or copyright infringements!  ANS = Using images is critical if you want your updates or posts to get noticed but using sites like Google images does not ensure that you are not breaking a copyright. The image depositories that I use are as follows; 99c - Low cost, royalty free images (such as the one used in this post) Canva - A design creation site that also includes a good selection of images. Images cost $1 with many of the designs free. Photodune. A much bigger selection of images but more expensive ($3-5 on average). Depositphotos. Similar to above but can be cheaper if you are prepared to buy a bundle of credits. The etiquette on using sources is that if you quote directly from an article you should include a link to that article, if your piece has been inspired by reading another I think it is less important but still an option. Blatant plagiarism is obviously wrong but it does happen. I personally don't waste any time worrying about it though. Please feel free to let us have your views on this subject.

Show notes News NY Times offer 16 weeks free online access to LinkedIn premium members. Is this is sign of things to come? Condoms designer gets a breakthrough via LinkedIn LinkedIn's job search app comes to the UK. Another new rival to LinkedIn, this one is French and called Amplement. Belgium TV network 'stalks' people on LinkedIn to publicise its new TV series. Top San Francisco venture capitalist backs LinkedIn saying "Its not a human resources company, it's a data company". Quite right too! New YouWorth app uses LinkedIn skills to estimate your worth in the job market  Commentary What new LinkedIn app would you like to see? We have a listener who could make it happen. Leave a voicemail (link on the right of this page) or email me at mark@linkedinformed.com Recruitment company does tracks clients new connections and triggers a sales lead alert. LinkedIn may be introducing new Temp/contract features to profiles. New website launched for LinkedIn users who want to grow their business. Question When is it appropriate to hide your connections? ANS = Rarely in my opinion! Just because you are connected to someone doesn't indicate that you are doing business with them, most sales people would aim to connect with prospects not just customers. So why hide them? The one exception to this is Recruitment companies because of the confidential nature of their role.   Thank you so much for listening, I really value your support and interest. As always I would welcome your feedback and questions. If you want to be on the show you can leave a comment by voicemail (right hand side of this page) or email me at mark@linkedinformed.com. Help me to promote the podcast It can be difficult to get noticed in iTunes and one thing that can really make a difference is reviews. If you enjoy the show please take a minute to write an honest review in iTunes, it would be most appreciated. Until next time.... 

show notes   News LinkedIn for blue collar? I think this is great news and fits with my idea of 'LinkedIn Local'. Shapr. A new rival to LinkedIn? I don't think so but it does look interesting and solves the issue of keeping in touch with your closest contacts. 6 lessons we can take from the best company pages of 2014. Its that time of year and when the dreaded 'Top profile buzzwords' article comes out. Journalist's love it...I think its tosh! Commentary Anonymous viewers. Universally unpopular but does it really matter? Why I advise against reciprocal recommendations. Questions Showcase pages vs affiliate company pages: what are best practices? Is it worth investing time and effort or will they end up going away like product pages? ANS = An affiliated page is a company page that can be affiliated to a parent page. This can work for subsidiaries or acquired company's and might be useful when a division/subsidiary wants to have its own unique set of Showcase pages. Showcase pages are designed to create follower communities that are separate from the overall company followers, this works well when you wish to build a community around a brand or product type.    Thank you so much for listening, I really value your support and interest. As always I would welcome your feedback and questions. If you want to be on the show you can leave a comment by voicemail (right hand side of this page) or email me at mark@linkedinformed.com. Help me to promote the podcast It can be difficult to get noticed in iTunes and one thing that can really make a difference is reviews. If you enjoy the show please take a minute to write an honest review in iTunes, it would be most appreciated. Until next time.... 

News Facebook is still the top social network. This survey reported that only 13% of LinkedIn users visit the site daily in comparison to 70% of Facebook users. Scammers are using LinkedIn as a way of bypassing corporate spam filters. LinkedIn will be launching new intra-company communication tools. Is this a move to counter Facebook at work? Beware of phishing emails purporting to be from LinkedIn that are designed to steal your username and password. Always use unique passwords, I use 1Password to help me manage this. Update The new LinkedIn search restrictions and how to get around them. This is mainly an issue for recruiters because the commercial use restriction appears to be 40-60 searches a month. Two viable alternatives to upgrading your account could be; 1 premium account per office (that everyone uses when needed) Google X-ray searching Premium accounts seem to have reverted to the previous options for some (including me!) How do you listen to the podcast? If you haven't already why not subscribe on iTunes? That way you will get each episode downloaded onto your phone/device automatically each week. Commentary LinkedIn Recommendations - don't be such a cynic! Questions Help, I'm stuck in profile edit mode! ANS = No you're not! This listener is referring to the new 'permanent edit' mode that LinkedIn recently introduced. You can view your profile as others would see it by clicking on the blue box at the top as seen below;

Show notes News LinkedIn announce that publishing rights will be extended to 230 million users Taliban leader lists 'Jihad' as a skill on his profile Dutch footballer Demy de Zeeuw promotes himself on LinkedIn as available for a new club. Football agent posts that he is looking for the next Xavi or Kroos, on his LinkedIn page! Main Story - LinkedIn change search result visibility again. Commentary My LinkedIn wish list for 2015 Scheduling of status updates and posts Instant messaging via a Skype integration or LinkedIn own proprietary system LinkedIn message/InMail 'read' notifications Common meaning for simple words like 'views' for instance a post view being the same as an update view. The ability to share image based updates with individuals (see question below) Question What is the best way to ask others to share my status update? ANS = Rather than  putting something in the update or comments I would advise sending the update directly to those you know are most likely to help you. The video below explains how this is done. http://youtu.be/itS21HbXAfs Thank you so much for listening, I really value your support and interest. As always I would welcome your feedback and questions. If you want to be on the show you can leave a comment by voicemail (right hand side of this page) or email me at mark@linkedinformed.com. Help me to promote the podcast It can be difficult to get noticed in iTunes and one thing that can really make a difference is reviews. If you enjoy the show please take a minute to write an honest review in iTunes, it would be most appreciated. Until next time.... 

show notes News The top 25 skills that got people hired in 2014. Bryan Mills (aka Liam Neeson) will endorse your skills if you win a contest! Interesting to see a major film studio using LinkedIn to promote its latest movie release (Taken 3) and even more interesting to that LinkedIn are completely fine with this! Could Viadeo be a viable acquisition target for LinkedIn? Tax inspectors in Turkey use LinkedIn to catch tax evaders Commentary Do you want to find your 'future self' on LinkedIn? When you think about it you could and LinkedIn could make it even easier if they released tools to make it easier to predict your future based on real data from other profiles. Where is Jeff Weiner taking LinkedIn? I love this article and agree with the three areas that they believe LinkedIn is focussing its future on. Thanks to my two wonderful kids James & Anna for 'volunteering' to be interviewed for this show! Finally may I wish you a very merry and happy Christmas. 2015 is going to be a great year for LinkedIn and I look forward to sharing every moment of it with you. Thank you so much for listening, I really value your support and interest. As always I would welcome your feedback and questions. If you want to be on the show you can leave a comment by voicemail (right hand side of this page) or email me at mark@linkedinformed.com. Help me to promote the podcast It can be difficult to get noticed in iTunes and one thing that can really make a difference is reviews. If you enjoy the show please take a minute to write an honest review in iTunes, it would be most appreciated.  

show notes News LinkedIn have issued the following email to all premium members regarding the new InMail policy. This was originally announced to Recruiter and Sales Navigator users but as I suspected it is going to affect everyone (InMail is after all InMail!)   LinkedIn Introduces a brand new design for their home page. My thoughts are that it looks very sparse (minimalistic) and has a 'mobile feel' to it - one of the main people involved with the design was Joff Redfern who is the VP of Mobile so perhaps that explains it. I don't like the intrusion of the very prominent 'Jobs you may be interested in' (see below) especially as this account (Colin) has opted out of this in their settings!   In addition the difference between a status update with an image attached and one that simply brings an image across from a website link has increased making the attached image option much larger and therefore more effective. Below you can see the same update done twice, the top one is via the paperclip 'attach image' and the second links to a webpage with exactly the same image.   LinkedIn Announce their top 10 company pages of 2014. Update from last week New Profile Edit. Moving a current employment to the top of your experience section isn't that obvious! You need to hover over and grab the multi dotted line (see below).   Question Why are my status updates getting ignored? Status updates can be a powerful feature when used correctly, here are my guidelines for effective status updating; Always use an image by using the paperclip link in the update box. This will make your images larger and that is the most important thing, people have to see an update in the first place so large, eye catching images work. The new homepage (as shown above) makes this even more important. Posting updates in isolation is unlikely to result in many connections seeing it. The algorithm seems to prefer showing your updates to connections whom you have engaged with on LinkedIn. This means that other activities - comments, likes, views, connecting etc all count. Avoid posting links in isolation. Make your updates more interesting by making a comment to introduce a subject and support that with a link (rather than just posting a link). Ask questions and encourage others to comment, this will help to spread your update beyond your first tier connections. Avoid too many promotional updates (including vacancies). Promoting is OK so long as its not your dominant activity, for every promotional update there should be another three that are providing interesting, useful information. Timing. Avoid weekends and mornings are better than afternoons. My experience has been that 8.15-9.15 aam works best for me but every market is different so I would advise you to experiment. I use Buffer to help me schedule some updates to ensure I hit the right time. Consistency. Regular updates spread across a week are better than a 'surge' of updates across one day. This happens because we are all busy and tend to update when we can rather than in a considered, consistent manner. I also use Bufferto help with this.