LinkedIn: what should you be monitoring?

     I would argue that LinkedIn is the most business-focused social media site out there. There are more than 135 million professionals around the world using LinkedIn as of November 2011. Its purpose is for networking, recruiting, content promoting (when relevant!), and generating thought leadership. Let’s focus on the last two.

     LinkedIn is a great platform for individual employees to develop thought leadership and grow a company’s reach as a whole.

So what should you be monitoring on LinkedIn to do just that?

• LinkedIn Answers: This section of LinkedIn is a great way to showcase your expertise. Many LinkedIn users use this feature to request information,  resources, business tips, and advice. Similar to Twitter, LinkedIn enables you to monitor questions that are relevant to your business and industry. By taking a moment to respond with a thoughtful answer, you could win “Best Answer”. When answering, you also have the opportunity to link to relevant resources. Did you or your company recently publish a blog article that addresses the topic in question? You should link to it!
• Group Discussions: LinkedIn members also interact often within LinkedIn Groups by posting discussion questions, topics, and more to the group. These discussions offer other opportunities to answer, comment, and link to your resources when it makes sense and is valuable to the community.

     Source: How to monitor your Social Media presence in 10 minutes a day (Rebecca Corliss, Hubspot) e-book