The social-networking site LinkedIn is treated as perhaps the most professional of all such sites/services. People who use it might have photos of some crazy weekends, but those tend to go to Facebook. LinkedIn has almost 4 million people within its network, and some 76,000 nonprofit groups that have coalesced within it.
With such credentials and use among nonprofit employers and staff, the site has recently hired Bryan Breckenridge to establish “LinkedIn For Good,” which is meant to enrich tools and networking opportunities specifically for the nonprofit community. One of the first things he and his staff established was a handy-dandy page on their ‘Learning Center’ about how nonprofit individuals and organizations can make the most out of LinkedIn.
A Company Page is free, and can help you connect to peers and potential staff via LinkedIn Recruiter. Career Pages, which do have fees associated with them, promote nonprofits and small businesses as they search for winning candidates across the social medium.
Debra Askanase at SocialBrite.org has written a great two-part introduction about LinkedIn’s new initiative. Part One considers how LinkedIn For Good started, and how people can still influence its development. Part Two helps you and your nonprofit take your first steps into LinkedIn with advice like: “Real connecting happens within groups. Search for groups related to your profession and industry. I also recommend joining groups your professional colleagues belong to as well. If a group is inactive or not valuable, leave. If it is, spend time within the group answering questions and offering help. When you find yourself in an interesting discussion, invite your colleagues to connect with you personally on LinkedIn after the discussion has concluded.”
If you are unsure about LinkedIn as a professional networking site, watch this sharp 2-minute introductory video:
Then get your organization linked in to LinkedIn For Good.