*** UPDATE: Unfortunately the Events section was removed by LinkedIn at the end of 2012 and is no longer available ***
The events section in LinkedIn is a great place to promote events – I’m guessing that might not come as too big a surprise to you? However, just in case you weren’t even aware of its existence (shame on you – or should that be shame on LinkedIn?) then you will find it hidden away under the ‘More’ button on their main menu.
Hopefully that may well change but, in any case, it doesn’t take away from all the benefits it offers. And what are they, Mark, I hear you ask?
[Update: December 2012 – I’m afraid that as of November 2012, LinkedIn has decided to drop this very useful feature. While we are trying to get in re-instated through weight of requests, only time will tell.]
Well, the bits that I personally find most useful are:
- you have a template which helps you set it up with all of the right information
- it automatically creates an update which notifies your 1st level connections that you have posted the event
- it also allows you to share it with specific contacts that you add
- you get a link back to your main event page to encourage promotion there too
- it’s a great additional place to direct people towards (particularly when they’re on LinkedIn already)
- people automatically promote it to their connections when they say they’re attending
- having this extra promotional point of contact works brilliantly alongside your website and the other options out there.
- Oh and it’s free – which can’t be bad either!
No Event? No Problem!
But what if we don’t currently have an event to promote, what could be the benefit for you and me in that case? Well, as you might imagine, it’s always going to be useful to help us find events that we may wish to attend … but the real benefit starts to show itself when we simply reply to the invitation!
There’s a simple RSVP function built into each event, where you can say that you are ‘attending’, ‘interested’ or ‘presenting’ [As an aside: you can also confirm you’re ‘Not Attending’ though I’ve never quite felt the need!]
Anyway, by using the RSVP function, you are clearly communicating that you’ll be attending or are interested in the event being run. When you do so, this gets sent out to all of your 1st level connections as an update – instant kudos! You’ve just announced that the subject of the event is not just an area that you are interested in but, just as importantly, that you are active in keeping up to date about what’s going on.
That’s all well and good but how does this help us? Well:
- It adds to the information that you are sending out about yourself and what people know about you, perhaps reinforcing your ‘expert status’ if it covers an area where you are already knowledgeable;
- It also opens up the ability for people to click on your name and connect with you – and then arrange a face to face meeting at the event itself;
- It also allows you to reach out to others who have also stated an interest in the event and therefore helps extend your network;
- If those people are potential clients then it should also put you one step ahead of your competition in this respect;
- It automatically posts to your network update letting them know you are attending.
Now, that’s a lot for a single mouseclick!
So, while it may just be a simple RSVP, it’s one that can have a lot of potential benefits so do check the Events section out and see what’s going on and how you might be able to use it.
PS. if you can’t see the ‘Events’ link in the ‘More’ menu then you may need to re-install the app so go to the Applications Directory page and click on the icon below and just follow the instructions!
