Hello, All:
I want to start by thanking all of you who took the time to share your thoughts for the 2010 Midyear LinkedIn User Survey. I am very encouraged by the number of you who responded to the survey. Participation was up 50% from the January survey.
The next two weeks e-mail will highlight the most significant results from the survey, and, as in the past and back by popular demand, I will include the “My Two Cents” comment section. This section will attempt to take the data and share practical applications that might help you to more effectively use LinkedIn. After all, over 50% of the respondents stated that knowing the ways others are using LinkedIn can help them to improve their own use of the site. So, let’s not waste any more time and get to the results.
- How many 1st degree connections?
0-50 19%
51-100 25%
101-200 29%
201-300 10%
301-499 9%
500+ 8%
My Two Cents – I am not surprised to see that the numbers are creeping up over time. I am still a fan of keeping your network close to you until you have had time and experience to really figure out a strategy to go past those individuals whom you would consider to be “trusted professionals.”
As I have mentioned in the past, many networking books/bloggers are pretty consistent in saying that we all should have at least 200 to 250 first-level connections. With that amount of first-level connections, you will have a multi-level network on LinkedIn of 1.5 to 2 million people. That is one heck of a group of business professionals for you to search through to help you try to accomplish your business goals.
- Profile 100% complete as defined by LinkedIn – 41%
My Two Cents – Just a reminder to those of you who are part of the 59%: LinkedIn’s research says you will be 40 times more effective if you have your profile 100% complete. It is hard to believe anyone would want to spend time on something and not have the highest probability of success. If you are part of the 59%, let me ask you one more time: What are you waiting for?
- Weekly hours spent on LinkedIn
61% 0-2 hours
22% 3-4 hours
10% 5-6 hours
1% 7-8 hours
6% 8+ hours
My Two Cents – The top answer has consistently been under two hours for all the surveys I have conducted over the past two years. It has always been my hope that all of you are able to find a way to multitask and use LinkedIn while watching your favorite television show or sporting event. I am actually glad that this number is not creeping up. We don’t want to spend too much time in front of the computer screen or on our PDAs. I think some of it may also be that many of us are getting better at knowing which functions on LinkedIn are most beneficial and spending our time on those as opposed to things that are just “chatter” or busywork. We sure don’t need any more of the latter.
- Top 10 most used and helpful LinkedIn features
78% People searching
74% Groups
63% Company searching
62% People You May Know
46% Who’s Viewed My Profile
41% Review of network updates (home page)
34% Reviewing who is in your first-degree connections network
33% Status box
26% Events
25% Introduction function
My Two Cents – It is very important for you to compare what you are finding useful with what your peers are saying is working for them. If you see a LinkedIn function that you are rarely using but that is consistently being used by your peers, you may want to consider how that function can work for you as well.
Groups is continuing to be a strong application, but I will keep an eye on this, since I am finding the new revisions to be rather annoying and hard to follow. Are you wondering how I feel about this change? I sure hope it is not just because I am in my 50’s and change is a really nasty word. Stay tuned.
I am a bit surprised that the status box score is only 33%. I compared that number with prior surveys and found that the percentage has been dropping over the years. I am attributing that drop to the fairly annoying, poorly understood and many times overused Twitter interface and the fact that people might be doing more advertising and promoting of their products/services and less helping of people in their networks, which is what the function is designed for. Also, the latest revision really has the feeling of a Facebook wall, and there is more information and websites with pictures, et cetera, and so it is becoming information overload instead of a quick hit of info.
- Least used and least helpful LinkedIn features
3% Polling
6% Company Buzz
6% SlideShare
8% Saved searches
9% Twitter interface
My Two Cents – I can’t believe that only 8% of the people I polled see the advantage to having a virtual assistant looking for connections that meet the criteria they have defined as important to them. I am describing saved searches, which to me is one of the neatest things on LinkedIn. Oh, well. Maybe I and this 8% of my friends will have to form our own support group on LinkedIn to talk about just how cool we are and how most people just don’t get it.
In spite of only 6% agreeing with me, I stick with my opinion that SlideShare and Google Presentations are still two of the best profile applications because they allow you to display the credibility and expertise that differentiate you in the marketplace.
See you next week for the rest of the story.......
Miscellaneous News and Notes
Some of the other resources I provide are:
- Customized corporate training classes
- Keynote and workshop presentations for conventions and association meetings
- Corporate social media strategy consulting
- For Sale: LinkedIn training DVDs for beginners and intermediate users
- For daily tips, follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/WayneBreitbarth
Here is my upcoming schedule for teaching/speaking so you can share with friends, relatives and business associates. Follow link or paste into your browser for additional details and registration information.
Wed Aug 18, 2010 Wayne's LinkedIn Power Formula Training for Beginners
M&M Office Interiors; 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
http://budurl.com/auq5
I sure hope these survey results help you increase your effectiveness on LinkedIn.
Wayne
Wayne C. Breitbarth
President
M&M Office Interiors, Inc.
W233 N2833 Roundy Circle West Suite 100
Pewaukee, WI 53072
office 262-781-2600
cell 414-313-7785
Hi Wayne;
You do a great job!
I try to do everything you suggest!
I’m one of the 8%
Don’t know way everyone doesn’t do a “saved search”.
Just added a slide presentation.
Don’t know if anyone looks at it.
Thanks for all you do to help us!
Blessings.
Richard
Thanks Richard. Glad you are continuing to expand your profile.
Part of the problem with saved searches is that I’ve seen several people (if they mention the feature at all) assume that it’s only for paid subscriptions.
Paying members get to save more searches, but free members can save up to three (I have two) at a time. It’s not the most useful feature, at least not for me, but it does call my attention to members who are new or who add certain information to their profiles.
I think as we get more and more ‘power users” everyone will be screeming for more of these. Thanks for your insighful comments.