LinkedIn has announced the integration of Twitter into its platform. This new feature will enable LinkedIn users to cross posts their status between the two services in real-time. The new partnership only lends credence to the power of Twitter for business. It will be interesting to see how this new feature will enable and enhance the community on LinkedIn.
In this video LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone discuss the partnership and the value to users. A partnership, as Biz says, that is like “peanut butter and chocolate.”
The video also includes a quick tutorial on how to set-up and use the new Twitter LinkedIn feature.
Personally I am seeing the proliferation of platforms feeding to Twitter that is diluting the effectiveness of Twitter. If everyone is automating their tweets to Twitter from other platforms, who is at Twitter to read them? I offer you a few tips to using Twitter on LinkedIn to ensure that your experience with the tool is effective.
1) Don’t broadcast all of your tweets to LinkedIn, be sure to filter using the #in or #li hashtags. No need to be spamming your LinkedIn account.
2) Do use your status update on LinkedIn more often to keep your contacts up-to-date on the projects and activities you are involved in. Combining with Twitter will increase your business exposure.
3) Be interesting, share relevant ideas, and articles. This isn’t a place for a sales pitch.
4) This is a great feature on LinkedIn, but unless you have an intention to spend more time on Twitter, I suggest you not use Twitter just to broadcast your LinkedIn status. If you already have a Twitter account that you are actively engaged in, consider sending only the type of tweets that your LinkedIn contacts would be interested in. Remember, Social Media use is really about your audience, and having a conversation.
For more on LinkedIn and Twitter visit the LinkedIn blog.
What do you think about the LinkedIn and Twitter partnership. Is this a feature that is going to enhance your business experience? Would love to hear your thoughts.
