1. Eleven Tips for Non-Profits to Leverage the Power of LinkedIn
By Len Ferrara, September 10, 2010
In 2000, author Malcolm Gladwell described a social phenomenon he coined the “tipping point,” which
is the level at which momentum for change becomes unstoppable. Throughout the course of history
there have been many such moments, both good and bad, in the form of ideas, products, messages and
behaviors.
A tipping point for interpersonal communication occurred around 2004 with the rise of social networks.
Sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Yelp, and many others are no longer considered to be social media
phenomena, but have become main stream, both in and out of the workplace.
Non-Profits represent a great example of organizations that can materially benefit from finding their
tipping point. But with a shortage of staff, money, and other resources, the obstacles to success seem
to be daunting. How can they overcome these obstacles in light of the inherent challenges that most
Non-Profits face on a daily basis?
LinkedIn offers Non-Profits a unique opportunity to not only overcome the challenges they face on a
daily basis, but also the opportunity to provide better services, reach a larger audience, and tap
resources that may previously not have been available. In short, here are some ways in which LinkedIn
can help Non-Profits to achieve their tipping point.
1. Enhance your Professional Brand: As a leader of a non-profit organization, the content of your
profile provides an opportunity to convey your passion for your cause and the value that your
organization brings to the community. In addition, a more complete profile helps people to find
you more easily, thus increasing your ability to network as well as enhance potential business
opportunities.
2. Create/Improve Your Company Profile Page: If your organization does not already have a
Company Page on LinkedIn, create one! If your Company Page does exist, make sure the data is
current and complete. This is the place to educate and engage the LinkedIn network about your
organization’s mission, values, and talent.
3. Create & Administer a Group for Your Organization: Creating a group for your organization
enables you to maintain an ongoing dialogue with your constituency, advocates, volunteers, and
employees.
4. Join Groups: Joining relevant groups can give you immediate access to valuable insights from
peers and industry experts. In addition, a huge benefit to being in groups is that they provide
you the ability to directly contact people who are not in your network, but with whom you share
a group. Groups also provide visibility to people to whom you may not be connected, but would
like to be.
2. 5. Broadcast Information Through Your Status Bar: Network status updates are a great method
for keeping your audience informed of news, upcoming events, and critical issues pertinent to
your organization. Network status updates are also an opportunity to keep yourself informed of
any relevant happenings among your connections. Finally, status updates help to increase your
“relevance” with respect to search engine optimization rankings, allowing you and/or your
organization to attain the highest degree of visibility on the web.
6. Ask & Answer Questions: The Answers section of LinkedIn is an efficient forum for you to get
advice from your own personal network, as well as experts worldwide. Post a question, answer
a question, or simply search the wealth of content that already exists for answers to some of
your most pressing concerns. This is also a platform for you to contribute your knowledge and
experience, and become known as an expert on your cause, which will enhance your ability to
be found for opportunities and connections that can benefit your organization.
7. Create Events: Did you know there’s an event section on LinkedIn? Use it to see who in your
network is attending local events and invite them to your next charity fundraiser.
8. Follow Companies: Follow companies to stay on top of internal movement within a donor or
potential donor’s organization. It enables you to:
a. Automatically be alerted to changes which may occur within the company
b. Keep tabs on targeted constituents within the company
9. Advanced Search/Saved Searches: With advanced/saved searches you can target constituents
working for companies with known matching gift programs, or look for individuals within your
local area to invite to events. This can also be used as a tool to identify potential volunteers and
employees.
10. Use Applications and Polls: Use Slideshare to leverage marketing materials like video or
Powerpoint presentations, then post that to your LinkedIn profile and/or your Group page for
your connections to see. Ask your connections to share the presentation with their networks.
This will help raise awareness among potential new supporters, and drive engagement within
your existing constituency. Use polls to survey and engage your audience, and get valuable
feedback.
11. E-Mail Address: if you have multiple e-mail addresses, make sure to list them all. After all, you
have a LinkedIn account to be accessible and to network, right? That said, make sure that your
default e-mail address is your primary address, the one which you check most often, versus a
secondary address that is checked infrequently.
By using the above information, LinkedIn can empower Non-Profits to make better use of their
extended network to manage their personal brand, tap professional insights, solve problems,
expand their reach, better help those they care about, and to accomplish more with less. LinkedIn
can be one of the keys to creating the “tipping point” for YOUR Non-Profit, ensuring its success.
