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University Communications

LinkedIn Best Practices

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LinkedIn

LinkedIn is unique in that accounts and conversation activity are tied to individuals, and are primarily used for business networking. The most important step in utilizing LinkedIn as a communications tool is to completely fill out your own user profile with current, accurate information, particularly as it relates to your role at MSU.

Audiences and Content

The official university page is managed by University Communications, with a primary target audience of alumni, faculty, and staff.

Content that we’ve found to be most engaging for alumni includes questions, nostalgia, and pride points. These audience members tend to engage with content through commenting, sharing, and reading.

Content that we’ve found to be most engaging for faculty and staff includes research, grants, and pride points. Faculty and staff tend to engage through sharing our content.

We encourage campus communicators to share content with these audiences by posting to the LinkedIn page, keeping these audience needs and wants in mind.

Help and Support

The LinkedIn Help Center is a robust resource for questions regarding the use of the platform. Visit linkedin.com/help as a first step in learning about the platform and for troubleshooting any issues.

How should I use LinkedIn at MSU?

An individual LinkedIn account can be set up with just an email address. From there, you can follow the prompts to fill in fields to complete your profile. LinkedIn profiles are similar to digital résumés, so you may find it helpful to reference your most recent résumé or curriculum vitae as you complete your profile. You may choose to add projects or media to make your profile more robust and visually appealing.

Customize your profile with a profile image and a cover image. Enabling the customized URL function will allow you to include a short URL to your profile in your email signature, on your unit website profiles, or on your business card, if you prefer.

You may choose to use your individual profile to engage with your audience members through the university LinkedIn page and/or various alumni and industry-specific groups.
In addition to one-on-one networking, LinkedIn allows for interaction via groups. These are typically industry- or interest-based. There are several existing groups related to Michigan State University where Spartans can interact, including an alumni association group and various groups sponsored by colleges, departments, or programs. A simple search allows you to discover groups of interest to you and your audience. Once a member of the group, you may use this as a platform for conversation and communication for your unit.

As you manage a LinkedIn group, you may choose to refer to the following checklist:

  • Completely fill out the group information, including the about section.
  • Post regularly with content relevant to your audience.
  • Be sure that your group image reflects the brand.
  • Assign a staff member to serve as an admin, and enable notifications for the group.
  • Regularly check and moderate requests to join the group, participate in conversation, etc.
  • Update your group administrator access as staff assignments change. Only MSU employees should have access to administer the group.

Additional Resources

Below are links to relevant resources shared at Social @ Michigan State events. See the meetings and workshops lists on the Campus Community page for additional information regarding these events. 

May 11, 2017

Presentation: Social Media by Platform - Content, Audience, Terms of Service

Social Media