How Journalists Use LinkedIn

Professional journalists can join the official LinkedIn for Journalists group. The group discussions consist of LinkedIn news announcements and also tips in regards to how members of the press can use LinkedIn to find story ideas, scoops and sources.

* Make sure you select the "send me a daily digest of all activity in this group" option if you want to receive announcements the day they occur.

Uncover Trend Stories as a Result of Rising and Declining Professional Skills

Use LinkedIn Skills to uncover trends about the beat you cover. For instance, if you write articles geared toward the working mom, you might want to see what skills are on the rise or on the decline for childcare. If you cover the mobile space, checking out the growth of Android as a skill might be of interest to you. Here are the LinkedIn Skills pages for broadcast journalism and newspaper.

Stay On Top of Your Beat

LinkedIn makes it easy for journalists to follow LinkedIn Company Pages and stay updated on senior level changes and new hires. Search for your beat companies’ profiles and click "Follow Company" to get regular updates on hiring, promotions, departures and job listings.

Find the Right Source Fast

LinkedIn Advanced People Search helps you easily uncover experts and sources. Search by company name, company size, keywords, title or any other facet to find exactly the source you need. Click on the person’s profile and you’ll see if anyone in your network knows them and can introduce you.

Put Your Network to Work

If you're looking for references, ideas or even sources a simple LinkedIn Status Update can save you a lot of time. Try posting a question like, "Do you know any CEOs at companies with more than 1,000 employees?" to your network. Pair your LinkedIn and Twitter accounts and those updates can go out to both networks at the same time.

Build Your Network

Busy journalists can easily build their networks and keep them up-to-date by importing contacts from webmail providers or desktop email applications. Once you've done so, your connections can make your job easier. When you view a LinkedIn Company Page or do a LinkedIn Advanced People Search, you'll see the degrees of separation between you and the people you want to talk to. With a personal connection or introduction, you can quickly contact that company or expert you've been dying to reach.

Stay in Touch with Your Readers

Use LinkedIn Answers to generate story ideas. Ask generic questions that touch on the beats you cover like, “What is the biggest concern small business owners have when they’re first starting up?” or “What technology will take off before 2012?” You can also ask specific questions on Answers to find exactly the source you are looking for.

Find Fresh Angles

Doing a LinkedIn Advanced Answers Search can help you get a new angle or perspective on a topic that may need to be freshened up. Type in “iPad” as a keyword and see what questions LinkedIn members have been asking about it - and which angles haven't been covered by other news outlets. The more responses there are to a question, the more likely it is to be a hot story idea that people are passionate about.

Get Scoops Delivered to You

Keep track of what people of interest are doing, what's being announced and who just got promoted at companies you care about. Just make sure you’re connected to the sources you frequently rely on for story ideas. Once you do, your LinkedIn Home Page will become a professional dashboard with a wealth of information from your connections' status updates.

Get Past "No Comment"

If you're looking for background info or comment, LinkedIn Company Pages will show you current and former employees and how you’re connected to them. LinkedIn Advanced People Search can also help. Type a name into the “Company” field and select “Past" on the drop down menu underneath.

Open the Door to Opportunities

Make sure your LinkedIn Profile is 100 percent complete. Include keywords like the beats you cover (lifestyle, technology, fashion, etc.) and angles you like to pursue (how to articles, investigative reporting, etc.) in your summary, experience and specialties sections. People use LinkedIn Advanced People Search to search for words like “bylines,” “whitepapers,” “feature articles” and “media training." If this info isn’t in your profile then editors, producers and potential clients won’t find you.

Find Freelance Work

Search for the LinkedIn Company Pages of magazine publishers, newspapers or other outlets you’d love to work for. You can easily see if you're connected to current or former employees through your own network. Check if anyone can introduce you or ask around about freelance opportunities for you. Get regular updates, including job postings, when you select the “Follow Company” option.

Your Press Pass 2.0

Make sure your LinkedIn Profile is complete and up-to-date so that sources know you’re a bona fide journalist when you contact them. Sources and experts will be more likely to respond to your inquiries if you have a complete profile including a professional headshot.

Manage Your Own Brand

Own your professional brand and Google search results for your name by customizing your LinkedIn Public Profile URL. Edit the link so it’s your firstnamelastname (or, if that's taken, lastnamefirstname). Now you control what people see when they do a search for your name on search engines. This means people will always get the most recent information about you as you change jobs, switch beats, and update LinkedIn accordingly.

Promote Your Work

When an article you wrote posts online, insert the link and a quick description in a LinkedIn Status Update. Pair your LinkedIn and Twitter accounts and those updates can go out to both networks at the same time. Include the links to your best work or favorite articles under the “Websites” section of your profile. Taking these steps will increase clicks on your story links. It also gives your sources (and editors) a better feel for the angles you cover.

Get First Person Accounts

With LinkedIn Reference Search it’s easy to find current and former employees- all of whom may have stories to tell. You can find someone that worked at Apple during the early years or uncover sources that were at Bear Sterns just before it collapsed. Simply fill in the company name and the years you're interested in to find the people who were there then.

Crowdsource Your Research

Use LinkedIn Groups to find your readers and what they care about. If you cover working mothers, do a search for LinkedIn Groups that have similar keywords in the group name and description (like “parent,” “mums,” etc.). If you cover technology, look for CIO or CTO related groups you can join. Being involved in groups means you gain insight into what your target audience is discussing and what interests them most.