How to Leverage LinkedIn

With nearly 660 million members and over 30 million companies listed, LinkedIn is the largest professional networking platform. Here’s how to make it work for your association.

Abastion of professionalism in the social media landscape, LinkedIn has been connecting the workforce for ages. But did you know that there are several ways in which LinkedIn assists non-profits? According to Tatiana Morand of Wild Apricot, LinkedIn is, “the place to establish your non-profit as an impactful organisation, your executive staff as thought leaders in your industry, and enlist high-quality members, board, volunteers, and staff.”

Set Up Your Non-Profit Page Setting up a LinkedIn page is easy and can be done in about half an hour. Be sure to take the time to complete it fully, since pages with complete information get 30% more weekly views. The two main sections to complete are the ‘header’ and ‘about’. “In the header section, you will provide the name of your organisation, a tag line, and a button to add your website to your page. In the about section, you will provide a brief description of your organisation’s mission and more details like contact information, company size, and industry,” Morand explains.

Add the relevant images to your profile image and banner. Be sure to use the correct dimensions so that both are seen in their entirety. The recommended profile image/logo size is 300 x 300 pixels, while the recommended cover image size is 1536 pixels wide by 768 pixels high.

Once this is complete, it’s time to use LinkedIn as a resource. Here, users engage with leaders and colleagues in their industry and causes they care about. There are about 90 million senior level influencers on the platform, 63 million decision makers, 17 million opion leaders, and 40 million mass affluent, among others.

LinkedIn as an Outreach Tool According to Nick DeSarno, Director of Digital and Policy Communications at the Public Affairs Council, LinkedIn is a must for your association engagement strategy. “It’s where your members are. Gone are the days when your members come to you. Your association

needs to be active where your members are spending time and consuming content,” he says. “In addition, since many of the users provide extensive amounts of professional information in their profiles, LinkedIn has unmatched professional user data.”

You can find new members through LinkedIn’s robust search function that allows you to search by industry, company affiliation, interests, degrees or certifications, and job titles. It also has a specific Volunteer Marketplace designed to help likeminded people find you.

You can use the paid-for job posting feature in addition to posting organic job opps on the site. LinkedIn has

helped 80% of hirers receive a qualified applicant in just 24 hours, so if efficiency is what you need, they’ve got it.

Keep Followers Updated Keep your audience updated on activites, news, successes and other relevant posts. LinkedIn pages that share content weekly will double engagement on both their page and posts. Try to include media like images, videos or links. Images especially have twice the engagement rate while multiple photos perform even better.

Build Through Thought Leadership Association heads can leverage their status and influence in the industry by contributing to movements and trends and commenting on them. The development of a company’s thought leadership strategy can give them a sense of authority on certain subjects. Sharing opinions, resources and innovative ideas will set your business apart from the crowd.

Chairpersons, CEOs, Presidents and even Board Members can do this easily by creating long form articles directly to their personal LinkedIn pages. This can be done by clicking ‘write an article link’ under the ‘start a post’ section. Your organisation’s page can then share this to your wider network for further engagement.

It is also important that staff members ensure their profiles are up to date. When a member lists your organisation as an employer, they automatically become a follower and your network will grow as theirs grows.

Relationship Building Did you know that LinkedIn can be used for fund raising? It may not be the ideal platform for cold appeals, but it is a great place to cultivate individual and corporate donor relationships. The LinkedIn Sales Navigator feature helps map out your organisation’s network so you can make introductions. It also provides you with updates on key prospects and donors.

“LinkedIn allows donors to communicate what causes are important to them and NFPs can enhance these natural connections by providing donors with information in formats that make it easy for them to share,” says Nicole German, previous Global Head of Enterprise Marketing at LinkedIn.

Through the Navigator’s search function, you can find and reach out to CSR or corporate partnership teams of companies for event sponsorships, donations, etc.

Last but not least, LinkedIn provides grants to umerous like-minded organisations with a track record of support job seekers who are facing barriers to economic opportunity. If your organisation qualifies, head over to Nonprofit Partnerships, LinkedIn Social Impact to apply.

CGASA TO CO-CHAIR GLOBAL CITRUS BODY

The Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa has been appointed Co-Chair of the World Citrus Organisation (WCO).

This was announced during the official founding of the WCO at the international fresh produce trade show Fruit Logistica in Berlin this February. According to the CGASA, South Africa is the second-largest global exporter of citrus fruit. The association played a leading role in the formation of the WCO and through its co-chair role will continue to spearhead a new path for the sector.

The WCO is the first global platform aimed at increasing coordination, dialogue and action between citrus-producing nationals worldwide. The organisation already represents 70% of all citrus growers including Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, and Tunisia.

The organisation will be discussing common issues affecting member countries, preparing for the next decade’s market trends, and fostering dialogue on policy issues – as well as promoting research and innovation projects. A World Citrus Conference is also being planned for late in 2020 or early 2021.