LinkedIn for Scholars

How can you share what you know? Speaking up and connecting is more important now than ever. But Academic Twitter is defunct. Bluesky is an option, but so is LinkedIn. Is it the right option for you?

Today I’m sharing an interview with Tracey Shell on how scholars can use LinkedIn. Tracey is a marketing and communications strategist with 25 years of experience in corporate and agency roles, working with small businesses, startups, higher education, and Fortune 100 brands.

~~A Q&A with Tracey Shell: LinkedIn for Scholars~~

1. Why do you think LinkedIn is important for scholars right now?

LinkedIn has become far more than just a job-hunting platform. It can be part of your professional first impression. LinkedIn results often appear in top searches when people Google your name. With more than 1 billion users globally, LinkedIn is a pathway to garnering more attention for your research and publications, attracting students, and networking post-conferences. And, more journalists are active on the platform, mining for news and looking for effective thought leaders as sources.

2. What are the possibilities with LinkedIn that academics should consider?

Amplify research and publications

Getting published is a huge accomplishment for academics, but it’s just step one. How are you maximizing your reach? LinkedIn can be an excellent home base for research and publications, especially if you don’t have your own website. In just minutes you can add links, summaries, and documents to your profile. Plus, you can amplify your work with posts that share key takeaways or insights.

Build your personal brand

While your college or university may help promote your programs and research, LinkedIn can help you create a space for yourself beyond the organization, showcasing the unique thought leadership you offer the world. That edge can help you earn media interviews, book speaking opportunities at conferences in your field, and build a following for long-range goals like writing a book.

Create meaningful connections

One of the best times to build deeper connections is following a shared experience like a conference. After you connect on LinkedIn with scholars, you can use the messaging feature to initiate 1:1 conversations. Consider offering something of value to new connections -- it could be your latest research, an introduction to another scholar, or takeaways from your presentation.

3. Do you have an example of a scholar who’s using LinkedIn well or to great benefit?

Over the past several months, Dr. Shannon Self-Brown has elevated her LinkedIn profile with a new About section and photos, as well as adding all her university roles. She now uses her platform to showcase her students’ published work and amplify the work of the two centers she leads at Georgia State University. Dr. Self-Brown says LinkedIn has been easy to integrate into her professional life, helping her keep up with colleagues’ scientific publications and highlight her students’ presentations in a more meaningful way. Plus, she reports that her PhD applications doubled from last year.

4. What are some of the pitfalls to avoid with using LinkedIn?

Don’t try to do everything at once

LinkedIn is technically a social media network, but you don’t have to be posting daily or even weekly to get value. Simply updating your profile is a big win. Next, expand by engaging with others’ posts – commenting is still content.

Don’t forget to use storytelling

Writing for LinkedIn is very different from scholarly research. Use storytelling to help your audience understand the IMPACT and WHY of your work or research. Use just one or two key data points or you risk overwhelming your audience. Your goal is to get them to care enough to take the next step.

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Thank you to Tracey for sharing her expertise. If you’d like to learn more actionable strategies for LinkedIn, join Tracey and me for a live Zoom session on April 2 at 4pm Eastern time. Tracey will be sharing LinkedIn strategies and tips. We’ll select a few volunteers to get a “live audit” of their LinkedIn profiles - to see how to take action on strategies and tips.

Sign up here for the Zoom session.

To learn more about Tracey, visit her website: https://traceyshell.com/. Tracey helps organizations:

• Identify and amplify brands’ most compelling stories
• Build content strategies that engage audiences, build trust, and fuel business growth
• Develop thought leaders and empower them to communicate their unique value
• Create and launch high-impact campaigns

And thank you, as always, for reading and believing that scholars deserve support for incredible ideas.

Betty

Stay in touch: The Newsletter, Bluesky, and The Grant Writing Guide book.

P.S. The produce in Australia is amazing. We may have gone a bit overboard in our shopping.