So, LinkedIn introduced a new feature a couple of months back now, which works in a similar way to Facebook.  You can onw tag people within your status update.

If you haven’t already used this functionality you are probably asksing yourself what is the benefit and why you would want to utilise this within your updates?

Well, it has distinct advantages, in that it is possible through tagging your contacts within your updates, to be able to reach out within their network and actually talk direct with their 2nd or 3rd degree contacts.

It works on the basis that if your update is looking for input from others or is indeed written in such a way as to spark a conversation then when you tag individuals it is likely that you will receive respones from within their network – hence utilising the power of “social” media and reaching out in to their extended network.

Going back to everything that we talk about within our best selling book and webinars / seminars that we run, you have to decide on a strategy / mission statement for LinkedIn.  For example, what if you want to reach out to a particular set of individuals within some of your contacts extended network.  Then if you incororpate this in to your strategy for tagging those individuals within your status updates and focus on subjects or expertise  possessed by your contacts extended network then it is extremely possible to strike up dialogue and hence enable connections to be made in a non organic way.

So, if you haven’t already tried this new functionality within LinkedIn then why not give it a go ?!  Just remember that you have to use a captial letter on your contacts first name or else you will not be able to tag.

And if you have already started to utilise this functionality we would really love to hear from you in terms of how you have used it and whether you have seen benefits by tagging connections?!