on campus
campusreview.com.au
Working the network
With the right strategies,
LinkedIn can be a powerful
online tool for universities.
By Sue Ellson
L
inkedIn is so much more than simply an online resume for
academics or a branding tool for universities. There are
many ways it can be used for students, academics, staff and
universities here and overseas.
The platform has over 500 million members worldwide and is
currently the largest online network of professionals in the world.
There are over eight million members in Australia, and about 50 per
cent of these earn more than $100,000 a year.
I am a proud graduate of the University of South Australia and
one of the first 80,000 people in the world on LinkedIn – I joined in
2003, and in 2016 published my first 80,000-word book, 120 Ways
to Achieve your Purpose with LinkedIn.
24
LinkedIn has a range of resources for individuals and institutions
at university.linkedin.com – but I would like to dig a little deeper and
share some practical ways universities can use LinkedIn.
First, every university (also known as a ‘school’) on LinkedIn
should have at least three administrators – individual employees
who can update and manage the LinkedIn university presence
so that there will always be someone available to respond to
comments and share the most useful updates.
Next, a written (digital) record of the university statistics needs to
kept and collected, at least every six months. Figures that should
be collected include the number of followers, alumni and staff, and
these numbers should be tracked over time.
The number of followers should be more than the number
of alumni, as this indicates interest in the institution itself –
preferably at least 20 per cent more followers than alumni. The
number of alumni should track at or above 60 per cent of total
graduates for each year level after 2015, and the number of staff
should also be at least 60 per cent of total staff, with a note to
request past staff to update their LinkedIn profile within three
months of departure.