LinkedIn and the marketing student

In the 2nd edition of Marketing: An Introduction we have included a lot of coverage of digital marketing and social media in marketing. Obviously we had to do that ...  although, I think an important question for marketers right now is how to strike the right balance between offline and online marketing, and just how much to rely on social media as part of the marketing mix. The notion that marketing is "all about digital now" or "all about social media now" is clearly wrong. That is just hype. I mean, if that was true, then why are the TV programmes I watch and the newspapers I read full of ads?

Still, digital is really important, and social media must be embraced. Something that may confuse the marketing student, however, is the role of LinkedIn. We are all (by which I mean all of us who read blogs like this and teach or study marketing) familiar with Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, YouTube and probably a few other social media applications. But just what is LinkedIn for? I think this is a useful question for the marketing student to reflect on.

At first sight LinkedIn is just, and I hesitate to say this, but it's just boring. In comparison to FB it makes a pretty poor visual impression. In my experience the average student when asked to scope out LinkedIn comes away with a "what's it all about?" kind of expression. In the short term this is probably not a problem. If you are a new marketing student who still has a long way to go until you start thinking seriously about getting into a long-term marketing career, then the immediate value of LinkedIn to you is limited.

But here are three suggestions for you to think about for the future. Firstly, LinkedIn is becoming an increasingly useful tool for generating B2B marketing lists for direct marketing purposes, and this is only going to grow in importance. Secondly, LinkedIn is the location where a lot of specialist marketing forums get together to network and to exhange the latest information about marketing theory and practice. Thirdly, and possibly the most important to you in the near future, LinkedIn is increasingly the place where potential employees go to advertise their skills and employers go to find new talent.

So, dull it may seem. But keep a close eye on LinkedIn. It could be very useful in your future marketing career.