How Chicagoland Executives & Entrepreneurs are Leveraging LinkedIn

8/6/2019 How Chicagoland Executives & Entrepreneurs are Leveraging LinkedIn

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How ChicagolandExecutives &Entrepreneursare Leveraging LinkedInJuly 2011


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With over 100 million users, LinkedIn has quickly

become a social media giant. The website has

differentiated itself by creating a professional networking

space as opposed to a purely social one. It is a space

that allows users to keep their professional experience

front and center. Yet how are high-level executivesand business owners using this powerful networking

tool? Dignitas surveyed the LinkedIn proles of 100

high-level executives and local business owners in the

Chicagoland area to determine how these individuals

are utilizing LinkedIn to expand their networks.

A complete LinkedIn prole contains many different

components including but not limited to a users

personal summary, career prole, education,

recommendations, contact settings, and groups and

associations. The summary is a written paragraph

highlighting an individuals personal and professional

attributes while the career prole lists experience in a

resume-like format. The education section can include

anything from a high-school degree to a Ph.D. along

with extracurricular activities. Recommendations give

users an opportunity to gather references from otherprofessionals.

Contact settings allow individuals to indicate whichtypes of LinkedIn connections they are seeking from

people outside of their immediate network. Examples

include getting back in touch, new ventures, o

job inquiries. Groups and associations are organized

networks of people surrounding commonalities such as

an alma mater or work place that an individual can join.

These components are all part of building a prole tha

displays an individuals professional achievements

However, LinkedIn also enables users to display

their current efforts. Through posts, individuals can

demonstrate their professional knowledge and acumenOther social media accounts are easily integrated, namely

Blogs andTwitter. Users can also publicize events they

are attending or organizing. By building a strong prole

and network of connections, LinkedIn users can scale

their networking process in a way that was previously

impossible.

Dignitas 2011Chicagoland

Executive Survey

Overview

How are high-level executives and business ownersusing this powerful networking tool?

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68% of LinkedIn usersare over the age of 35

- LinkedIn
http://www.twitter.com/http://www.twitter.com/http://www.freesourceagency.com/http://http://www.linkedin.com/http://www.linkedin.com/http://www.freesourceagency.com/http://http://www.twitter.com/


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Trends between contact settings, connections and

groups and associations proved inconsistent. For

proles in business services, manufacturing, consumer

services, and real estate industries, the number of

contact settings selected moved in the same direction

as groups and associations and connections; yet,for proles in the nancial services, healthcare, and

technology industries, the number of contact settings

selected moved inversely to groups and association and

connections. Overall, survey participants selected

between three to four contact settings on each of thei

proles out of the eight potential settings. Executives and

business leaders, between the ages of 30 to 39, had on

average ve to six contact settings on their proles, the

highest number of contact settings relative to other agegroups. Overall, younger business leaders were more

open to establishing new connections. The number o

contact settings decreased for each subsequent age

group over the age of 40.

Profle Completion

3

The number of contact settings decreased for eachsubsequent age group over the age of 40.


Executive Survey

Contact Setting Participation Number of Contact Settings by Age


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Robin Dunbar, a professor at Oxford University has

proposed a theory as to the amount of interpersonal

relationships an individual can maintain. His theory holds

that the human brain limits the amount of connections

someone can make to 150. However, with tools such

as LinkedIn, that number is being challenged. The

ability to stay connected to people is being redened.

Social networks can now be expanded beyond what

was previously possible through technology. LinkedIn

offers the ability to scale professional networks and

maintain them more efciently than ever previouslypossible.

Connections are how one builds a network within

the LinkedIn environment which in turn markets their

professional brand and creates opportunities for

communication. People within a proles immediate

network, i.e. connections that have requested and

been accepted by the user or have been requested

by the user, are rst degree connections. Someone

outside of this immediate network but connected to a

rst degree contact is a second degree connection.

A connection via a second degree contact is a thirddegree connection and those outside of third degree

connections are considered out of your network. It is

valuable for a LinkedIn user to have a large network to

extend their professional brand and lower the degree of

connections between them and other LinkedIn users,

making introductions easier to attain.

4

A prole of over 50 connections can be considere

actively managed. Dignitas research found that a

majority of the Chicago proles are being actively

managed. However, it is apparent that usage is also

dependent on industry. The executives and business

owners reviewed for this survey were categorizedinto the following seven industries: business services

consumer services, nancial services, technology, rea

estate, healthcare, and manufacturing. Connections

were then broken into tiers. Tier 1 = 500+ connections

Tier 2 = 400-499 connections; Tier 3 = 300-399; Tie

4 = 200-299; Tier 5 = 100-199 connections; Tier 6 =

50-99 connections; and Tier 7 = under 50 connections;

Overall, the average number of LinkedIn connections

observed was approximately 98. Almost half the

proles examined had fewer than 50 connections while

less than 10% had over 400 connections. Health careand manufacturing were the only two industries lacking

executive and business owner proles with an excess o

200 connections while business services and technology

were the only two industries with proles exceeding 500

connections.

Connections


Executive Survey

Participants by Number of Connections

Benets of LinkedIn

publicize professional accomplishments

research prospective clients & customers

grow your social network


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It is not surprising that health care and manufacturing

had the least number of connections given that theirclients needs are more specialized. However, the

remaining ve industries all have a lot to gain from

growing their LinkedIn networks and potential client

bases. The low number of proles falling within tiers

1 through 3 indicates that executives and business

owners may not be taking full advantage of LinkedIn as

a networking tool.

According to Arbita, the average age of a LinkedIn user

is 41. Dignitas Chicago-based survey also found the

average participant to be in their forties. However, age

was not a driving factor in the amount of connections

a prole contained. Half of executives and business

owners in their fties had fewer than 50 connectionsAt the same time, a surprising majority of those in thei

thirties had fewer than 50 connections in spite of thei

likely high level of comfort with technology. Participants

in their forties were the only age group found with proles

containing an excess of 500 connections. This could be

due to their median position in regards to comfort with

technology and years spent networking before the rise

of social media.

The low number of connections observed for younge

LinkedIn users is an indication that the surveyed

young executives and business owners are choosingnot to utilize LinkedIn as a forum for peer networking

or to generate business leads. Rather, they are using

LinkedIn as a channel for distributing a limited amount

of information about themselves and their company

By not utilizing LinkedIn as a networking tool, younger

executives and business owners are potentially missing

out on an opportunity to catch up to their senior peers in

the size of their professional network.

Connections

5Dignitas 2011Chicagoland

Executive Survey

Number of Connections by Age

I cant think of a better way tomanage ones online reputationon the web than a LinkedInprole...

- Mario Sundar

Active, daily use of LinkedInwill..turn cold calls into warmhandshakes, shortening sales

cycles and giving you greatershare of wallet throughstronger relationshipmanagement.

- Freesource Agency

Connections 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+ Total

Under 50 100% 37% 34% 49% 69% 45%

50-99 0% 25% 16% 13% 23% 16%

100-199 0% 25% 25% 13% 0% 17%

200-299 0% 13% 11% 16% 8% 12%

300-399 0% 0% 2% 3% 0% 2%

400-499 0% 0% 5% 6% 0% 4%

500+ 0% 0% 7% 0% 0% 3%
http://www.freesourceagency.com/http://http://www.freesourceagency.com/http://


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6

Business leaders in their thirties and forties featured

LinkedIn proles with above average levels of activity,

completeness and detail in terms of number of

connections, number of contact settings, membership

in groups and associations, and detailed information

about their professional experience, and education.There were more executives and business owners in

their forties with LinkedIn proles than any other age

group even though thirty-year-olds stand to gain the

most from LinkedIn since rapid network expansion

could lead to professional and client development

opportunities earlier in their careers.

Overall, while the majority of Chicago area business

leaders have LinkedIn proles, they are generally

not completed proles, potentially missing out on

prospective sales and client leads. A completed

LinkedIn prole provides exposure to consumers andclients. For example, websites such as Secondmarket.

com (who deal with alternative investments) connect

executives LinkedIn proles to their companies

information page.

With nearly half of the proles Dignitas surveyed

having less than 50 connections, it is apparent that

many Chicago area business leaders are using

LinkedIn for moderate exposure. The selectivity of

these lean networks may provide more information

than their actual proles. There is relevant information

available by reviewing a persons LinkedIn network. Aside from discovering shared connections,

one can see what trends exist within a users network

what industries the individual is reaching out to, what

social circles they are a part of, and who they have

recently connected with. These observations can help

build a framework for outreach and client management.

As discussed, a good way to increase ones connections

is through joining groups. However, since there are

so many groups to choose from and so few people

who participate in more than one group, choosing the

right group is important. In the interest of professiona

development, networking groups and industry-specic

groups are widely used and provide a good opportunity

for building your network. An alma mater group

while not as highly utilized, will link you to people who

have a strong unifying bond that may allow for easie

communication. Aside from groups, it is also importan

to remain open to invitations in order to connect to morepeople. A high number of contact settings paves the

way for more networking requests and building a broade

LinkedIn network.

Implications

A completed LinkedIn prole provides exposure toconsumers and clients.


Executive Survey

LinkedIn Resources

mariosundar.com

smartblogs.com/socialmedia

christinehueber.com/blog
http://www.secondmarket.com/http://www.secondmarket.com/http://www.secondmarket.com/http://www.mariosundar.com/http://www.smartblogs.com/socialmediahttp://www.christinehueber.com/bloghttp://www.christinehueber.com/bloghttp://www.smartblogs.com/socialmediahttp://www.mariosundar.com/http://www.secondmarket.com/http://www.secondmarket.com/


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Dignitas111 East Wacker Drive

Suite 2920

Chicago, IL 60601

(312) 651-6130

www.mydignitas.com

www.lifeoptimized.me (blog)

Dignitas is an exclusive advisor that is redening the parameters of a multi-family ofce by offering a diverse

array of life management and high-end concierge services. We are a full service practice offering the depth and

comprehensive services of a private family ofce, as well as a pivotal point of contact to a highly skilled network

of professional life and wealth management partners. Dignitas orchestrates an exclusive collection of business

and personal services to truly support a clients whole life needs from stocks to speeches, bonds to Bond

Street, taxes to travel Dignitas is way above and far beyond.

Research Conducted By:Matthew Litwiller

Kimberly Johnson

7Dignitas 2011Chicagoland

Executive Survey

Contact Inormation
http://http//www.mydignitas.com/index.htmlhttp://http//www.mydignitas.com/index.html

Documents

How Chicagoland Executives & Entrepreneurs are Leveraging LinkedIn