LinkedIn also is favored among Internet marketers. The Nonlinear Creations Internet Marketing blog contains a recent entry concerning the marketing effectiveness of LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook and two other social networking sites. Using its own website as the "bait", NLC noted that approximately 18% of its web traffic comes from social networking sites. By far, visits from LinkedIn created the highest average time per visit and the most pages visited. As a result, LinkedIn, as well as Facebook, outperformed site visitors utilizing other channels. NLC also noted that the LinkedIn visitors tended to convert more readily into prospects than visitors from other social networking sites. NLC concludes:
If your company is in the B2B space, consider taking the time to understand and exploit LinkedIn. It offers a very real, very tangible return on the effort.
Apparently, even Facebook thinks that LinkedIn's business networking model has value, given its recent addition of a networking function known as "friend grouping" by professional contacts. In light of the above-mentioned complaints regarding the "sterility" of LinkedIn's interaction possibilities, a Facebook model with more opportunity for relationship development combined with business contact organization might prove formidable.
In any event, from the perspective of "it can't possibly hurt to get more exposure", these online networking tools likely will gain more utility and favor as more people join and avail themselves of the professional benefits. Consider adding your profile and exploring the features - one never knows where "the Social" might lead.