“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”
This mantra has been repeated in many forms across the business and political environments. Whether you believe it is an example of hyperbole or not, you cannot deny that one’s social network is an important factor in life. In politics, campaigns rely on grassroots networks that encourage their members to reach out to all of their like minded friends.
In recent election cycles, social networking technologies such as the Facebook have received considerable attention. The Facebook works extremely well to reach out to college students and even younger age groups but, many young professionals and adults shy away from it due to the amount of personal information it discloses. Many people consider it dangerous to their career and public life. So how do businesses and campaigns reach out to adults and young professionals, a higher participation voting bracket with with more donation potential?
Enter, LinkedIn.com, the place for more utilitarian, less dangerous social networking and business/campaign outreach. Users on LinkedIn maintain the equivalent of an online resume with some additional information. They can “connect directly” to those they know if they can enter that persons email address and that person accepts. When you gain a new connection you are also able to connect directly to their connections through the same process. If you want to connect someone you do not know, you can ask one of your connects to introduce you. Once built, you can communicate with your network in a number of ways that could be a serious asset to a campaign. You can even post and browse jobs available inside and outside your network.
Wether you are a business person or a poltico, LinkedIn.com is an untapped PoliTech resource that should not be ignored in the future.
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Sample use strategy:
1. Get LinkedIn profile
2. Build network
3. Ask questions about business/policies with references to specific politicians to increase name recognition.