What To Do With Your LinkedIn Profile Now Microsoft Owns The Social Network

To those who don’t use LinkedIn much, the news that Microsoft had purchased it for a cool $26 billion might have come as a shock. But Microsoft has been playing hard in the B2B sector lately, a market LinkedIn rules when it comes to social.T

What can you expect now that Microsoft has purchased LinkedIn and what changers will users need to make? It’s early days yet, but here are some suggestions: 

Brush up your profile.

If you’re a regular LinkedIn user, you already know the importance of having a strong personal profile — but imagine how much more important that will become when Microsoft introduces integration with Outlook and other Office products. Suddenly your name, photo, and the first few lines of your profile appear in a sidebar every time someone emails you or receives an email from you. Make that first impression count with an excellent profile. 

Make sure your contacts are up to date — especially with potential customers. 

It always seemed like a good bet that LinkedIn might introduce its own CRM software, but it seems even more likely after SalesForce lost its bid to acquire LinkedIn to Microsoft. Microsoft has its own CRM called Dynamics (you’ll be forgiven if you’ve never heard of it) that could really make a splash in the market if they integrate it with the social aspects of LinkedIn.

Update your status regularly.

LinkedIn’s newsfeed, like Facebook or Twitter, shows your contacts’ latest status updates, and Microsoft plans to integrate it into the Office 365 user dashboard. This means that anyone who has you as a contact will be able to keep track of your status — and, indeed updates across their entire professional network — while they edit a spreadsheet or write a presentation.

Keep your contact information current.

Another integration Microsoft plans is with its voice-activated assistant, Cortana. A future version of Cortana may be able to look up a phone number, address, or email via voice command. 

Decide if you’re willing to pay to play.

Right now, only about 1.5 percent of LinkedIn users pay for the “pro” version of the service, but this could change. Microsoft’s recent strategy has been all about selling technology services to businesses, and if you own a business, you may find future integrations and offerings appealing.  It’s good business strategy for both LinkedIn and Microsoft, allowing them to reach more businesses, and serve the businesses they already reach better.

From where I sit, it seems natural that Microsoft and LinkedIn become a good fit, because there’s a lot of overlap in both their user base and their business models. Only time will tell if Microsoft will be a good steward of the resources it’s acquired in LinkedIn, but the potential for a great partnership is definitely there.

Are you excited about the possibilities of a Microsoft LinkedIn partnership? What new functions or services will you look forward to? Let me know in the comments below.

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