5 Ways to Use LinkedIn’s Mobile Photo Sharing to Boost Your Brand

Last month, LinkedIn announced that it will be launching a mobile photo sharing capabilities via the LinkedIn Mobile App. The largest professional networking site recently exceeded 300 million members, and a recent Glassdoor study revealed that 89 percent of job seekers plan to use their mobile devices during their job search in the next 12 months. With the rise of Instagram and “selfies,” we’re all pretty familiar with the popularity of photos. So, having the ability to share photos on-the-go with an immense audience potential as that of LinkedIn’s is a win-win for any organization looking to build its brand.

Writing for LinkedIn, Nicole Williams offers examples for how job seekers will be able to utilize the new feature. These include:

• Conferences, networking and professional development events: Williams advises to, “show your network that you take your career development seriously. If you’re at a conference, snap a shot of the speaker and pop one of their quotes in an update.”

• View from your desk: Workers can bring the passion and energy they have for their careers to life, Williams writes, by using photographs to capture fun, inspiring or motivational moments throughout the day.

• Show off your talents: Showing everyone how talented you are is much more effective than simply telling them, William writes. And you can do this by uploading photos of your work.

• Professional selfie: Williams explains that a profile with a photo is 11 times more likely to be viewed.

LinkedIn’s Joseph Roualdes also offers suggestions on how to effectively use the soon-to-launch mobile photo sharing—but his advice is for employers. Roualdes says companies can:

• Showcase what makes the company unique
• Show how you have fun
• Share what matters to your company
• Spotlight events and speakers
• Feature teams working on cool stuff

And while all are great suggestions, I believe there are other important ways companies can market themselves and their brands—specifically to millennials.

Estimates say that millennials will account for half of the entire workforce by 2020, and we’ve already witnessed how the influx of and demand for millennial talent has changed the way employers attract, recruit and retain these workers. So, with the pending addition of this LinkedIn feature, the importance of using mobile photo sharing to boost your brand is evident, and especially to attract millennial talent to your business.

So, the following are another five ways to use this upcoming feature—tips to benefit your millennial attraction efforts:

1. Going Green

It’s hardly news that millennials are environmentally conscious; so, a company that is committed to “green” initiatives is sure to attract this group. Share photos of any green initiatives your company has undertaken or plans to implement. This could be photos of anything as large as a green/environment-related event your company held or sponsored to photos of energy efficient light bulbs in the office or recycling bins in the break rooms.

2. Social Change

According to a Forbes article, 64 percent of millennials say it’s a priority for them to make the world a better place. Uploading photos that demonstrate your business is committed to social change is a major way to boost any brand. Be sure to share photos depicting any form of your organization’s community service or involvement, whether that is the company baseball team playing for a local charity event or individual workers volunteering. Even photos of in-office food and toy drives show that your business is invested in giving back to the community.

3. Work-life Balance

Most workers desire work-life balance and studies show that millennials are no exception. If your business does a good job of creating this balance for workers, show it! This could be as simple as having employees snap photos of themselves working remotely (a nice, out-of-office location doesn’t hurt either).

4. Mentorship

Mentorship opportunities at a company are very important to millennials. In fact, according to a Millennial Branding study, 53 percent of Gen Yers “said that a mentoring relationship would help them become a better and more productive contributor to their company.”

Share images of teamwork and one-on-one mentoring in your company to demonstrate to millennials that you support and provide mentorship.  You can even upload photos of any training and personal development session fliers or graphics to show your business offers ways to help its workers grow and become better employees.

5. Millennials

I think the power of relatability can be overlooked in employer branding efforts. Millennials want to see people who look like them in an organization. Share photos of other young people who work in your business; capture the diversity of the organization (that includes gender, age and race) when promoting your brand. Displaying a diverse workforce and interesting culture is a perfect recipe for millennial attraction success.