Week Two Case Study: Pg. 194: LinkedIn: The Social Network and E-Marketplace for Professionals
Read the Case Study
Provide an Introduction, Background, and Identify the Issues, THEN,
Answer the Questions at the end of the Case Study (Min of 3 Pages) Repeat the questions from the case study in bold and then provide your answers.
APA, double-space, Times New Roman, 12 pt. Font
Make sure you answer all questions completely in order to maximize your understanding of the material. Although the question sets may differ for each case, a
minimum of three pages is expected.
Case Study:
Founded in 2002, LinkedIn is the premiere social network for professionals, offering a comprehensive platform that stresses career progression and business services rather than updates for family and friends. With more than 400 million users, LinkedIn is far smaller than Facebook, but its user base includes many high-powered professionals, including Fortune 500 business execs, who rely on the service to expand their personal networks, identify career opportunities, recruit talent for their companies, and share information. LinkedIn invites individuals to create free accounts to post their employment histories, education, and skill sets; connect with colleagues; and identify promising job opportunities. But unlike other networks that rely heavily on targeted advertising as their main source of revenue, LinkedIn enjoys a diverse revenue base with three major product lines. The companys Talent Solutions line offers a variety of services to recruiters, drawing on the networks user data to help companies identify the best candidates for the positions they have available and encourage them to apply. Sony, for instance, relies on LinkedIn to help find talented professionals not only by searching the database but also by tapping the networks of Sonys own employees, who can offer referrals. LinkedIns Marketing Solutions earns revenue from targeted advertising based on user profiles, much like other social media platforms. Companies can also create sponsored content, in which industry leaders offer their insights and knowledge directly to users who are likely to be interested. CRM software developer Hub spot uses LinkedIn Marketing Solutions to reach marketing professionals and engage them with e-books, webinars, and how-to guides.
The third revenue source is Premium Subscriptions, which offers advanced features that match the users interests and goals. For example, job seekers can see who has viewed their profile and can compare themselves to other candidates for particular positions. Some plans also offer access to Lynda.coms extensive educational video library, which LinkedIn purchased to make premium membership even more attractive. College students and recent grads are among LinkedIns fastest-growing user groups, mainly because the company promotes its services to help grads find their ideal first job. Using data analytics on its big data, LinkedIn recommends positions that are well suited for graduates based on their profiles and majors and also points out openings at companies that have historically hired graduates from the same college. Details on the career paths of those fellow alums will also help the new grad see how to get ahead, perhaps with training through Lynda.com. In 2016, Microsoft purchased LinkedIn for a whopping $26.2 billion, the companys largest acquisition to date. Microsoft had tried to develop its own social networking platform with little success, but the LinkedIn purchase could be a very promising acquisition. Most people on LinkedIn already use some or all of Microsoft Office products, and integration could uncover opportunities for startling innovations. Imagine, for example, a businessperson heading for the next meeting on the Outlook calendar with the email addresses of the other attendees. Cortina, Microsofts voice-enabled personal assistant, could offer a briefing on the backgrounds and interests of the other attendees, drawing from LinkedIn profiles. Armed with some personal information, the business-person could quickly establish a connection that leads to a solid relation-ship and closed sale. LinkedIn made some early missteps with overly aggressive tactics to draw in new users. In 2012, the company sent emails to users contacts with repeated reminders to join LinkedIn, using their names and images. Users sued, complaining that the emails were damaging their reputations, and LinkedIn settled out of court for $13 million. With that mistake in the past, LinkedIns future looks bright, especially if the company can maintain the trust of its user base and offer useful services and contacts that professionals value as their careers progress.
Discussion Questions:
6-25. LinkedIn does not rely heavily on targeted advertising but generates revenue from other sources. Identify other sources of revenue that LinkedIn uses and explain how each contributes revenue.
6-26. What are some of the advantages for college students to use LinkedIn?
6-27. What are some of the advantages and benefits to Microsoft in the acquisition of LinkedIn?
6-28. Describe how Microsoft could integrate its products with LinkedIn to provide greater value to LinkedIn customers.
Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.
[order_calculator]