One of the more widely used social media platforms for business people is LinkedIn; some users say it’s a no-brainer.
Many users enjoy the site because it is easy to use, simple to maneuver around, and is an excellent way to stay connected with their former -- as well as current coworkers and colleagues.
Others find LinkedIn to be one of the premier ways to hunt for new job opportunities and to send messages to their current connections, job recruiters, and hiring managers.
While all this sounds good, some might ask if LinkedIn messages are private and whether sent messages will be shown to all their LinkedIn connections? They are.
Truly Private
According to Kinsta.com LinkedIn has over 760 million users, with more than 260 million monthly active users. Bottom line: those are impressive figures and the platform continues to attract business profiles.
To begin, creating a LinkedIn profile is not hard, however, there are a few things that can be considered challenging for new users such as messaging and other messaging options for users.
If you are applying for a new job and send a message you surely want that to be confidential. This begs the question if LinkedIn messages are truly private? The answer is, yes.
Messaging
LinkedIn messages and InMail are private and accessible to the sender and recipient. This includes messages you send to direct, first degree connections and messages you send to those, not in your network.
Messaging on LinkedIn happens like this: The most common is to message a user directly by either clicking on the top button under “Messaging” and filling out the recipient’s name. In this option, you can add a limited number of others to send a message.
Also, you may visit the recipient’s profile directly. To the right of their profile photo, is the option labeled “Message." This lets you send a message directly to that specific contact.
But, if you prefer sending a message to someone you aren’t connected to, you must upgrade your account to premium. Premium plans range in cost depending on the plan you need. LinkedIn offers various plans depending on specific needs.
Plans
Career, the most basic, gives insight on how you rate against other applicants for an open position. This plan lets you contact recruiters directly with a limited number of InMail credits per month, as well as gain access to featured online courses and get salary data.
The next tier is the Business account, which can be good for small and medium-sized organizations. It offers a certain number of messages per month and gives insight into other businesses. It lets you view unlimited profiles. Visit LinkedIn for cost and other features.
Then there is the Sales account, which is good for those in a sales role. It lets users build lead builders and lead lists to focus on the decision-makers at a company. A Sales account gives users a certain number of InMail messages per month. Visit the LinkedIn site for pricing and other features.
The last type of account is Hiring that offers more advanced features for larger and enterprise companies. For this account, you are provided with a certain number of InMail messages and may filter to search for the best candidate who is looking for a new opportunity. It also affords the ability to utilize the candidate tracking feature to follow a candidate and get updates on their profile changes. Visit the LinkedIn site for cost and other features.
Further, in terms of messaging, the final form of messaging takes place via OpenLink. OpenLink is a feature offered by LinkedIn to all premium members. It lets any member, regardless of connection, message you for free. This is invaluable for users who prefer keeping themselves accessible and who have a large following.
In the end, LinkedIn is a great tool that helps empower businesses, recruiters, and salespeople to keep track, filter, and remain focused on relevant information.