Using Toolbars and Widgets
In Chapters 6 and 10, you learned about a variety of LinkedIn applications and plugins that can help you enhance your LinkedIn profile and offer additional exposure. Now it’s time to use some handy LinkedIn toolbars and widgets to make your daily LinkedIn activities more efficient and more effective.
Depending on how you use LinkedIn and your LinkedIn goals, some or all of the toolbars and widgets mentioned in this chapter could be useful to you. They’re all free, so give them a try and see which ones make your LinkedIn life easier to manage.
Browser Toolbar
If you use Mozilla Firefox for PC or Mac, or Microsoft Internet Explorer as your web browser; then you can download the corresponding LinkedIn toolbar. Click the Tools link in the LinkedIn footer to open the LinkedIn Tools Overview page shown in Figure 12.1. Click the Download It Now button in the browser tool-bar box on the right side of the screen, and then select Internet Explorer or Firefox from the drop-down menu.
Figure 12.1: Click the Download It Now button in the browser toolbar box to download the Internet Explorer or Firefox toolbar for LinkedIn.
The LinkedIn browser toolbar makes it easy and quick to bookmark profiles, jobs, and searches on LinkedIn so you can access them at a later date. Simply click the bookmark button in the toolbar and the page is saved.
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Outlook Social Connector
The LinkedIn Outlook Social Connector tool connects your LinkedIn account with your Microsoft Outlook email account. Just click the Outlook Social Connector tab at the top of the LinkedIn Tools Overview page shown in Figure 12.1 to open the LinkedIn for Outlook page shown in Figure 12.2.
Figure 12.2: Link your Outlook email account and your LinkedIn account with the Outlook Social Connector tool.
Click the Download It Now button to download the Outlook Social Connector tool and start using it right away. You can email your LinkedIn connections directly from your Outlook account when you use this tool, and you can see the latest LinkedIn activities and photos from your LinkedIn connections who email you. The tool also helps you save time by allowing you to send LinkedIn connection requests without leaving your Outlook inbox!
Lotus Notes Widget
If you use Lotus Notes as your email tool, then the LinkedIn Widget for Lotus Notes is a great option for you. Click the Lotus tab on the LinkedIn Tools Overview page shown in Figure 12.1 to open the LinkedIn Widget for Lotus Notes page in Figure 12.3.
Figure 12.3: Connect your LinkedIn account with Lotus Notes email with the Lotus Notes Widget.
Just click the Download It Now button to start using the widget. You can access your LinkedIn updates without leaving your Lotus Notes account, get additional information about people who send you email to your Lotus Notes account, share updates, read your connections’ updates, and more. It’s a great time saver!
Adding your LinkedIn profile and details to your email signature is an excellent way to cross-promote your content and brand. It’s also an unobtrusive way to build your LinkedIn network because it makes it easy for anyone who gets an email from you to find and connect with you on LinkedIn.
To access the LinkedIn Email Signature tool, click the Try It Now button to the right of the Email Signature listing shown in Figure 12.1.
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The Create Email Signature page shown in Figure 12.4 and Figure 12.5 opens. Enter the requested information to create your personal signature, which will be appended to the end of your email messages.
Figure 12.4: Choose your email signature layout from the gallery.
To personalize your email signature, click the Select Layout drop-down menu shown in Figure 12.4 and choose your preferred style from the list. To view all choices, click the View Gallery link. The design you select appears with your information included beneath the Select Layout box.
Next, enter your personal information into the form provided (see Figure 12.5). You can enter your business and contact details, and upload a logo to include with your signature. In the Options section of the form, you can choose to remove the “Professional Profile” link that leads to your personal LinkedIn profile and the “See who we know in common” link by deselecting the corresponding check boxes. You can also add a “We’re hiring” link to display open positions at your company as advertised on your Company Page through LinkedIn Jobs by selecting the corresponding checkbox.
When you’re satisfied with how your email signature looks, select the Click Here for Instructions link at the bottom of the form to get the necessary code and instructions to add the link to your email signature as shown in Figure 12.6.
Figure 12.6: Copy the code and follow the instructions to add your signature to your email messages.
Be sure to select the right email client from the drop-down menu.
Mac Search Widget
The Mac Search Widget is very handy for people who use Macs. Simply click the Download It Now button to the right of the Mac Search Widget listing shown in Figure 12.1 to instantly download and use the widget.
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Once you’ve installed the Mac Search Widget, you can use it to quickly search LinkedIn from your Mac dashboard for people, groups, answers, or jobs.
Google is the most popular search engine, and many people already have Google search toolbars displayed in their web browsers. The Google Toolbar Assistant adds a LinkedIn search icon to your Google Toolbar, so you can quickly search for people on LinkedIn at any time.
To add the LinkedIn search icon to your Google search toolbar, you need to have the Google toolbar installed first. Just click the Download It Now button to the right of the Google Toolbar Assistant listing shown in Figure 12.1 to download the LinkedIn icon. If you don’t already have the correct Google toolbar installed, you’ll be prompted to download it first.