5 STEPS TO ADDING AN EVENT ON LINKEDIN: HOW TO USE THE NEW LINKEDIN EVENTS FEATURE

I just got wind of the fact that LinkedIn launched LinkedIn Events, which according to AdWeek has been a pilot program since last November.

So what are LinkedIn Events?

The LinkedIn Events feature provides members with an easy way to create and join professional events that interest them.

LinkedIn events can be made public or private meaning anyone can view your event and choose to attend or you can set it so only people you invite or who have the event link can view it.

So, how do you get started? Here are the steps to creating your LinkedIn Events.

1. Log in to LinkedIn. By default, you will be brought to the ‘Home’ tab.

Scroll down on the left panel until you see ‘Events’ with the ‘+’ sign to the right of it. Click on the ‘+’ sign.

2. You will now see the ‘Create a new event’ box.

Upload an event banner. It should be 1440 px by 325 px. Then upload an event logo or image. I used a 400 px by 400 px image and it fit nicely.

3. Fill in all of the information about your event:

• Name of event – this can be a maximum of 75 characters.

• Location – I received an error when adding my event location. Apparently, LinkedIn expects the venue to already be listed on LinkedIn. When I typed the name of my venue into the LinkedIn search tool, only similar names appeared in the drop-down menu. I had to type the address in the location field instead. I ended up adding the name of my venue in the ‘Venue details’ section along with the name of the room.

• Venue details – add details of the venue such as room number, suite or floor number. You will have the opportunity to add a maximum number or 1024 characters here.

 

• Date and time – add the date and time of your event.

• Timezone – click on the drop-down arrow to select the timezone in which the event will be held.

• Event description – enter the description of your event. You may include what the event is about, your agenda, speakers, food and drink, if it is a paid or free event, and if tickets are required. You may use up to 5000 characters in this field.

• External URL – enter the event registration link to your ticketing or event site, which can be up to 1024 characters long.

• Event settings – select whether you want your event to be ‘Public’ or ‘Private’. You will not be able to change settings after the event has been created, so be sure you choose the correct one.

4. Make sure you agree to LinkedIn’s terms of services for events. If you do, then go ahead and click on the ‘Create’ button.

5. After you create your event you will see a box that says, ‘Event created successfully’ in the bottom left corner of the next page where you can manage your event.

On this page, be sure to either ‘Invite your connections’ who may be interested in your event, ‘Share your event’ to let your network know about your event or ‘Post about your event’ to start a conversation to engage attendees. You will see these options under the ‘Set your event up for success’ section.

You can ‘Start a conversation in this event’ by adding photos, video or upload a document.

You will also see your attendees on the right-side panel, and information about your event. You will, once again, be able to invite your connections to register for your event.

When you share your event, your post will be visible on your LinkedIn feed, on your profile, and in the search results.

Before you hit the ‘Post’ button, click on the drop-down arrow under your name. You will see you have the option of who you want to see your event — anyone on or off LinkedIn, anyone on or off LinkedIn plus post the event to Twitter, your connections only, group members, and in the advanced settings you can turn on or off the comments for your event. Once you’ve selected who you want to see your event, you can then click on the ‘Post’ button.

BONUS

How to find and manage your events once you’ve created them:

Once I got out of the manage event page, it took me a while to figure out how to get back to my event page. I had a duh moment.

To get back to your event, go to the ‘Home’ tab. Scroll down again on the left panel just like you did to create the event. Click on the name of the event, and this will take you back to the manage event page, so you can edit the event, share it or invite connections.

 

Notes from LinkedIn about the new events feature:

• Two months ago, LinkedIn stated, ” … the ability to organize an event is being gradually rolled out to all our LinkedIn members. However, anyone can join an event (public or private) if they receive an invitation from the organizer or an attendee, or from an event that’s been shared by a connection. We’ll be making the experience more widely available soon.” Therefore, you may or may not see this feature.

• Once you’ve accepted an invite to an event, the feature gives you access to a list of LinkedIn members who will be attending the event with you. This is a great place to start interacting with other attendees, as you can invite them to connect before you meet at the event. You can also participate in discussions with other attendees by posting and joining conversations in the event feed.

• Both organizers and attendees can send invitations to connections to attend an event. Note: If an event is private, the organizer will need to provide permission for attendees to invite their connections. In addition, the event organizer can withdraw an invitation or remove an attendee if they change their mind.

As always, I hope this was helpful, and if you are not a big LinkedIn user, be sure to read, “10 Ways LinkedIn Helped My Business Grow.” Hopefully, it will motivate you to add LinkedIn to your marketing strategy! 😉

 

Resource(s):

LinkedIn Events Is Finally Rolling Out Globally

An Early Look At the New LinkedIn Events Feature

LinkedIn Events Overview

Organizers of LinkedIn Events

Attendees of LinkedIn Events

Creating and Managing LinkedIn Events

Inviting Your Connections to Attend a LinkedIn Event

Posting or Joining a Conversation in a LinkedIn Event Feed

Viewing an Attendee List for LinkedIn Events

Responding to LinkedIn Events Invitations

Sharing a Public LinkedIn Event with Your Network

Managing the Attendees of LinkedIn Events

Visibility and Privacy Settings for LinkedIn Events