CASE STUDY Kylan Johnson 06/11/2015

CLICK Analysis  Linkedin drew an advantage by being the first platform to offer a place to network on a professional level, and through the process, build a personal brand.  Reid Hoffman (Founder of Linkedin) aspired to be a philosopher, and desired to find a way to “strengthen public intellectual culture.”  With Myspace and Friendster paving the way for a new era of social media, Linkedin was able to capture the professional side of the online growing community. Linkedin rode on the wave of success and growth of other big time social media players.  Linkedin was targeting business professionals looking to expand their network and grow their personal brand.  Reid Hoffman was well educated and had been a part of a number of large internet businesses, including PayPal, prior to founding Linkedin.

SWOT Analysis Strengths 1.Well known brand in the business community. 2.Web Platform provides a wide variety of services, including a Job Board. 3.Users can customize their profile to present themselves with character. 4.Businesses have the opportunity to recruit and build a presence/following. Weaknesses 1.Brand still lacks recognition outside of the major business scene. 2.Current platform encourages spamming from large businesses. 3.Recruiters can take advantage of service and spam users as well. 4.Publicly accessed info can be users. Opportunities 1.More employers are encouraging online applications. This allowed Linkedin to create a feature to upload your Linkedin profile. 2.China lifted ban on Linkedin. 3.Smartphone’s apps allow a new level of mobile service to users. 4.More employers are looking to recruit online. Threats 1.Linkedin was introduced prior to the social media boom. This prevented overnight success. 2.Linkedin Temporarily blocked in China. 3.US export and re-export control laws and regulations limiting service to a few countries. 4.A lot of older business professionals lack online experience.

Competitor Analysis  Linkedin’s competitors include Viadeo, XING, and Monster.

Viadeo vs Linkedin  Although Viadeo went public around the same time as Linkedin, it was based in Europe. Only recently has Viadeo started planning a move into the US. Linkedin has a major advantage of being the established primary professional networking platform in the US.

XING vs Linkedin  XING has 12 million members, compared to Linkedin’s 90 million. XING has a similar story to Viadeo. XING has been a major presence in Germany, but poses no large threat to Linkedin within the US.

Monster vs Linkedin  Monster has been a household name in recruiting and is considered to be one of the most successful job boards online. Monster has been around since Although Moster might have the leg up when considering job board functionality, Linkedin has a far superior community base platform that allows for networking within the site. Monster is still on the run, trying to develop a community platform that offers a sense of personality, and provides users a place to connect and relate with one another.

KP Key Partners Employers Influencers KA Key Activities Network VP Value Proposition Convenience Exposure Recruiting CR Customer Relationships Community Co-Creation Self Service CS Customer Segments Business Professionals Influencers Employers KR Key Resources Human/Contrib utors Intellectual/Bra nd Financial/Marke ting CH Channels Website Apps Social Media C$ Cost Structure Marketing IT R$ Revenue Streams Free Business Model Usage Fees Subscription Advertising Business Model Canvas

Alternative Business Models  Linkedin could utilize the podcasting realm to build a reputation and a knowledge/self-help platform off of their success. Modeling the success from Tedx, they could recruit speakers and influencers to present on their behalf to provide consumers with valuable information to apply to certain industries. This would open up revenue by hosting conferences and offering books and podcasts to back up the influencer content.  If Linkedin pursued a partnership with Facebook, they could cross their platforms to draw a lot more users to Linkedin. This would allow for larger growth for personal networks, adding value to the service all together.

References  Rowan, D. (2012, March 20). For LinkedIn Founder Reid Hoffman, Relationships Rule the World. Retrieved June 12, 2015, from  The history of social networking. (2014, August 4). Retrieved June 14, 2015, from of-social-networking/ of-social-networking/  Lee, E. (2009, June 2). LinkedIn's startup story: Connecting the business world. Retrieved June 14, 2015, from story.smb/ story.smb/  Demers, J. (2014, November 5). 7 Truths About LinkedIn Every Professional Needs to Know. Retrieved June 14, 2015, from professional-needs-to-know.html professional-needs-to-know.html

References (continued)  Wee, W. (2013, July 11). Why isn't LinkedIn Blocked in China? Retrieved June 14, 2015, from linkedin-not-blocked-china/ linkedin-not-blocked-china/  Syria: Linkedin Kicks Off Syrian Users! (2009, April 18). Retrieved June 14, 2015, from linkedin-kicks-off-syrian-users/ linkedin-kicks-off-syrian-users/  Why Do Most Recruiters Find Me On Monster As Opposed To Linkedin? (n.d.). Retrieved June 15, 2015, from recruiters-find-me-on-monster-as-opposed-to-linkedin/ recruiters-find-me-on-monster-as-opposed-to-linkedin/  Who are LinkedIn's competitors? (n.d.). Retrieved June 15, 2015, from