S.P MANDALI’S PRIN. L.N.

WELINGKAR INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

DEVELOPMENT & RESEARCH
BANGALORE

RESEARCH PROJECT

ON

A social network research on LinkedIn: marketing strategies for building meaningful

collaborations offline.

BY

SUBASH VUPPALA
PGDM - Business Design & Innovation, 2018 – 20

ROLL NO 29

Project Faculty Guide

Prof. Ragesh TS
Prof. Prakash Unakal
Prof. Mohan Chandra

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 PROJECT COMPLETION CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project titled “A social network research on LinkedIn: marketing
strategies for building meaningful collaborations offline” is successfully done by Mr. Subash
Vuppala in partial fulfillment of his two years’ full time course ‘Post Graduation Diploma in
Management’, recognized by AICTE, through S.P Mandali’s Prin. L. N. Welingkar Institute of
Management Development & Research, Bangalore.

This project in general is done under my guidance.

________________________
(Signature of Faculty Guide)

Name : Prof. Ragesh TS

Date :

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It gives me immense pleasure in presenting my project report titled, “A social network

research on LinkedIn: marketing strategies for building meaningful collaborations
offline” I express my deep sense of gratitude and sincere regards to my Mentor(s) Prof.
Prakash Unakkal, Prof. Mohan Chandra, Prof. Ragesh TS. Their timely guidance and
friendly discussions has helped me immensely in completing my project work.

Lastly, I express my sincere thanks to friends and professors who have always helped me
to make this task successful.

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 NO PLAGIARISM DECLARATION

I, the undersigned, hereby declare that the project titled “A social network research on LinkedIn:
marketing strategies for building meaningful collaborations offline”
(a) has been prepared by me towards the partial fulfillment for the award of Post-Graduation
Diploma in Management - PGDM Business Design & Innovation under the guidance of Prof.
Ragesh TS, S. P. Mandali’s Prin. L. N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development and
Research, Bengaluru.
(b) This work is original and has not been submitted for any degree/diploma in this or any other
Institute/Organization.
(c) The information furnished in this dissertation is genuine and original to the best of my
knowledge and belief.
(d) I have not indulged in plagiarism. The project report has been checked for plagiarism and
output report has been attached.

____________________________ _____________________________
Name: Subash Vuppala Signature
Place: Bengaluru Date:

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Sl.no Table of Content Pg
1 Synopsis 6
2 Literature Review 7
3 Analysis of alternatives 9
4 Methods & Methodologies 10
5 Data Interpretation 11
6 Reliability Analysis 16
7 Hypothesis identified 17
8 Correlation and Regression testing 17
9 Final solutions formulated for the prototype 25
10 Conclusion 26
11 References 26

Sl.no Table of graphs Pg

1 Graph of age 11
2 Pie-Chart of gender 12
3 Bar graph of effectiveness of collaborations 12
4 Bar graph of trustworthiness in LinkedIn 13
5 Bar graph of applying to jobs on LinkedIn 13
6 Bar graph of rating introvertness on social media 14
7 Bar graph of rating on importance of scrolling on news feed 14
8 Bar graph of ratings for LinkedIn groups 15
9 Ratings for functionality of LinkedIn 15
10 Bar graph on ratings for what drives the user to send a connection request 16
11 Bar graphs for opinion ratings on features of LinkedIn privacy settings 16
12 Graph for satisfaction to applying jobs on LinkedIn vs importance for application status 18
13 Graph for satisfaction to applying jobs on LinkedIn vs hashtag job recommendations 19
14 Graph for satisfaction to applying jobs on LinkedIn vs functionality of premium 20
15 Graph for social introvertness v/s privacy options 21
16 Graph for effectiveness of collaboration v/s factors for connecting 22
17 Graph for LinkedIn satisfaction v/s various functionality on LinkedIn 23
18 Graph for Age v/s satisfaction for applying to jobs on LinkedIn 24

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 1. SYNOPSIS

(a) Objective of study :

Study the LinkedIn network, its user behavior, social network analysis, social structures at macro
level. The challenges faced by these network structures and visibility of connects in establishing
relationships will be identified and an analysis will be made to define key marketing strategies in
building greater collaboration & effectiveness of network.

(b) Research Methodology, Data Collection, & Analysis:

Collection of primary data will be based on network observations, questionnaires to Linked in

users of different work domains & cultures and secondary data to be collected from journals that
are related to network science, sociology & social marketing intelligence.
Data will be presented in the form of pie-charts, bar graphs, donut graphs wherever necessary for
the qualitative data and quantitative data will be analyzed based on correlation, regression.

(c) Expected Results of the research: Hypothesis & Synthesis

Hypothesis would be to study dependency and strength of relationship between variables like
“people who may have viewed” and relevant job opportunities. Variables like followed hashtags
and relevance of articles/posts seen on newsfeed. Additionally all other dependency and
independent factors will be studied for understanding visibility and connection relevance for
LinkedIn network.
A major part of the research will also have need canvas, pain points identified, stakeholder
mapping and user journey maps in developing an effective solution through marketing strategies
identified for solving the problem.

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 1. Literature Review

LinkedIn : If there is anything on social media and connected to college, or in the

professional world, it’s something everybody hears to it all the time, so much so that
one may hardly react to it anymore. Maybe one has a half-done LinkedIn profile,
copied and pasted right from their resume. But they haven’t logged in for months. On
the other hand, perhaps someone do not have one at all. Alternatively, maybe someone
wants to run his or her own business, or startup. In that case, people wonder why
entrepreneurs should be on LinkedIn. What brought us to a platform for connecting
professionally? According to The Wall Street Journal (paywall), researchers discovered
that 75% of those who get new jobs have not been actively looking or even applying to
jobs. Being referred by a friend is the new cool. They are vouching for one’s ability
and intellect, which goes a long way if the hiring manager trusts their opinion. Then
what if one doesn’t have connections at the companies they want to work for? [2]
.Again, LinkedIn is the social network to be on when it comes to getting discovered for
a new professional opportunity. If one’s a professional and not ‘on’ LinkedIn, they
nearly don't exist through the eyes of recruiters. A graphic designer with UX
knowledge, living in that zip code radius, and interested in landing a new job may not
even find that job because the recruiter finds someone else for that role.
Challenges/opportunities in building effective and meaningful connections This research
project is mainly taken up to understand what led to a failure of making meaningful
connections and collaborations and why this couldn’t get carried to offline environment.
When we meet someone at a Meetup or industry event?. However, this is where the catch
is. Very less turn up in establishing better face-to-face relationships through use of their
platform is a downward trend we must not ignore. [7]. Company profiles can show lists of
present and former employee and tell you if you’re connected to any. But, the
recommendation stops there. Most big social networks are fun to use but tough to turn into
businesses. Facebook found it difficult until they entered into mobile advertising;
Snapchat television is still a struggle for them, twitter might likely to be sold out. For a
long time the work-centered social network LinkedIn, which was acquired by Microsoft for
$26.2 billion, had the opposite problem: it was a reliable generator of cash, but refused by a
large number of users. LinkedIn’s signature phrase — "Hi, I’d like to add you to my

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professional network on LinkedIn" —was a perfect New Yorker’s long-running cartoon
caption contest. LinkedIn is one of the oldest network and is meant for social networking
unlike Facebook. Create a profile & connect to others was the network model. In early
stages, it worried lot of bosses as they thought the current employees would be leaving if
they posted resume online. It took three years for LinkedIn to reach 20 million users [8].
LinkedIn premium subscription declines However, LinkedIn premium service growth has
declined in last two years. It felt so risky for the company to be on the same platform.
Therefore, the company looked at new ventures: for acquiring online company like
Lynda.com etc. series of underpowered, little-used apps. The company came up with
variety of business models later on but eventually they failed, later the company’s ad
business curve did not rise any further, stopping its growth. Their email address will be
right there. [9] They modernized the user interface in an effort to make it more useful to
people who were not actively seeking jobs. Understanding these networks to the core, and
reason for failure in helping in effective collaborations. Collaborations that are actually
required and meant to an individual.
Which connection comes of in need at what point of time is also something that LinkedIn
lacks. Keeping in mind all the above-mentioned drawbacks of LinkedIn network and how
the relationships and collaborations can be enhanced to make them more meaningful and
helpful for people to collaborate offline would be the analysis and study in further sections
of this paper.

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 3, ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES
Naukri
 Naukri has been a good platform
for job applications as per
majority of respondents.
 Compared to LinkedIn,
respondents find more
transparency in job postings by
naukri.com.
 Unfortunately, Naukri could not
build a social networking
structure for interactive
connections.
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Meetup
 Meetup admins can organize a
network with an unlimited number of
groups on a single account.
 However, the trends drive the groups
& the formation of groups drive the
meetings.
 Since, its again about self-driven
social network structures its not
possible to build a stable social
network.
4. METHODS AND METHODOLOGIES
Data was collected using a questionnaire form. The collected data was significant because it
was distributed across a big sample size. The results are divided into several sub sections like
descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, and correlation, and regression, ANOVA test for
understanding if there is a significant mean difference between samples.

Questionnaire

Identify variables
1. What is your Age?
2. What is your gender?
3. What is your professional status?
a. Student
b. Employed
c. Unemployed
d. Free-Lancer
e. Retired professional
4. Rate effectiveness of collaborations who interact on messaging window, how far is it
helpful for you to close a deal, sale or schedule meeting/appointment.
5. Trustworthiness in planning a meeting/event with unknown professionals through
LinkedIn.
6. Rate your satisfaction for applying to jobs on LinkedIn.
7. Rate from 1 to 5 on how good you are at recollecting the profiles of previously connected
professionals when there is a need of job/event planning?
8. Rate from 1 to 5.How introvert are you, on a social network like LinkedIn?
9. Rate from 1 to 5 on importance of scrolling a news feed in helping you explore the
professional world/jobs/careers.
10. Rate from 1 to 5 considering the benefits of joining groups on LinkedIn, have you ever
made a conversation there.
11. Rate from 1 to 5 on importance in showing the status of job application as
12. Rate from 1 to 5 for LinkedIn premium as a subscription to boost your profile.
13. Rate from 1 to 5 on hashtags recommended for you that are relevant to job search/event
collaborations you are searching for?
14. What are the factors that drive you to send a connection request :
a. A known second/third connection from your existing connections.
b. Impressive title.
c. Education, certifications.
d. Previous companies worked for.
e. Random as the post written was impressive.

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 15. Rate your thoughts on importance of privacy as a LinkedIn user for below privacy
features provided by LinkedIn.
o Profile viewing options ( a feature for you to watch other’s profile in private
mode or you could be visible)
o Manage active status (who can see when you are in LinkedIn)
o Who can see your email address
o Viewers of this profile also viewed(choose to have this feature or not have it)
o Using public data to improve your profile (a feature that you could turn on for
recommendations to improve your profile based on public data)
o Personal demographic information (choose details to provide for personal
information)

5. DATA INTERPRETATION
The major demographics include Age, gender and professional status with age bracket from 23-
65 years. Gender categorization of 50% male and female as indicated below.

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A pie chart is being made for understanding the professional status demographic as seen with
students being 40% ,10% retired professionals, 10% unemployed, and 40% of respondents
being employed.
When respondents were asked about effectiveness of collaborations who interact on messaging
window, how far it is helpful in closing a deal/make a sale. About 54.5% of respondents have
rated 2/5, which is less than average. Which means, the feature, messaging window is not really
a effective tool to collaborate or close a deal or something there.

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Also, when asked respondents about trustworthiness in planning a meeting/event with unknown
professionals through LinkedIn 45.5 % and 36.4 % of respondents have rated 2/5 or 3/5, which
means there is average or less than average trust on LinkedIn in planning a meeting/event with
unknown professionals.

When asked respondents about their rate of satisfaction on applying jobs in LinkedIn, 46.2%
have rated 2/5 , 15.4% have rated 1/5 and 15.4% have rated 3/5 which means people are less
than average satisfied with the way you apply for jobs on LinkedIn.

When respondents were asked on rating how good they could recollect the profiles of
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 previously connected professionals when there is a need for a job/event planning 46.2% of
respondents have rated 3/5.

When asked about being introvert on social network in LinkedIn, 3/5 in 46.2% respondents , 2/5
with 15.4% respondents , 23.1% respondents are given 1/5 rating in terms of being introvert on
social network

When asked about importance in scrolling news feed on LinkedIn, 53.8% of respondents have
rated 4/5 which is like very important for them.

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Considering the benefits of joining groups on LinkedIn where 41.7% and 25% have rated 3/5
and 2/5 in making conversations on group.

Based on functionality maximum respondents have rated 5/5 as very important for showing
application status for job seekers. People have voted average for LinkedIn premium subscription.

When asked respondents the factors that drive you to send a connection request, most of them
opined that previous companies worked and impressive title are major reasons why they send
connection requests.

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People opinioned profile viewing through private mode as an important privacy feature on
LinkedIn as shown in fig below.

6. RELIABILITY ANALYSIS

In this study, the main focus is to look at the factors that are affecting a new hypothetical market
on the user behavior stand point of view. The reliability analysis result showed that the
Cronbach’s Alpha was 0.667298 for all the items. In this study, the reliability analysis result
showed 0.667298, therefore, there were internal consistency of good scales. Hence, this
instrument used in this study has a high reliability value.

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7.HYPOTHESIS IDENTIFIED
H1: Age and other demographics does it have correlation with LinkedIn user satisfaction,
effectiveness of establishing collaborations, turning into a social media introvert, LinkedIn job
search pattern.

H2: Satisfaction of using LinkedIn is there a correlation with respect to effectiveness of

messaging window, scrolling for news on newsfeed, rate of happiness in responses you get while
you apply for jobs.

H3: effectiveness of collaboration with respect to making connection while having conversation
in a group, every second/ third connection that is suggested from existing connection, random
connection sent as the post was impressive, Education/certifications, Previous companies
worked, impressive title.

H4: Does too much of privacy setting prevent one from collaborating and gradually becomes a
social network introvert. Study privacy options with social network introvertness of user.

H5: Satisfaction of LinkedIn job search measured for correlation/regression with respect to
recommended hashtag, rate of happiness for responses you get while you apply for jobs,
LinkedIn premium subscription, LinkedIn Easy Apply, Application status.

8.Correlation and Regression testing

Hypothesis under study:

H5: Satisfaction of LinkedIn job search measured for correlation/regression with respect to
recommended hashtag, rate of happiness for responses you get while you apply for jobs,
LinkedIn premium subscription, LinkedIn Easy Apply, Application status.

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 Satisfaction for applying to LinkedIn jobs vs y = -0.5277x + 5.1374
importance for showing job application status R² = 0.4531

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6

As per graph above, we can understand that the correlation between variables identified like
satisfaction for applying to LinkedIn jobs which is on X-axis with respect to importance for
showing status of job application. A maximum number of people have rated between 3 to 5 with
regards to importance of showing job application status which is not present in LinkedIn
applications as of now, also we find that the significant p-value is lesser than 0.05. Which means
we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternate hypothesis thereby concluding that there is
a significant linear relationship between satisfaction for applying to LinkedIn jobs and
importance for showing job application status after applying to it.

As we can see a moderate negative correlation between the two variables, we can say that people
who are highly dissatisfied with LinkedIn job search are finding job application status to be
shown as very important.

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 Satisfaction for LinkedIn job search vs functionality of
y = 0.7985x + 0.79
premium subscription R² = 0.5793
6

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6

As per graph above, we can understand that the correlation between variables identified like
satisfaction for applying to LinkedIn jobs, which is on X-axis with respect to satisfaction for
premium subscription. A maximum number of people have rated between 1 to 3 with regards to
premium subscription, which means the premium subscription has to improve its service in terms
of better job searches and faster responses for job application. In addition, we find that the
significant p-value is lesser than 0.05, which means we reject the null hypothesis and accept the
alternate hypothesis thereby concluding that there is a significant linear relationship between
satisfaction for applying to LinkedIn jobs and functionality for premium subscription.

As we can see a significant positive correlation between the two variables, we can say that
people who are highly dissatisfied with LinkedIn job search have rated very less satisfied with
premium services of LinkedIn.

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 Satisfaction of LinkedIn job search vs functionality of
y = 0.2735x + 3.5204
hashtag job recommendations R² = 0.1377
6

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6

As per graph above we can understand that the correlation between variables identified like
satisfaction for applying to LinkedIn jobs which is on X-axis with respect to satisfaction for
premium subscription. A maximum number of people have rated between 3 to 5 with regards to
premium subscription which means the premium subscription has to improve its service in terms
of better job searches and faster responses for job application. Also we find that the significant p-
value is lesser than 0.05 which means we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternate
hypothesis thereby concluding that there is a significant linear relationship between satisfaction
for applying to LinkedIn jobs and functionality of hashtag job recommendations.

As we can see a significant positive correlation between the two variables we can say that people
who are highly dissatisfied with LinkedIn job search have rated very less satisfied with hashtag
job recommendations.

Hypothesis under study :

We will be studying the ratings given by users for privacy settings if they are anyway correlated
to becoming a social media introvert. This is again a correlation and regression study.

 Null hypothesis H0:ρ=0H0:ρ=0 ( There is no relationship between social media

introvertness & privacy setting rating on LinkedIn)
 Alternative hypothesis HA:ρ≠0 or Ha: ρ<0 Ha: ρ< 0 or Ha :ρ>0

Deductions

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Surprisingly, people who are highly social media introverts have rated less private, for viewers of
this profile also viewed somebody else’s profile. Meaning, social media introverts are wanting
to look at other connection’s keeping themselves private.

Social Intovertness vs Privacy options

6

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Series1 Series2 Series3 Series4 Series5

Linear (Series1) Linear (Series3) Linear (Series4) Linear (Series5)

Series 1 : Social media introvertness vs profile viewing options

Series 2 : Social media introvertness vs manage active status
Series 3 : Social media introvertness vs who can see your email address
Series 4 : Social media introvertness vs Viewers of this profile also viewed other profiles.
Series 5 : Social media introvertness vs personal demographic information

As we can see that, the comparison between social media introvertness v/s privacy options where
the highest correlation is between social introvertness and privacy to watch other’s profile
without being noticed. People with high social introvertness felt private viewing for other’s
profile is a highly important privacy setting compared to manage active status, view personal
demographic information, who can see your email address

Hypothesis under study :

H3: effectiveness of collaboration with respect to making connection while having conversation
in a group, every second/ third connection that is suggested from existing connection, random
connection sent as the post was impressive, Education/certifications, Previous companies
worked, impressive title

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 Effectiveness of collaboration vs factors for
connecting
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Series1 Series2 Series3 Series4

Series5 Linear (Series1) Linear (Series2) Linear (Series3)
Linear (Series4) Linear (Series5)

Series 1: Effectiveness of collaborating vs a second/third connection from your existing

connections.
Series 2: Effectiveness of collaborating vs Impressive Title
Series 3: Effectiveness of collaborating vs Education/Certifications
Series 4: Effectiveness of collaborating vs previous companies worked for
Series 5: Effectiveness of collaborating vs Random person as one of the post by him/her was
impressive.

As we can see that effectiveness of collaborating is linearly dependent on various important

factors like second/third connection from your existing connections, education/certifications,
previous companies worked for, random person as one of the post by him/her was impressive.

The most important factors include which has high correlation coefficient are
education/certifications, previous companies worked for and impressive title. It could be seen
that the greatest factor for professionals to connect with each other’s previous companies
worked and education/certifications.
Hence, increasing innovations in the area of showing previous companies worked/education will
help professionals to collaborate better.

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Hypothesis under study :

H2: Satisfaction of using LinkedIn is there a correlation with respect to effectiveness of

messaging window, scrolling for news on newsfeed, rate of happiness in responses you get
while you apply for jobs

LinkedIn satisfaction vs functionality of LinkediN

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0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Rate of effectiveness of collaborations who interact on messaging window

Rate from 1 to 5 on importance of scrolling LinkedIn news feed
Rate your satisfaction for applying to jobs on LinkedIn
Linear (Rate of effectiveness of collaborations who interact on messaging window)
Linear (Rate from 1 to 5 on importance of scrolling LinkedIn news feed)
Linear (Rate your satisfaction for applying to jobs on LinkedIn)

As we can see that satisfaction of using LinkedIn is linearly dependent on various important
factors like Effectiveness of collaborating on messaging window, importance of scrolling on
news feed, satisfaction for applying to jobs on LinkedIn.

The most important factors include which has high correlation coefficient are importance of
scrolling on news feed and satisfaction for applying to jobs on Linked In. It could be seen that
the greatest factor for professionals to be satisfied about LinkedIn is importance of scrolling on
news feed and applying for jobs.
Hence, increasing innovations in the area of showing relatable posts and better job applying
system will help grow members and traffic on LinkedIn.

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Hypothesis under study :

H1: Age, gender and professional status does it have correlation with LinkedIn user satisfaction,
effectiveness of establishing collaborations, turning into a social media introvert, LinkedIn job
search pattern.

As age increases, rating for job satisfaction also increases. People of younger age have rated less
than 3, for satisfaction of applying to jobs on LinkedIn. Which means, the majority population
of members who are on LinkedIn who are of young age group are least satisfied about applying
for jobs on LinkedIn.

RATE YOUR SATISFACTION FOR APPLYING TO

JOBS ON LINKEDIN
7

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60

As age increases, social introvertness decreases. Meaning, people who are elderly have rated
they are socially extrovert and people who are young are more of social introverts. Which
means, that people who are older age group express their experience more on LinkedIn and the
younger population seem to follow.

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9. Final Solutions formulated for the prototype

1. Likes and reactions over a particular post is just a number we will need far more
advanced AI/ML algorithms to help user with better stats to distinguish right content.
2. Priority of showing posts on one’s news feed should move from “someone likes this” to
“88% of the users find this interesting”. This will help in building better relevance of a
post.
3. Reactions and likes, the numbers shall become absolutely irrelevant for other users
watching it. A better way to measure the interest for a post is by showing “how many of
people who has similar interests as yours have like the post”. Thereby, keeping the
relevance of post meaningful.
4. Group’s need to be highlighted as people with common interests come together there,
improved notifications and highlighting conversations between members with effective
administrators can create more meaningful activities and collaborations.
5. Recommended hashtags to follow need more precision based on understanding of the
activity by user.
6. User’s interests keep changing and the people whom the user might have followed may
not be relevant at the present situation. Therefore, it is important to understand the current
liking/interest of user and show relevant people concerning those interests.
7. LinkedIn premium should be more focused in customer centric interaction as the job
search journey of a particular user goes along. It should involve customer interaction as a
key to working with premium.
8. A tool that connects on back end associated with only certified human resource
professionals need to be built by LinkedIn for regulating phishing posts and also to create
a reverse feedback mechanism for job applications.
9. Messaging window should give instant notifications on leads whom we contacted weeks
ago, whom do we follow up with and alert the other party about your request.

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 10. Conclusion :

There is a lot of opportunity in improving services by providing better AI/ML stats for user to
distinguish the right content, by keeping the relevance of content in line with the interests of
user, by showing “how many people of similar interests” likes a particular post. By making the
groups more active and notified to members who joined them, by having a good feedback
mechanism for HR to update status regarding a job application thereby making LinkedIn job
service more reliable.

With such immense potentialities to improve business, customers can be brought in line to use
LinkedIn services at ease if the above opportunity gap is filled.

11. References

1. Social Network Analysis by John Scott

2. LinkedIn user behavior survey report by medium
3. Models and methods in social network analysis by PJ Carrington
4. Social structure and network analysis by PV Marsden.
5. Social Networking Data Analysis Tools & Challenges research articles by Anni
Sapountzi.
6. Social network analysis: An approach and technique for the study of information
exchange.
7. Advances in social network analysis: research in social and behavioral sciences by S
Wassermann.
8. Challenges in the Analysis of Online Social Networks: A Data Collection Tool
Perspective.
9. LinkedIn-Statistics by Omnicore.

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