Yes, it is possible to integrate LinkedIn with SharePoint. SharePoint is Microsoft’s web-based collaborative platform that allows organizations to create intranets, websites, workflows, and more. LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform with over 660 million users worldwide. Integrating these two platforms can provide many benefits for businesses and organizations. Some key ways LinkedIn can integrate with SharePoint include:
- Enabling single sign-on (SSO) so users can access both platforms with one set of credentials
- Importing LinkedIn profile data into SharePoint user profiles
- Displaying LinkedIn feeds, groups, and more within SharePoint pages
- Adding LinkedIn’s “Share” button to SharePoint pages to encourage content sharing
- Linking SharePoint content directly to relevant LinkedIn profiles, groups, and posts
- Syncing contacts and connections between SharePoint and LinkedIn
Overall, integrating SharePoint and LinkedIn can make it easier for employees to collaborate, share knowledge, connect with colleagues, and more – all without having to switch between the two platforms.
Benefits of Integrating LinkedIn with SharePoint
There are several key benefits that organizations can realize by connecting LinkedIn to SharePoint:
Enhanced User Profiles
Integration allows user profile data like job titles, departments, and skills from LinkedIn to be imported into SharePoint user profiles. This creates richer profiles that give a full picture of each user.
Social Collaboration
With LinkedIn news feeds, groups, and social features added to SharePoint, users can collaborate and share information more effectively. This improves communication, knowledge sharing, and teamwork.
Wider Content Distribution
Users can share SharePoint content out to their LinkedIn networks with integrated sharing buttons. This amplifies the reach of that content to new audiences.
Targeted Networking
User profiles with LinkedIn data can be leveraged to suggest useful connections between colleagues based on shared departments, skills, and interests.
Enhanced Personal Branding
By displaying LinkedIn profiles and sharing capabilities in SharePoint, employees can build their personal brand and networks within the organization.
Unified Search
Searching across both SharePoint document libraries and LinkedIn networks surfaces more robust, complete results and information for users.
Methods to Integrate SharePoint and LinkedIn
There are a few main methods to integrate LinkedIn with SharePoint:
LinkedIn’s SharePoint Application
LinkedIn offers an application that can be added to SharePoint Online to enable core integrations. This allows single sign-on, syncing LinkedIn data to profiles, displaying feeds, and sharing content. The app is free and easy to set up for SharePoint admins.
Microsoft Graph API
For developers, deeper integration between SharePoint and LinkedIn can be built using the Microsoft Graph API. This unified API allows access to data across Microsoft’s cloud services and LinkedIn. It enables custom integrations as per an organization’s specific needs.
Third-Party Tools
There are also dedicated third-party software tools like Peoplise and Raytion that organizations can implement. These tools focus specifically on linking SharePoint and LinkedIn capabilities and data. They provide features like profile import, activity feeds, collaboration features, and more.
Custom Web Parts and Extensions
SharePoint developers can create custom web parts and extensions to integrate LinkedIn data and functionality into SharePoint pages and libraries. This level of customization requires more effort but can match an organization’s precise use cases.
Key LinkedIn Data to Bring into SharePoint
When planning an integration, some of the most valuable LinkedIn data to bring into SharePoint includes:
Profiles
User profiles with job titles, departments, skills, education, and more. This adds context for collaborating and connecting with colleagues.
Feeds
Activity feeds and news updates from LinkedIn connections, groups, and pages users follow. This provides a centralized social stream.
Groups
LinkedIn Groups users are members of, highlighting expertise, interests, and affiliation.
Contacts
LinkedIn connections for each user, enabling collaboration across company networks.
Shares and Likes
Content users have shared and engaged with on LinkedIn to understand interests and influence.
Skills
User skills listed on LinkedIn profiles to enable skill-based networking and expert finding.
LinkedIn Integration Options in SharePoint
Within SharePoint itself, there are several areas where LinkedIn integration can deliver value:
User Profiles
As mentioned, importing LinkedIn profile data like job title, department, skills, education, connections, etc. creates richer user profiles in SharePoint.
Newsfeed
The SharePoint newsfeed can be integrated with LinkedIn to surface posts, updates, and notifications from LinkedIn alongside regular SharePoint activity.
People Search
Connecting SharePoint and LinkedIn user profiles allows people search across both platforms, making it easier to find colleagues by skills, interests, connections, etc.
Pages
Relevant LinkedIn profiles, groups, posts, and feeds can be embedded directly on SharePoint pages to add social context.
Document Libraries
SharePoint libraries can link out to related LinkedIn content, profiles, and groups around specific documents, topics, and projects.
Implementation Steps
The exact steps to connect SharePoint and LinkedIn will vary based on the integration method used. But in general, the high-level process includes:
Planning
Define business goals, specific use cases, stakeholders, timeline, and technical approach for the integration.
Configuration
Set up the main integration mechanism selected – whether LinkedIn app, API, or third party tool. Configure initial settings.
User Provisioning
Provision or connect user accounts between the platforms, enabling matching of profiles. Manage access permissions.
Data Import
Import and sync select LinkedIn data into SharePoint – profiles, contacts, groups, etc. Configure refresh schedule.
Rollout
Pilot the integration, then rollout to wider audiences. Train users on new features, functionality, and ways to collaborate.
Adoption Tracking
Analyze usage metrics to monitor adoption across users and teams. Fine-tune the integration to increase usage.
Potential Challenges
When executing a LinkedIn and SharePoint integration, there are some potential challenges to consider:
Technical Complexity
Depending on method, integrations can involve many technical components like custom code, APIs, database connections, etc. The more complex the integration, the higher the chance of issues.
User Adoption
Driving user adoption of new integrations requires training, communication, and demonstrating clear value. Users ignore or abandon platforms when the learning curve is too steep.
Maintenance
Integrations need ongoing maintenance, support, and enhancement to keep up with platform upgrades and new features. This requires dedicated IT resources.
Cost
Depending on the integration tools or developers used, building deep integrations can carry significant software licensing or development costs.
Security
With two systems connected, it’s vital to assess potential security risks like unauthorized data access and validate controls are in place to prevent issues.
Best Practices for Implementation
To help ensure a successful deployment, some best practices include:
- Get executive buy-in by setting clear objectives aligned to business goals
- Audit both systems to inventory key integration points and dependencies
- Involve stakeholders early and often to drive adoption and gather feedback
- Start with a pilot group to test the integration before wide rollout
- Provide extensive training resources and support for users
- Monitor usage metrics and seek user feedback to refine the integration
- Review security protocols and controls and perform penetration testing
- Document architectures, data flows, processes to ease ongoing support
Use Cases
Some examples of how SharePoint-LinkedIn integration could deliver value include:
New Employee Onboarding
Import LinkedIn profiles into SharePoint to quickly give new hires rich profiles. Show relevant newsfeeds to help them connect with teams.
Expertise Location
Link SharePoint documents to related LinkedIn Groups and profiles to help users easily locate internal subject matter experts.
Talent Management
Draw on LinkedIn skills, interests, and connections to identify employees for stretch assignments, mentoring, and leadership development.
Collaborative Project Portals
Build project portals in SharePoint that integrate LinkedIn profiles, Groups, and feeds to foster team collaboration and knowledge sharing.
Corporate Communications
Create company pages in SharePoint that pull in LinkedIn follower demographics to optimize communications to different audiences.
Summary
Integrating LinkedIn with SharePoint creates significant opportunities to improve collaboration, networking, knowledge sharing, and targeted communications within organizations. A range of integration options exist, from LinkedIn’s out-of-the-box app to custom development with the Microsoft Graph API. Companies can realize benefits like enriched user profiles, amplified content reach, and unified search. To optimize success, organizations should follow integration best practices around stakeholder engagement, training, security controls, and adoption tracking. With the right strategy and implementation approach, linking SharePoint to LinkedIn data and capabilities can deliver tremendous value.
