Microsoft Teams and LinkedIn are two powerful platforms that can work together to enhance collaboration, communication, and engagement within an organization. LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 810 million members worldwide. Microsoft Teams is a chat-based collaboration app that is part of the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity tools. Connecting Microsoft Teams to LinkedIn allows you to bring profiles, contacts, groups, and news feeds into Teams for richer user experiences.
There are a few key ways to integrate LinkedIn with Microsoft Teams to increase productivity and collaboration. In this comprehensive guide, we will walk through how to connect your LinkedIn account to Teams, share LinkedIn profiles within Teams chats and channels, post Teams messages to LinkedIn, and more. Whether you want to showcase thought leadership content, foster better professional networking, or simplify external communications, linking Teams and LinkedIn can help streamline workflows.
Reasons to Connect Microsoft Teams to LinkedIn
Here are some of the top benefits of connecting Microsoft Teams to LinkedIn for enhanced collaboration:
Access LinkedIn Profiles
Linking Teams to LinkedIn lets you view condensed LinkedIn profiles of your connections right within Teams chats and channels. This gives you quick access to background information, mutual connections, and contact details so you can better understand who you are collaborating with.
Share Content
You can easily share content back and forth between Teams and LinkedIn. Post Team chat discussions or channel conversations to LinkedIn to broadcast information to your networks. Or, share insightful LinkedIn articles and news within your Teams channels to fuel idea sharing.
Grow Your Network
Connecting Teams with LinkedIn makes it simple to grow your professional network right within Teams. You can quickly find and add new LinkedIn connections from any Teams chat or channel. This fosters better engagement with colleagues and partners.
Broadcast Information
Linking Teams to LinkedIn creates a simple way to share important company or team announcements more broadly. By posting Teams messages directly to your LinkedIn feed, you can communicate key updates to extended stakeholders outside of your organization.
Enhance External Collaboration
Integrating Teams and LinkedIn provides new opportunities for external collaboration. You can add any LinkedIn connection to a Team chat or channel for seamless communication with partners or vendors. This facilitates co-creation and transparency.
How to Connect Your LinkedIn Account to Microsoft Teams
Linking your LinkedIn account with Teams only takes a few minutes. Follow these steps to get your LinkedIn account connected within Teams on your desktop:
Step 1: Open Microsoft Teams
Launch Microsoft Teams on your desktop and sign in using your work or school account credentials. This will open up your Teams dashboard.
Step 2: Access Settings
Click on your profile icon at the top right of the Teams window. In the drop-down menu, select “Settings”.
Step 3: Choose Accounts
On the left sidebar of Settings, click on “Accounts”. This will display connected accounts.
Step 4: Select LinkedIn
Under the LinkedIn section, click “Connect”. This will redirect you to LinkedIn to sign in to your account.
Step 5: Sign in to LinkedIn
Enter your LinkedIn username and password on the LinkedIn sign in page. Click “Sign in”.
Step 6: Authorize Connection
You will see a permissions pop-up asking you to authorize connecting your LinkedIn to Microsoft Teams. Click “Allow” to confirm.
Step 7: You’re Connected!
You will be redirected back to Microsoft Teams and see a confirmation that your LinkedIn account is now linked. Your Teams to LinkedIn connection is complete!
How to View LinkedIn Profiles in Microsoft Teams
Once your LinkedIn account is connected in Teams, you can start viewing condensed LinkedIn profiles right within Teams chats and channel conversations. Here is how it works:
In a Teams Chat
When chatting one-on-one with a LinkedIn connection in Teams, hover over their name and click on the LinkedIn icon to view their profile snapshot.
In a Teams Channel
Within a Teams channel, click on any member’s name and select “View full profile” to see their LinkedIn profile summary.
Profile Overview
The LinkedIn profile snapshot includes:
– Profile photo
– Current position + company
– Number of shared connections
– Contact details
– About/experience summary
– Recent activity (posts)
Mutual Connections
If you share connections with the member, you can click on “See all mutual connections” to view who you both know. This helps enhance contextual awareness.
Viewing LinkedIn profiles in Microsoft Teams makes it easy to learn about who you are collaborating with right within your workflows.
How to Share LinkedIn News, Articles, and Posts in Microsoft Teams
In addition to accessing member profiles, you can also easily share content back and forth between LinkedIn and Teams once connected.
Here are some tips for sharing LinkedIn content within your Teams chats or channels:
Share Interesting News
Browse LinkedIn and look for relevant industry news or articles. Click the Share icon on any post, then choose Microsoft Teams, and pick a Teams chat or channel to share it into.
Repost Valuable Articles
If you see a thought-provoking article from one of your LinkedIn connections, you can hit the repost button to easily share that post to a Microsoft Teams channel for your team members to read.
Comment or Like Posts
See a great Teams discussion? You can not only post it to your LinkedIn feed but also add a comment on LinkedIn or like the post to spur engagement from your network.
Copy Post Links
To share an external LinkedIn post, simply copy the post’s URL and paste it into a Teams chat or channel to create a link others can click on.
Cross-posting important content keeps key stakeholders aligned across LinkedIn and Microsoft Teams.
How to Post Microsoft Teams Messages to LinkedIn
You can go beyond sharing existing LinkedIn content and actually post Microsoft Teams conversations directly to your LinkedIn feed. This allows you to broadcast important Team chats or channels to extended audiences.
Here is how to post Teams messages to LinkedIn:
1. Have a Valuable Teams Discussion
Whether in a one-on-one Teams chat or a group Teams channel, have a conversation with insightful commentary or decisions you want a wider audience to see.
2. Click the Share Icon
Within a Teams chat or channel, click the Share icon to expand sharing options.
3. Select Post to LinkedIn
Choose “Post to LinkedIn” from the sharing menu. This will open a LinkedIn posting window.
4. Craft Your LinkedIn Post
Edit the pre-populated post text how you want it to appear on LinkedIn. Add any commentary or context.
5. Post to Your LinkedIn Feed
When ready, click “Post” to share the Teams discussion to your LinkedIn feed or page.
Posting key Teams chats or channel updates to LinkedIn keeps your professional network informed and extends your thought leadership.
How to Add LinkedIn Connections to Microsoft Teams
One benefit of linking Teams and LinkedIn is the ability to seamlessly collaborate with your professional connections right within Teams. Here are a few ways to add LinkedIn contacts to Teams:
Add to a Chat
Within any one-on-one or group chat in Teams, click the Add person icon. You can then select “Add from LinkedIn” to choose any connection to add.
@Mention in a Channel
Within a Teams channel, type @ followed by your connection’s name to @mention them in a post. Click “Add to channel” to add them.
Browse Your Network
In the Connections view in Teams, click “LinkedIn” to browse all your connections. Select any connection and use the Add button to add them to a chat or channel.
Adding LinkedIn connections into your Microsoft Teams chats and channels makes cross-company collaboration seamless. This opens up new opportunities for teaming with a wider array of partners and specialists.
Tips for Productive Use of LinkedIn with Microsoft Teams
Here are some best practices to keep in mind as you bring LinkedIn into Microsoft Teams:
Be Selective When Posting
Avoid oversharing trivial conversations to LinkedIn. Focus on substantive discussions and decisions that are relevant to your broader network.
Respect Privacy
Teams chats and channels may contain internal information. Seek permission before posting private conversations externally.
Add Relevant Context
When sharing Teams content to LinkedIn, take time to frame the post in a way external audiences will comprehend.
Credit Contributors
If posting Teams discussions to LinkedIn, @mention participants to give them exposure and recognize their contributions.
Follow Up on LinkedIn
If you get great feedback or new connections from a LinkedIn post, circle back in Teams to update relevant stakeholders on the impact.
Integrating Teams and LinkedIn takes a bit of finesse. Following best practices ensures you maximize benefits while protecting privacy and security. With the right approach, combining these platforms can significantly enrich collaboration.
Conclusion
Connecting Microsoft Teams to LinkedIn creates exciting new opportunities to strengthen communication, collaboration, and community within your organization. By integrating profiles, content, and networks between the two platforms, you can work more efficiently and openly with both internal and external partners.
With just a few clicks, you can link your LinkedIn account to Teams, share profiles, repost content, add LinkedIn connections to chats and channels, and more. While taking care to post thoughtfully and maintain context, broadcasting important Teams conversations on LinkedIn can broaden your reach.
As remote and hybrid work arrangements grow, tapping into your professional social networks alongside everyday collaboration tools becomes increasingly valuable. Linking Teams to LinkedIn streamlines networking, knowledge sharing, and stakeholder communication. Through purposeful integration, you harness the power of both platforms for greater productivity and connection.