LinkedIn’s Toolbar Helps Gain and Maintain Contacts

LinkedIn’s toolbar options give users the ability to navigate an email client in order to make contact management easier, which not only streamlines networking, but improves organization and saves time. The two toolbar settings work with Microsoft Outlook and other web-based email servers, including Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail. Once the toolbar is installed, a LinkedIn icon is added to your Outlook or browser toolbar, which, according to The Definitive LinkedIn Guide on centernetworks.com, “Enables you to see a LinkedIn summary (job title, position in your network, number of contacts, etc.) of any person who emails you. It also enables you to invite people to LinkedIn from your Gmail account—making it easier to connect with people.”

In Outlook, the toolbar not only adds the LinkedIn icon, but enables you to update your Outlook contacts based on changes that people make to their LinkedIn profiles—keeping your contacts up to date. The toolbar also allows users to find new contacts and establish groups without logging into LinkedIn. For example, the toolbar will help you add contacts to your network based on who you email most and, once they’ve been added, the tool will suggest who else you might want to invite into your group or network based on the frequency of email exchanges with the primary contact. The installation process requires a free online download of the toolbar at

 linkedin.com/static?key=outlook_toolbar_download.