The following channel-specific fields are shown for LinkedIn channels:
•Consumer key: this mandatory property is used to capture the consumer key required by the LinkedIn API.
•Consumer secret: this mandatory property is used to capture the consumer secret required by the LinkedIn API.
•Account name: provision of a valid LinkedIn account is mandatory and represents the account from whom LinkedIn postings made via the channel will be presented.
•App permissions: a set of LinkedIn permissions required by the channel. Set to ‘r_liteprofile r_emailaddress w_member_social’ by default.
•Redirect URI: this mandatory text property allows you to specify a valid redirect URI of the LinkedIn App to be used by the channel.
•Authorization: a label advises of the channel’s authorization status:
o When the channel has yet to be authorized, the label states 'The connection to LinkedIn is not authorized' (this is the channel’s initial status).
o When the channel has been authorized successfully, the labels states 'The connection to LinkedIn has been authorized'.
A button accompanies the label.
o When the channel has yet to be authorized, its text reads 'Click here to authorize RPI'. Invocation opens your default web browser, in which is displayed a LinkedIn authorization page. You can enter a LinkedIn username or email and password. Having done so, the redirect URI is displayed.
Copy the URL and return to RPI, where a Verification URL property will now be displayed.
Paste in the URL you copied and click the Get access token button. The LinkedIn channel will now be authorized.
o When the LinkedIn channel has been authorized successfully, the button’s text is ‘Click here to reset the authorization token’. Invocation resets the LinkedIn channel’s authorization status to Not authorized and changes the button text to ‘Click here to authorize RPI’. If you elect to authorize the channel again, you may not have to provide credentials if having done so successfully previously.
The following property is exposed at the Web Adapters tab:
•Web Adapters: you can associate one or more web adapters with a LinkedIn channel. Note that only Web Events, Google Analytics, Bitly, Matomo and Kissmetrics adapters can be added.
If a LinkedIn message posted via a channel configured with a web events adapter contains a URL that is compatible with the adapter’s settings, on traversing the link to that URL, web analytics results can be collated and reported upon at the level of the LinkedIn channel. For example, if a LinkedIn message links to an online store, within which a visitor makes a purchase, and an associated web adapter tracks Web Purchase Amount, that metric can be viewed at the Twitter channel’s results.
Similarly, results retrieved via Google analytics can be retrieved via a Google analytics adapter and viewed in the same contexts.
Matomo adapters allow you to append querystring parameters to URLs in offer content, which can then be used to track website behaviors in a Matomo dashboard (beyond the scope of RPI).
Kissmetrics adapters are similar to Google Analytics adapters, in that they allow you to collate metrics based on website visitors’ behaviors. However, this collation is carried out by the Kissmetrics external provider, rather than by Google.
When a LinkedIn message is posted via a channel configured with a Bitly adapter, URLs contained within the post are shortened by the Bitly service.
Web adapters are specified in a grid. The grid’s toolbar exposes the following options:
o Add: this option is disabled unless a previously-unselected web adapter is shown. You can click the displayed adapter type to change it. Invocation of Add adds the selected web adapter to the grid. You can only add a web adapter once.
o [Dropdown]: this field lists all existing web adapters, irrespective of whether already selected and displayed in the grid. All types of web adapter are shown in the field, which is initially blank. Selection of a previously-unselected web adapter enables Add.
The Web adapters grid lists all web adapters associated with the channel. Web adapters are presented in the order in which they were attached to the channel. The grid contains the following:
o Name: of the web adapter. Read-only.
o Type: read-only; one of Google Analytics adapter, Web Events adapter, Bitly adapter, Matomo adapter or Kissmetrics adapter.
o Remove this Web Adapter: this button is displayed and enabled when a web adapter is hovered over. Invocation removes the web adapter from the grid. and is not protected by ‘Are You Sure?’.
Note also that v2 of the LinkedIn API is now supported.