As the market share for Windows Phone still lags far behind iOS and Android, promotional campaigns implemented by Microsoft and Nokia seem to pay off in their own way.  The Windows Phone Marketplace is home to many key applications, be it games (Angry Birds), utilities (Shazam) or community networks (Facebook, Twitter). And this weekend, social network LinkedIn has released its first full-featured application for Windows Phone.

Less than 1 MB in size, the LinkedIn for Windows Phone app connects you to your LinkedIn networks. By design, it integrates seamlessly into Microsoft’s Metro, an interface that’s expected to empower developers in the long run. And even better for Windows Phone, the app offers more functionality than its iOS and Android counterparts.

The LinkedIn app is available in Windows Phone Marketplace for free. It requires at least version 7.5 (Mango) of Microsoft’s mobile operating system.

“We know professionals rely on their mobile devices every day to conduct business and to stay prepared for their work day,” a mobile product manager at LinkedIn, Tomer Cohen, wrote in a blog post. “We’ve been working hard to make this new LinkedIn app best-in-class in the Windows Phone marketplace. We took advantage of the unique and beautiful Windows Phone metro style design while ensuring users would have easy and quick access to all the relevant professional information they’ve come to rely on from LinkedIn.”

The app helps you find the latest real time updates from your contacts, launch applications from contacts, view profiles details and RSS updates. It’s also possible to view messages and job offers on the social network.

“You can find and connect with millions of professionals worldwide, quickly access a real-time update stream with news and information from your professional connections, read timely news impacting your industry, keep up-to-date with your professional groups, search for jobs, and follow your favorite companies’ news,” Cohen explains.

The social-mobile cros section 

LinkedIn has more than 150 million users worldwide. In order to compete against larger competitors Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn had updated its website as well as mobile applications in recent months.  The aim was to provide users useful information, even if they’re not looking for a job.

The last mobile app update allowed synchronization with the calendar of mobile devices. The collected data is then presented clearly with links to additional information across LinkedIn and Twitter.

LinkedIn is also heavily investing in the social media space.  A couple of months back, the company acquired Gmail social-context plugin software provider Rapportive to strengthen the mission of connecting professionals and to create a social platform that is universally used by professionals.