It may work with corn fields and baseball players, but "If you build it, they will come" is not a valid LinkedIn strategy

It may work with corn fields and baseball players, but “If you build it, they will come” is not a valid LinkedIn strategy

by Melanie Torres

Perhaps the most overlooked social network, LinkedIn could very well be the most important for both businesses and individual professionals to utilize. The problem is, in comparison to more “fun” social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, users only spend an average of 17 minutes a month on LinkedIn (if that!). Even worse, many individuals create a very bare bones profile and never touch it again. Here’s a secret: the more work you put into LinkedIn, the more you’ll get out of it. So what kind of work do we mean exactly? Check out these 7 easy steps to achieve “All-Star” Profile strength on LinkedIn.

With an “All-Star” profile, LinkedIn can become a very valuable tool for marketing yourself as well as your business. Still wondering why you should bother? Check out these six reasons why you (and everyone) should be on LinkedIn:

Connect With Decision Makers

With 300 million people on LinkedIn, having a profile gives you the opportunity to connect with important people in your industry and also organize your professional relationships. Instead of Facebook friending your boss, employees or that awesome keynote speaker at your last conference, LinkedIn provides a way to keep your professional contacts completely separate from your personal life.

Create A Good Impression

LinkedIn gives you the perfect opportunity to manage your personal brand. Recruiters, clients, competitors and potential employers can all search for you online, and a completed LinkedIn profile controls what their first impression of you will be.

Display Recommendations

LinkedIn provides a great way to harness the power of endorsements from clients and colleagues. With a tool to request and display recommendations, you can reach out to those who have worked with you professionally and showcase these endorsements for others to see.

Show Your Expertise

Aside from showcasing recommendations and having a completed profile, LinkedIn provides some great ways to really add to your credibility. LinkedIn Groups and LinkedIn Answers are great ways to join trending conversations relevant to your given industry. Answer questions, post new topics, and exchange information with other professionals.

Manage Your Career

Even if you’re not currently searching for a job, LinkedIn is a great way for recruiters and potential employers to find and reach out to you. If you do happen to be searching for a new job, the LinkedIn job search tool is one of the best ways to go about this. Not only can you see job postings but also connect and follow up whomever posted the job opening from the given company.

Catch Up On Industry News

LinkedIn is the perfect place to stay up to date with the latest things that are important to your industry. Follow relevant companies and top (active) decision makers to see what they’re posting on the LinkedIn NewsFeed. Think of it as Facebook’s NewsFeed minus the funny cat photos and filled with more great news, tips and professional information.

 

As you can see, LinkedIn can be very beneficial in multiple ways and it should be an essential tool for every professional. If you’re interested in seeing more about the specific LinkedIn stats check out “100 Amazing LinkedIn Statistics”. If you would like individual training or LinkedIn management be sure to contact someone from the NetWeave team. We would love to help!