How and Why Should I Use LinkedIn?
If you’re reading this blog, then you have already heard of LinkedIn and probably already have an account set up. But you’re here to find out what it really is what makes it so great. You’re not the only one who doesn’t know. Despite being one of the most popular social platforms today, many people still have no idea what LinkedIn is supposed to be used for or how they might benefit from being on it.
Brief introduction to LinkedIn
To put it simply, LinkedIn is a social network for professionals. Whether you’re a marketing executive at a major company, a business owner who runs a small local shop or even a first-year college student looking to explore future career options, LinkedIn is for anyone and everyone who is interested in taking their professional life more seriously by looking for new opportunities to grow their careers and to connect with other professionals.
Why you should be using LinkedIn
First of all, LinkedIn has over 500 million members and 260 million of these members are logging in each month. 40% of the monthly active users use LinkedIn daily and an enormous 61 million of these LinkedIn users are senior level influencers and 40 million are in decision-making positions. When selling directly to the end user or the business, it is highly likely that someone would have searched online for you or your company name before engaging with you any further. LinkedIn can help you have a presence on a professional social media platform and help move the potential client a step or two steps closer to a sale.
Your Profile
Your profile is the front face to what all potential connectors are going to be looking at and ready. This profile needs to be as detailed and professional looking as it is possible. When people search on LinkedIn you want to be found for all the right reasons. This is why it’s important that you include keywords relating to your job role in the whole profile, where possible. You should always include keywords into your job title, description of your job and your skills. With LinkedIn being purely professional, all these descriptions and titles should be formal. Think of it as you are talking to a potential customer or employer.
Posting
As I said, LinkedIn is a professional network used predominantly by business individuals. Because of this, you need to think about not only what you post but the times of day your posts are getting sent out. Think about when you check social media, in the morning, on a break or lunch at work and after work. These business people are also going to be on around similar times. You don’t want to post first thing on a Monday morning, or after work on a Friday. You should take all of this into account when using LinkedIn professionally.