Whether you are a large company, employee, young professional or entrepreneur, believe me when I tell you that you should be on LinkedIn. Here are 5 reasons why you should actively use LinkedIn.
1. Connect to the largest network of global professionals
According to their website, LinkedIn operates the world’s largest professional network on the Internet with more than 277 million members in over 200 countries and territories. According to a previous article on this blog, the numbers of Zimbabwean professionals in Zimbabwe has gone above 200 000, and counting. We are living in an increasingly globalized world and it will be a huge asset to be connected with professionals on a global scale whether you’re currently searching for a job or not.
2. Use LinkedIn as a business tool to attract clients and generate new leads
According to recent data and research, LinkedIn is about 277% more effective than Facebook and Twitter for generating interactions that lead to meaningful and profitable business relationships. LinkedIn, due to its nature as a professional networking platform, generally tends to attract individuals who are more likely to be in a business mindset as compared to Facebook and Twitter. For example, I have received quite a couple of business propositions from professionals in my industry via LinkedIn and some of these have actually blossomed to quite productive professional relationships.
3. LinkedIn is a great platform for showcasing your experience and finding top talent
Whether you are a business or a professional, LinkedIn has the tools to help you showcase your expertise and competitive edge. With a CV or company profile, you are limited to the amount of evidence you can showcase to substantiate your skills and experience, but LinkedIn is like a canvas on which you can colorfully draw and craft the professional image you want, replete with rich media and slides. Most companies, especially in the Tech and media sectors, have quickly adopted LinkedIn as a critical recruiting tool. If you’re not tech-savvy enough to be on LinkedIn, then you are automatically disqualified from the job application process.
4. LinkedIn is a source of awesome content and industry insights
LinkedIn’s Influencer program is brilliant. Period.
An excellent source of content is LinkedIn Pulse, an award-winning application that makes it easy to consume news on mobile phones and tablets. Pulse has been named to the Apple’s App Store Hall of Fame, chosen as an Android Editor’s Choice app, selected as one of TIME’s top 50 iPhone apps of 2011, and honored with the Apple Design Award.
5. LinkedIn helps you to increase your brand visibility
Brand positioning is essential whether you are an individual or a company. And LinkedIn provides you with all the tools to significantly increase your brand visibility. Whenever you post something via LinkedIn, it shows your photo and your LinkedIn headline significantly increasing your brand visibility. A while ago, the company added multimedia support, enabling you to showcase your talents in a whole new way by adding photos, videos, and slideshows to your profile. This is a great way to help humanize and get people interested in the person/people behind your brand. You also get analytics and tips on how to further improve your brand.
If you’re not already on LinkedIn, now is the time to join the network and enjoy the benefits. If you already are, then you’d do well to keep your profile updated. You just never know what opportunities may come your way.
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9 comments
hogwash,what about entrepreneurs?
I believe any benefit that applies to a professional or a company should apply to an entrepreneur. Unless of course this entrepreneur is neither professional nor intending to run a company.
kkkkkkk
impulsiveness and paranoia are cousins with psychosis. Nice article Dave
This is so true. I got a job via LinkedIn. One needs to make sure that the information on your profile is the same as what is on your CV. Plus the additional tools that will attract people to your skills. Though one must not treat this like Facebook by just linking to people who you do not know and are not in your area of expertise.
I totally agree. In addition to having the CV and LinkedIn profile aligned, one should also make sure to keep the LinkedIn profile constantly updated. It is after all a living version of your CV, and more.
I also hope these 22 LinkedIn secrets will be helpful: http://www.forbes.com/sites/williamarruda/2014/03/04/22-linkedin-secrets-linkedin-wont-tell-you/
Yet another copy paste article, where is your input, you should have at least localized it to suit the Zim scenario
How do you suggest I could have localized it to suit the Zimbabwean context?
And if you’re not in sales or business, not looking for a job or to hire anyone, then what use is it? LinkedIn is the twitter of the business word… A lot of people on it but few actually use it.