LinkedIn is the largest professional network in the world. Over 467 million people have accounts on the site, and more are joining every day.
Roughly a quarter of these members log in regularly each month, but why? What is the real value of LinkedIn? If these are questions that you have asked then here are four compelling reasons to join and engage on this thriving social network.
1. Grow Your Network
LinkedIn is like a massive, virtual business networking event that is available 24/7. It is an ideal place to find and connect with a wide range of people from prospective employers to peers, customers to creative talent.
Your LinkedIn network can become the most powerful and wide-reaching Rolodex you could possibly imagine, letting you reach out to people to share resources, introduce yourself or ask for help.
You can research suppliers, identify strategic partners or build relationships with influencers in your industry.
2. Raise Exposure for Your Business
As well as posting updates, writing blog posts and sharing your individual expertise in groups on LinkedIn you can also create dedicated pages for your business and products.
Creating a LinkedIn page for your business allows people to find and follow your brand. By doing so they will receive any updates you post on your company page. Updates could include press releases, new products, promotional offers or information about current vacancies.
Knowing who has actively expressed interest in your company by following its LinkedIn page is a great way to identify people to connect with. You may find recruiters, investors, buyers and partners all looking for more information about your business!
One of the most fundamental reasons to build LinkedIn into your online marketing strategy is that leads from this social network have a great conversion rate.
3. Look for Jobs
When it comes time for a career change LinkedIn is an excellent resource. Your profile should act as an online resume, so be sure to complete as much information as possible and keep it up to date.
There are many ways to research available positions. 3 great ways to start are:
●Message key contacts in your network to let them know you are available, and ask about possible vacancies
●Browse LinkedIn's dedicated Jobs portal
●Visit the official LinkedIn page for any brands that are on your list of most desirable companies to work for and look at their Careers section.
Even if you aren't actively looking for a new job, recruiters often use LinkedIn to identify and research strong prospective candidates for vacancies they are trying to fill. Who wouldn't love to get an unsolicited job opportunity to explore or use to negotiate better terms in their current job?
4. Find Talented Employees
LinkedIn has invested greatly in improving their Talent Solutions. From a simple job posting to complete turnkey recruitment the platform is an affordable way to source candidates for any job openings you have.
You can also choose to be more undercover in your search. Use LinkedIn advanced search to find people with desirable keywords and titles in their profiles. If you are active on the site and regularly read people's updates and engage in relevant groups then the chances are that you will come across individuals who make a positive impression on you.
When viewing people's profiles you can add Notes or Tags to let you organize your shortlist of candidates for easier reference.
Now is a great time to get more active on LinkedIn. The majority of businesses still don't have a strong brand presence or a defined strategy for LinkedIn marketing. With new features and functionality being added all the time, the usefulness of the network is only likely to increase. Make sure your business is ahead of the crowd.
For more networking and online marketing tips and information check out the Magicdust Website Design website. We are a Sydney Web Development agency specialising in online marketing solutions.