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12 August 2010

Four Reasons Why You Should be Using LinkedIn

LinkedIn – the world’s largest professional network.

100 million users worldwide – 6.5m of these in the UK.

As mentioned in a previous post, LinkedIn is one of the most influential social networks alongside Twitter and Facebook.

However – its foundations are very different to these other networks.

It focuses purely on the professional element of networking. Thus – it’s for individuals you know and trust in business – but is also effective in making new connections with individuals you’d like to do business with in the future.

And the consequence of this? Well, of course, it is much more effective for B2B companies.

Not convinced of the benefits of using LinkedIn yet? Well – wait no longer – here are 4 great reasons for you to be using this network.

 

1) Establish your professional profile

 

Your LinkedIn profile is public. This means anyone else with a profile can view it.

LinkedIn profiles also appear high in search. So if someone Google’s your name – your LinkedIn profile is likely to come high up in the results. Why not try it?

The best thing about this is that you control your profile. You decide its content. You can get across what you want to get across.

So, what should you learn from this? Keep on top of your profile. All information should be current and up-to-date.

 

2) Keep in touch with colleagues & other contacts

 

So, let’s just take a regular situation. A colleague that you’ve worked with for quite some time leaves to work for another company. Their phone number changes, as does their e-mail address.

Sometimes it can be difficult to stay in touch. So, what do you do?

Well, LinkedIn offers a great way keep in contact. It allows you to keep up-to-date with what they’re up to in their professional environment and vise versa.

 

 

3) Helps you find experts & those with similar interests

 

Search. This allows you to look for experts – who also use LinkedIn – in your field. It’s possible to search through name, title, company, location and various other keywords.

You can then try and find ways to connect and ultimately interact with them.

Groups. This allows you to interact with others in your industry and with similar interests.

You can gain some useful contacts. Furthermore, you can engage in relevant discussions helping to promote you as an individual but also your company.

 

4) Allows you to explore opportunities

 

  • Jobs
  • Potential business partners
  • Sales leads

These are just a few of the opportunities that can arise from using LinkedIn effectively.

The stronger your profile, the easier the above will be to connect with.

 

So, I now see the benefit to my company – What next?

 

Sure, there is certainly less value for B2C than B2B companies. But that isn’t to say that B2C companies can’t get any value from using LinkedIn – it’s definitely a social network worth exploring.

Building a strong profile is the first step to success in the LinkedIn world. So, work on it. Ensure it gives across the message that you want it to. Maintain it – it should always be up-to-date.

Hopefully this post was useful in helping you understand the benefits of using LinkedIn. Please feel free to leave comments.

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