LinkedIn is a social media site that’s different than the others because its main purpose is for business networking. Almost no matter what you do, being on LinkedIn will help give you a business presence you can’t get anywhere else.
Let me preface the rest of this by saying I’ve been ranting a little bit about it lately because suddenly there are all these fake accounts that keep trying to get me to accept them, which I won’t do. I don’t know if this means it’s less secure than it used to be, and it’s somewhat of an irritant, but for business purposes there’s nothing parallel.
Whether you’re an employee or a business owner of some type, LinkedIn is where you need to be in some fashion. Here are 4 reasons why:
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- The networking opportunities. Unlike Twitter or Facebook, LinkedIn gives you a real opportunity to not only meet people locally but people all around the world. If you sell anything your market could be the entire world. You might find a supplier or a buyer or even a job if that’s what you’re looking for. And though LinkedIn isn’t crazy about people marketing their businesses, reaching out to individuals that you feel might help you or that you have something you feel might help them is encouraged; after all, that’s what business networking is all about.
- Publicity. Although LinkedIn will help you set things up so they look like a resume, you can pretty much go in different directions to highlight whatever you want to highlight. On my page, for instance, I list my businesses and a couple of positions I’ve had, but I spend a good portion talking about one thing in particular that I market myself for. This gives those who are looking for that particular thing a great opportunity to find me; after all, LinkedIn has a search function for people who are looking for something or someone specific.
- Information. Information goes both ways on LinkedIn. You can decide to put out current information on some regular basis or you can decide to just read what others are saying. There’s a timeline like Twitter, but there are also groups like on Facebook. I do a little of both, and you never know just who you might talk to that might push you forward in some fashion.
- Backlinks. LinkedIn is one of the top 20 sites in the world as far as traffic goes, so getting a link from that site to your site is a good thing. It allows you to link to more than one site, including a blog, and of course this helps make you just that much more visible online. Frankly, if you have a website this is probably one of the more important things to do to help your SEO processes.
I am on linkedin but never used it..Its very good for business related things and I have heard that there are certain paid features..Anyways will check linkedin again. Thanks
Prabhat, I believe anyone who even thinks about doing business with others or hoping to move up the ladder needs to be on LinkedIn. I don’t go as often when I’m working or traveling, but when I’m home for an extended period of time I made sure to go there at least twice a week.
Hey Mitch,
I’m on LinkedIn, but I hardly ever use it. Once in a while, I publish a link to my new blog posts, and I accept new followers. That’s about it. I haven’t joined any groups and I’m not active participating in conversations. I’m more active on Twitter and Facebook, sometime G+ as well.
-Jens
Jens, if your getting and doing business through those venues then it’s all good. However, just being on LinkedIn an be valuable for business purposes, and if you can participate here and there, even better.
Hi Mitch. My professional association has a couple of active groups and it’s a good space to thrash out ideas, debate issues, ask questions and share information.
I share relevant professional blog posts, but generally find it a lacklustre space to find new business.
Sue
Sue, I can’t say I’ve done a lot of business on LinkedIn but I have met some people on LinkedIn that I had the opportunity to interact with in person, and that’s always pretty valuable from where I sit. One never knows where an opportunity might come from right? 🙂 And I like the active groups part. I participate mainly in one group and though I’ve yet to land a client there, I have said some things that have intrigued some folks who might hire me one day.
LinkedIn account is must for working professionals and businessmen as it helps you to connect with desired employers and expand your business. It also a great source to know what’s going on in your market via joining relevant groups.
I’d have to agree.
I an not present on Linkedin. My previous thought was you can’t able to make more with this network but after reading your reasong I quite aware with this huge network.. Soon going to join and hope to see great results..
Good luck with it, but like everything else, you’ll get out of it what you put into it.
Hi Mitchell,
Great insight! Yes LinkedIn is very crucial for marketing and for the publicity of your blog.
I’m recently working on LinkedIn and trying to connect with as many people as I can….because the connection are the most valuable thing if you want to make your brand successful.
I’m on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/vishnuverma
Let’s connect and start a new connections 🙂
I have sent you the connection request on LinkedIn Vishnu so look for it. I hope it works out for you, as I notice you only have 35 connections so far. Make sure you take time to at least send a greeting message to those folks you might not really know yet.