Posted on January 28, 2013 at 1:48 PM by Global Reach
LinkedIn has come a long ways since it launched in May of 2003. This “social network for business professionals” has been especially active in enhancing the tools available to its members, since going public (LNKD) in May of 2011. With the largest user base being 35-54 years old, let’s take a quick look at a few reasons why it may be time to bump LinkedIn up on your list of websites you visit on a daily basis.
1. LinkedIn Today
Even if it’s not to update your profile every time you visit, LinkedIn Today is a great way to stay in touch with interesting and important news in the world of business, social media, and technology. The homepage of LinkedIn is where you can find the top three stories at any given time, but LinkedIn also has options to customize the content you’d like to see.
2. People Are Looking
If you have a LinkedIn profile, people are finding you and looking at your profile on an ongoing basis. When you consider the importance of accurate information about your work and your business, simply knowing people are on your profile should be enough to make sure you’ve got everything updated. In fact, even with basic accounts you can view a portion of who’s viewed your profile recently, so making sure your profile is updated and keeping things more interactive with interesting status updates is a great way to represent yourself as an authority to all who find you within the LinkedIn community.
3. Tracking Your Connections
Whether it’s following what a business partner is sharing or checking up on what your competitor is up to, LinkedIn makes it easy to stay updated on all that’s happening in your business circles. Along with tracking your connection’s activity, staying involved with groups that you’ve associated yourself with, is just like attending a business networking event. The more people you interact with, the more connectivity you may be able to establish.
4. Learn What’s New
With what seems to be new features being added every day, the simple opportunity to stay on top of what’s new on LinkedIn is a great reason why you should be visiting this website more often. Profile enhancements such as endorsed skills, file sharing, event calendars, portfolio displays, and much more are tightly woven into the LinkedIn experience, so experiment with features that will make you stand out. Oh, and by the way...please...make sure you have a great profile photo!
5. Expand Your Personal Brand
Search Engine Optimization is one of my favorite topics. One of the best exercises I conduct during a speaking engagement is to ask the entire crowd to get their smartphones out. Once everyone has a Google search ready, I tell them to search their own personal names. Go ahead, do it yourself! Like clockwork, people are amazed at how often their LinkedIn account is being showcased in the top three results! With this type of personal visibility that WILL be searched by employers and business connections, so isn’t it time to make sure you have your LinkedIn profile professionally showcasing all that you do?
The most common misconception about LinkedIn is that it’s a stagnant, online resume that only needs attention during a job hunt. This is not the case and we hope this short list encourages you to start visiting LinkedIn more often. If you're new to LinkedIn or have questions about ways you or your organization can benefit from strategic involvement with LinkedIn, my contact information is below and it would be a pleasure to collaborate.
Guest Blogger's Contact Details:
BEN MCDOUGAL | GLOBAL REACH
E: BEN@globalreach.com | P: 515-288-0224
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Categories: Listen Up Blog