Why LinkedIn is Important Today?

Why LinkedIn is Important Today?
By Marc V Weiner 

The good news is that the site does exist. It's called LinkedIn, and it is a top-rated website that enables the user to build and maintain useful professional networks. It has enriched the lives of millions of people, and it can do the same for you.

It is estimated that there are over 500 social media networking sites currently available on the internet. This number alone can cause the most tech-savvy individual to experience overwhelm and confusion. With so many social media opportunities, how does a person select a site to join?

Before a prospective social networker commits to a site, it is important to determine whether the features of the site align with the individual's professional and business goals. The primary goal of any business is to connect with as many people as possible to get the word out about the services that are being offered.

Social networking is all about connecting like-minded professionals with each other. In fact, the number one professional networking site is LinkedIn. Since 2002, LinkedIn has developed into a powerful social media networking platform that connects over 225 million members throughout the world.

Related Topics:
How to Promote your LinkedIn Profile to get new Connections and Endorsements?

Is LinkedIn Difficult to Learn?

Some people are intimidated by LinkedIn. As a result, they have opted not to join the site. They believe that it is too hard, or they don't have the capacity to learn another social media site. Some people may believe that they are not 'professional' enough to join the site.

The apprehension may be caused by the formal look of the site or the term 'professional network'. It could be also caused by the common misconception that learning to connect on LinkedIn is complicated. If you learned how to read, then you can learn how to master LinkedIn.

What is the Purpose of LinkedIn?

The basic premise of the site is that it provides a platform for people to leverage their current connections to get new connections. Think of LinkedIn in this manner. Joe brings Sharon to a party. Sharon does not know anyone at the party. Joe introduces Sharon to Mike and Lisa, and she connects with them. For the rest of the evening, Sharon makes connections with each of Joe's friends.

There are always new concepts to learn when joining any social media platform. There are rules of engagement, specific site customs and appropriate behavior that must be respected for each site. In that respect, LinkedIn is similar to other social networking sites.

LinkedIn was designed to meet the needs of professionals in various industries. A prospective social networker will not find large amounts of spam and mind-numbing games on this site. However, there are plenty of opportunities to forge new career paths, make new connections and market business services.

How Does LinkedIn Work?

LinkedIn is an easy site to master. A great thing about LinkedIn is that the basic site is free to join. The site does offer other paid options. However, the free version is more than enough to keep the user actively engaged and connected. Getting connected on LinkedIn is as simple as completing three simple steps: create a profile, publish and connect.

Create a Professional Profile

A professional profile enables users to learn more information about other users and businesses. Since this site is intended to connect professionals, the profile should consist of pictures that portray professionalism. Information that is often included in the profile is a resume, summary, website or blog links and contact information.

Need help to write your Linkedin Profile Summary. Click Here

Publish the Profile

Publishing the user profile can be done with the click of a mouse. After the professional profile has been created, it is important to review and tweak it. The user wants to be certain that a professional image is being conveyed. After the user is satisfied with the results, the profile is ready to be published. Publishing means that the profile is active and able to be viewed by other LinkedIn users.

Get Connected

This is the part where LinkedIn becomes engaging. It is now time to connect with other users. LinkedIn will assist you with this process by making suggestions based on email history. A user can also use other social media sites to make a list of people that can be connected with on LinkedIn. The possible connections are endless.

Need help to get connections. Click Here

Join LinkedIn? Why?

There are numerous benefits of joining LinkedIn. This site can assist the user with the creation of business and professional prospects. Other benefits include the ability to:

- Search exclusive LinkedIn employment listings.

- Connect with potential employees in various fields.

- Align with like-minded professional groups of interest.

- Share expertise with other active users.

- Showcase a resume everyday without having to send it to hundreds of companies.

Related Topics:
How to promote your Linkedin Profile?
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How to Get the Most From LinkedIn?

How to Get the Most From LinkedIn?
By Kim Albritton 

If you are like most business people, you have probably been sent an invitation to a site called LinkedIn. Then, if you are like the majority of us, we delete the link thinking, "Oh no not another site that I have to sign-up on." So, you are probably reading this right now, going yep...that is me. Why should I register on the site, normally sites like that just send me junk and fill my inbox with worthless email?

I can tell you from firsthand experience, there are plenty of sites out there that want you to register and then send you spam 50 times a week. LinkedIn is not one of them. LinkedIn is a powerful networking site, creeping up on popular social networks like MySpace and Facebook. The benefit about LinkedIn is that it is entirely business focused. So, are you interested yet?

Related Topics:
How to create your Linkedin Profile?
How to get 500 Connections from USA & Canada?
How to get Recommendations and Endorsement?

What Can LinkedIn Do for Me?

I have been asked the above question more times than I can probably count. My answer to everyone is always, "LinkedIn is a great way to find people. We all go through life never really knowing everything about our work colleagues (sometimes even our friends). LinkedIn has allowed me to read someone's business history in a single screen. The site also helps me understand who they know and network with."

Some interesting facts you probably did not know about LinkedIn:

* The average number of LinkedIn connections for people who work at Google is forty-seven.

* The average number for Harvard Business School grads is fifty-eight, so you could skip the MBA, work at Google, and probably get most of the connections you need. Later, you can hire Harvard MBAs to prepare your income taxes.

* People with more than twenty connections are thirty-four times more likely to be approached with a job opportunity than people with less than five.

* All 500 of the Fortune 500 are represented in LinkedIn. In fact, 499 of them are represented by director-level and above employees.

Need help to create your Linkedin Profile. Click Here

Top Reasons to Use LinkedIn:

1. Building your Reputation. LinkedIn is a great tool for people to outline their experience, accomplishment, organizations and network. Too often I have seen incomplete profiles. A crucial element to get LinkedIn to work for you is to make sure your profile is 100% complete. Include all your previous employers, groups you belong to, your "advertisement", websites and other important information. LinkedIn is also becoming a place where employers find candidates, so if you are job hunting, this may be the place for you.

2. Find Qualified Candidates. Ever struggled looking for an employee? If you are like me, it is a love hate relationship. I want to find the best candidate because it will benefit the company, but weeding through all the applicants can be exhausting. Well, how about using your network to find employees? For my last two positions, I hired individuals that came recommended, yes I said recommended, from my network on LinkedIn. LinkedIn has a great job posting board, which is also very inexpensive. Even if you don't want to field unknown candidates, you can send out an email to all your connections.

3. Find New Connections. Have you ever felt like sometimes you see the same people at the networking events? Would you like to meet new people? Use LinkedIn and do a search. For example, let's say I want to meet Architects. I just go to LinkedIn and type in Architects in the search box. LinkedIn will search my contact's contacts and return the results. The best part is it shows me how I am connected to the person, which can then be used for introductions. I ask Joe Smith to introduce me to his friend the Architect. LinkedIn also provides results of what they call 3rd degree friends. Essentially, your contact has a contact that knows the architect. It seems complicated, but it is a great way to expand your network and your friend's network. Try a search, see what happens. LinkedIn also has introductions, a tool they offer to give you an introduction to a person you want to meet.

Need help to get connections. Click Here

4. Increase your Google Ranking. Ever wondered how people's names come up so high up on Google searches? I do not have the secret Google formula, but I can tell you a well written LinkedIn profile earns a high rank on the page. The not so lucky are the people with common names, like Joe Smith, but, the more you have information like LinkedIn (or Blog articles), the better your Google ranking.

5. Make your meeting go smoother. I was once introduced to a contact who knew all about me before I ever met him. He even went on to tell me who we knew in common....talk about ice breaker. All he did was search for me on LinkedIn and viola....all my history and information. I have to admit, from a bird's eye perspective it sounds a bit creepy, but sitting in the meeting it was not. I was actually relieved to have something in common with the person. He, of course, told me he had viewed my LinkedIn profile, which took all the creepiness away. I thought after that meeting, what a great way to learn about someone, search for them on LinkedIn.

6. Ask for or Give Advice. In the question and answer section of LinkedIn, users can post questions and answer questions. For example, if you are a computer hardware expert, you would scroll through and try to answer questions relating to your specialty. What does this do? Well, it builds your credibility as an expert in your field. On the other hand, have a question you want some peer advice on? Ask the LinkedIn users. I have scrolled through the Answers section many times and I am always pleased with the responses I have read, always very professional.

7. Scope out Competition, Customers, Partners. I, like most people, use Google or another search engine to see what information I can find out about my market. The market includes your customers, competitors and partners. LinkedIn is a great tool for research. I especially like it because you can usually see where a person worked previous to their current position. Knowing that information provides a much more in-depth picture about the person or company. Another key advantage is to see what groups your customers or potential customers belong to.

8. Groups. LinkedIn just added a new tool to search groups. The groups range from networking groups to Alumni groups to Company groups. Groups can be a great tool for networking. For instance, I am a member of the Alumni group where I went to college. The group is quite large, but I can search within the group for prospective clients, partners or competitors. I use the group as a common thread when trying to talk to or meet with people. For example, "Joe I see that you are a member of XYZ Alumni group, so am I, what did you study?" There are many different ways to use the groups and their members as leads into conversations. As a plus, when you join a group you can show the group on your profile. The benefit could be others see the group and find they have a common thread with you.

9. Recommendations. LinkedIn has created a system where your contacts can recommend you. I think it is a wonderful tool. Now, when I am searching for a product or service or even a new connection, I can read what other people have to say. I know and you know, we can talk about how great we are till we are blue in the face, but when someone else confirms it......you may have struck gold. Leverage the power of LinkedIn to get recommendations and be sure to give them as well.

Need help to get Recommendations & Endorsement. Click Here

10. Help Others. The saying is Give and You Shall Receive. Use LinkedIn to introduce people you think would be a good match. You can easily do introductions to the people with LinkedIn's inMail. The nice thing about giving a contact more connections on LinkedIn is that no one wants to be the person with the least contacts....so help out a friend and send them a contact or two that makes sense for them. Part of helping others can be helping them use LinkedIn. Most of the people I have met have done very little research on how to use LinkedIn to its full potential.

11. Use it on the go. LinkedIn is configured to be able to use it on your handheld device. While you waiting at the airport, doctor's office or another waiting area, log into LinkedIn and network from anywhere. Just go to linkedin.com.

Related Topics:
How to create your Linkedin Profile?
How to get 500 Connections from USA & Canada?
How to get Recommendations and Endorsement?