What is LinkedIn and how to use it effectively?

This blog post explains about the LinkedIn and its uses.

Social networking websites are ruling the internet world and it helps the users to connect with others both personally and professionally by sharing their interests, ideas and events in their network. It functions like an online community for the internet users and the helps the internet marketers to get good exposure and reputation.

Interaction is the main impact of social networks and it has changed our lives in so many ways. Facebook remains top social network,  Google plus and twitter battle for second and people are well familiarized with these social networking websites.

What about LinkedIn? Did you have your social profile on it to reap some benefits? If you say “Yes”, then I really appreciate your social enthusiasm and wishing you to get good status with it. If your answer is “No”, then continue reading here to understand the basics of LinkedIn and how to use it effectively.

About LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a professional social networking website which connects the business related people and allows them to exchange the opportunities and thoughts with each other. In simple words, it is a directory of professionals and companies. LinkedIn was co-founded by Reid Hoffman, a former executive of PayPal in the year 2003. It is available in 200 countries in 19 different languages.

In the month of Jan, this year (2013), LinkedIn announced that it has exceeded 200 million registered users and out of it, 74 million users are from United States. More than 2.6 million companies have registered here and professionals are making use of it to search the right job opportunities for them.

                                                 Image credit: ms2progress.com

Get started with creating LinkedIn profile

Join LinkedIn by register in it and the users may use their Facebook account to log in. They need to fill their professional details to complete the basic profile and can connect with other members through the various options like email contacts, Name search, classmate and colleague search and advanced search.

After confirming the email account, the users can build their profile by adding photograph, specialties, skills, company website or blog information and other social profiles. Based on the user’s employment and education listings, LinkedIn suggests the connections (minded professionals) to invite and add to their professional network. The users can add them to their contacts and take part in suitable LinkedIn groups to increase their visibility and network.

Use LinkedIn effectively

LinkedIn can be used for variety of purposes in various fields. Let’s check some areas with which it can be used effectively to improve the user performance.

1. Use LinkedIn for Advertising
The users can create the LinkedIn ads with text, image, video and a link. It usually shows up in the homepage, profile pages and group pages. According to the page/product to promote, multiple LinkedIn ads can be created by designing it. LinkedIn provides the opportunities for the users to target their audience with various options and the users can choose either PPC or CPM payment choice.

2. Use LinkedIn for business
Creating an interactive business page/company page would let the users to network through groups and build authority with it. Sharing instantly with twitter and their connections is a good feature here and the users might get recommendations or suggestions from their contacts to improve the business. Involving in minded LinkedIn groups to share the updated business news would enhance the credibility of that business.

3. Use LinkedIn for recruiting
Employers create the company LinkedIn profile and keep their profile updated with their product/services. They search and verify the candidates with their endorsements, recommendations, educational qualifications and work experience. They also take part in groups and use question and answer section to select the candidates. LinkedIn is very useful in targeting and finding the passive candidates to recruit them for professional jobs.

4. Use LinkedIn for job opportunities
If the user is a job hunter, he/she can use LinkedIn to find a job. Creating a quality profile along with the skills, interest and previous work experience is essential for the job seekers. They should research potential companies and try to connect with decision makers. Unemployed persons use LinkedIn job search with “Job” tab which has the details of current job openings posted from the top companies. Having the premium tool named “Job seeker” and sharing the custom url option would reduce the load of job searchers and helps to get good job opportunities.

5. Use LinkedIn for Marketing and sales
Optimizing the LinkedIn profile and adding the like-minded professional is important to boost the marketing and sales of any type of industry. Involving in group activates with the latest update about the product/service, usage of answer section and making use of advanced search options would definitely enhance the marketing and allows the users to get more sales.

Conclusion:

LinkedIn is a powerful social networking tool used by the millions of professionals worldwide. Most of the internet businesses consider LinkedIn as an effective marketing tool for lead generation and many job chasers use LinkedIn as an online resume. Moreover, it acts as a networking hub which allows its users to connect with minded people to share and get the ideas. As it as an integral recruiting tool, LinkedIn is mostly preferred by the job searchers to find the appropriate employment opportunity for them. On the other hand, it is most favorite place for the businesses to get a good brand name and exposure.

Hope you have gained some knowledge about LinkedIn and its uses. I suggest you to use this dominant social network to connect with professionals of your same field.

Are you on LinkedIn? Share your views and experience with me.