Last June, Microsoft announced that it was buying out LinkedIn for $26.2 billion. Since then Microsoft acquired immediate access to some 433 million members. It became known that Microsoft was not the only company that was interested in buying LinkedIn. As a professional social network with millions of users even Facebook and Google were interested in LinkedIn and its potential.
Why is LinkedIn so popular?
There is no denying that LinkedIn is like a hub for businesses and professionals from various fields to connect together, while sharing their skills, experiences, expertise and capabilities. It is a good place for one to market a brand or a profession, while enabling businesses to grow and professionals to show what they are capable of in their respective fields. Thus, LinkedIn is the platform to go to in order to make connections with people working in the same field or industry, or similar areas. Members can benefit by connecting with other members, teaming up, and also look for ways to enhance their business. LinkedIn is ideal for any kind of business, but particularly for those organizations that help others in their respective business. This is because through LinkedIn it is easy to generate a great deal of targeted traffic.
How to get started on LinkedIn?
First of all you need to sign up and set up a profile. Your profile and the way you present yourself are of utmost importance if you want to get noticed and get traffic. So make sure that you create a professional looking profile, and luckily this is easily done on LinkedIn. There is a step-by-step process that will walk you through the process of creating a good and effective profile. You will also be given tips on how you could improve it too. On your LinkedIn profile you will need to include your work history, along with your current job. You will also list your various skills while describing yourself, your profession and what you are capable of. To make your profile look complete and professional it is important to add a profile picture. Last but not least you can link your LinkedIn profile to your site as well as to any other social media accounts that you have. Make sure you provide complete and truthful information, and to consider whether it is appealing to people in your niche, which is ultimately one of the main reasons why you set up your profile in the first place.
How to make connections on LinkedIn?
Unlike other social media platforms, it is easier to make connections and to get traffic on LinkedIn. First off you can connect with people whom you know already as soon as you set up your LinkedIn profile. Then, you can move on to make new connections and network with others in your line of business or profession. You can connect with people who went to your school or who have worked with you in the past. And then, as you go along you will be able to connect even with your connections’ connections. This is ultimately what networking is all about. As time goes by your connections will continue to build up, and most probably you will also start to receive a good number of connection requests too. As people see who you are connected with, and check out your profile, they will be inclined to connect with you.
The importance of being interactive on LinkedIn
You can make the best use of a social media platform the more active you are. Being interactive is easy on LinkedIn thanks to various great features for improved interactivity. For instance, you can vote on a number of skills which you feel represent the skills of your connections. Then they can also vote on skills that they feel represent you accurately. When this happens those skills will show up on the profile as endorsements, and there is no denying that this can look very impressive indeed, especially as people visit your profile to learn more about you.
Another great feature is the possibility of leaving reviews for others on their profiles, and they can do the same on your profile. This is another way to market yourself through what others have to say about you or your business. Naturally this helps to improve your image as well as increasing others’ confidence in you, your business, and what you have to offer.
You can also update your status. When you make an update you are also interacting and showing that you are active, and this has its advantages. You may also comment on the updates that other members post.
As a general rule of thumb, the more active and interactive you try to be on LinkedIn, the more connections you will be able to make, and in turn this will help you to gain social proof and credibility. LinkedIn can thus be described as a great platform to gain leads, as well as a fantastic possibility to promote yourself or your business.
How to interact in LinkedIn Groups
Look up groups that you can join on LinkedIn. There are going to be several groups that are related to your business or profession. Joining such groups and being active on them has various advantages. You can ask questions and reply to queries and comments. Groups are a very effective way to get yourself out there, and to gain more credibility. You may also create your own group. This is a very good way to show that you can be a leader in that particular area, while helping you to be more visible.
How to grow traffic with LinkedIn
The more active you are, and the more connections you make, the better you will do on LinkedIn. You can link to your website to get traffic. You can showcase your skills, qualifications, and experiences. All in all you can make yourself stand out, while encouraging people to look at what you are offering, and at what you are capable of.
Conclusion
LinkedIn is relatively easy to use, however you need to devote time to it, and make sure to be as active as possible. Join groups, post updates, interact with others, and maintain a professional presence. By doing so you can benefit in so many ways!
