Do you know why LinkedIn is important for professionals and job-seekers? Although LinkedIn is not the most popular of all social networks, it is still an important tool for connecting with industry professionals, advancing in your career, hiring and getting hired, as well as for business-to-business (B2B) activities.
Even though it lacks the popularity of Facebook or Twitter, LinkedIn remains the largest business-oriented social network out there. 740 million LinkedIn members are active right now, but it had a 25% growth rate year-over-year.
As of now, there are over 3 million LinkedIn Company Pages from companies all over the world. Thus, job-seekers, employees, entrepreneurs, CEOs, and working professionals need to have an active presence on the website.
Here are the 7 reasons why LinkedIn is Important:
1. LinkedIn is an excellent tool for connecting with professionals
Connecting people with LinkedIn is an excellent way to find professionals, colleagues, thought leaders, and those with similar interests.
Identify job openings and opportunities outside your circle, share knowledge, get insights, learn about upcoming events, voice your opinions, join discussions, and so on.
Connecting with people in your industry or niche is very important, and LinkedIn allows you to do just that.
2. The best way to promote yourself professionally is through LinkedIn
You are able to market your professional skills on LinkedIn, one of the best places online to do so.
On your LinkedIn page you will be able to highlight all your professional achievements and accomplishments, details about your job experience and skills, as well as other information about you.
Information about you is shared with people you’re connected to, as well as recruiters, head-hunters, CEOs and other professionals who may be looking for someone with your skills and stumble upon your profile.
LinkedIn can be used to boost your credibility as a professional and advertise your skills.
If you want to impress anyone who looks at your profile, make sure it is complete, detailed, and up-to-date.
3. To get hired, you need to be on LinkedIn
You’ll find the best chance for a job on LinkedIn if you’re seeking one!
Your LinkedIn profile can be used to recommend jobs based on the details you provide, as well as to show you relevant job listings.
Furthermore, you can browse company pages and find out if there are job openings in a company, or if someone is leaving (which means that the company may be opening soon).
Keeping up with what’s going on in your field is easy with LinkedIn.
It is, at its core, just another social networking website – and people share things on it. Sharing knowledge, information, and insights on what is happening in your industry are enhanced when you connect with your peers and colleagues.
It helps you stay on top of everything that’s happening in your field. Regardless of what’s happening, you are always kept informed about all relevant events.
LinkedIn is a great tool for staying up to date on industry trends, especially those relevant to you.
4. Google finds you much more easily when you are active on LinkedIn
A lot of people trust Google, and LinkedIn ranks well in Google results (SERPs) as well. In turn, LinkedIn individuals (and companies) tend to rank very highly on Google.
So, if you have a LinkedIn page, chances are it will appear on the results page if you Google your name.
LinkedIn is an excellent way not only to be found but also for people you meet at a conference to know more about you and find out about you on the network.
Being able to stay in touch with them and expand your network as a result of this is invaluable.
5. Organizes your contacts in a rolodex
Do you remember the cool young pro you met at the conference three years ago? Perhaps that friend of your friend who wanted to work for your company as a freelancer?
I’d say probably not.
Do not file their business cards in your desk drawer or add their email addresses to your outdated address book when you meet them; add them to your LinkedIn network. One day, you will be able to connect with them again when the time is right.
6. Research companies and their employees
Indeed, you can find openings through other job boards if you’re looking for employment. LinkedIn, however, offers other benefits.
In today’s world, many companies maintain their own LinkedIn pages where they post information about their businesses, share insights, and showcase employees.
It’s important to get a good feel for the company’s culture and its people before committing to an interview or accepting a job with it.
7. News about the industry can be found there
You can view your timeline on LinkedIn when you log in, like other social networking sites. Located there are news updates from the people you follow, your groups, and your company. Keep track of industry reports and trends for fun and for business purposes.
