By CMG Staff
Known as the essential professional social networking site, LinkedIn is an important piece of your personal marketing portfolio.
More than 650 million professionals across the world have a LinkedIn profile and use it as their personal landing page to build their brand, connect with others, learn, share, market, and tap into new opportunities.
If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile or if you don’t use it as much as you should, here are seven reasons to start.
Recruiters.
More than 95% of recruiters use LinkedIn as their #1 sourcing tool. After applying for a role, recruiters and decision-makers will check your profile to get a feel for your brand.
Jobs.
More than 20 million companies are on LinkedIn, which makes LinkedIn’s job board powerful. More than three million jobs are posted on LinkedIn every month, and some organizations use LinkedIn to conduct confidential searches.
Brand.
Forget the personal websites. LinkedIn acts as a GPS in summarizing your strengths, industry involvement, connections, comments, group activity, and contributions. Although it’s illegal to discriminate, they also see your photo.
Learn.
Since acquiring LinkedIn in 2016, Microsoft has transformed Lynda.com into a powerful LinkedIn Learning community. From photography to credible, professional certifications, you can boost your qualifications, visibility, and marketability in one space.
Research.
LinkedIn allows you to research companies, get a feel for their culture and employees, and get the pulse on industry news. A premium service subscription also offers salary and candidate comparisons.
Network.
The importance of networking cannot be emphasized enough. Even the most introverted professionals can foster great connections with industry influencers, professional groups, colleagues, and role models. Contributing helpful comments within groups can also boost your reputation as a custodian of bright ideas and solutions.
Groups.
Industries and associations form their own LinkedIn groups. Not only are groups a great way to learn and network, but it’s a place to actively contribute to discussions and assert yourself as an expert. Best yet, many recruiters and industry decision-makers watch those boards. Many CMG clients have opened the door to unposted opportunities because of their contributions.
Writing a LinkedIn profile is an art. If you decide to write it on your own, do your research. Make sure you construct it in a way that generates activity. If you don’t have the patience or time to do it, hire a professional. It’s worth every penny.