When it comes to professional networking, LinkedIn hits the top list amongst all the social media platforms with nearly 660+ million users worldwide.
Right from connecting with business professional networks worldwide to large-scale online training hubs, from applying for a job to give and take skills and endorsements, LinkedIn allows virtually to reach out to everyone in the business world.
Offering information about you and your work by creating a profile and company page LinkedIn contributes towards your overall brand. This article provides a checklist of everything you need to understand to get LinkedIn to work for you as; getting recognised and developing as a leader in your business; increasing your network of peers, colleagues and professionals; generating leads for your organisation; or enhancing your profile to unlock your chances of being recognised when a potential client is seeking for someone with your expertise or skills.
Here are few LinkedIn tips for 2020; Find the point that interests you the most and skip with what you know already.
It is said that the "first impression is the last impression", yes, creating a good impression initially is always vital when networking in person and similarly for networking online.
Accordingly, before you begin with networking on LinkedIn, you need to get assured that your profile is thoroughly optimized. Ensure that every section of your profile is filled out completely with the necessary details, to make it look as professional as possible.
Stay current on LinkedIn, yes never undervalue the significance of your profile photo. Including a professional-looking photograph gets more views and connections than ones without. So never ever leave your profile picture segment blank.
A LinkedIn profile is the same as your resume, with a catchy headline on top allow others to know you, what exactly work you do, your specialization and skills. A great LinkedIn advice would be using keywords, that will help boost a chance of getting your profile to be found by recruiters and professionals in your industry. By including keywords in your headline, description/summary, and expertise will give you an added benefit while networking. Like any LinkedIn user searches for "graphic designer" and you’ve applied that keyword in your overall profile, your profile is more likely to occur in search results, which offers you for a great opportunity in getting connected with professionals in your industry.
Once your profile is completed, you need to focus on connecting with others. With 500 plus connections on LinkedIn, you seem to be established in your business, but the aim with LinkedIn is not having most of the connections but to have the right ones.
Do not add connections blindly, instead connect selectively. View their profile before adding, avoid connecting with anyone and everyone. Connect with the people in your industry, in your area of interest, that will help you to offer valuable insights regarding working with them in the future or regarding your career development. You could learn from them, increase your knowledge and skills from them because they’re industry experts.
Always send a personalized note before sending a request to the connection, it's considered as one of LinkedIn best practices. A quick note describing the reason behind connection or introducing yourself will help you build a good relationship and respect. Once your requests get accepted, start developing relationships, acknowledge them with a thank you. This could further open the door of opportunities and discussions. Give likes on others' posts, start commenting, share their content and even reach out to them by sending a message periodically. As networking is all about getting connected, building relationships and if you’re not an active connection, your bonds will never develop.
Display yourself as a specialist in your industry as well as posting informative content of your very own on LinkedIn. Sharing a great piece of article you have viewed and read recently on the web is a great start, however, if you truly want to portray yourself as an expert in your industry or want to build valuable LinkedIn connections, you should be sharing your very own post on LinkedIn.
Using relevant hashtags during publishing your articles can help in growing your network, and can drag down the type of people you demand to engage with. The article published on LinkedIn not only enables sharing your expertise with your network but also results in more users searching for your profile.
If you want to make connections, build relationships and get recognised with industry network on LinkedIn, a great approach to achieve this is by joining groups.
Search for a group on LinkedIn with your interest relevant to your industry where you can become a part of. For example, searching for a group with keyword "design" results in almost 15,000 groups you can join as a member of. Your profile can be viewed or noticed by thousands of people in your industry by joining some active groups, and that's lots of people where you can expand your network with.
To make this approach effective, you must interact in the group. By sharing relevant content, participating in the group discussions, answering or by questioning other members in the group will showcase your knowledge and skill. Try not to sell your brand on the group instead focus on being a valuable member, this way all other members will notice you and not be interrupted by you.
LinkedIn is a great platform for networking, a great source to make connections in your industry, and not only in your region but globally. Building valuable relationships with professionals and recruiters online can offer you with outstanding opportunities. This article provides you with an overview of helpful features and ways to manage the platform.