Social networking is an important part of our daily lives. It is how we connect with one another and keep up with the latest trends. Additionally, people post about what they want people to see. It might not always be truthful, but it is what’s being portrayed. You can be whoever you want to. There are many social networks out there, but LinkedIn is a special breed.
What is LINKEDIN?
LinkedIn is a social network that focuses on professionalism. You can set up a profile and connect with people from all over. The platform has 3 main purposes. The first one involves employers posting job opportunities for those seeking employment. This helps a business or company to recruit people faster by getting the word out there. The second purpose lies in how it helps people find employment by posting their CV’s, skills, qualities and interests. They describe what they have to offer and what they are searching for. This then improves their chances of finding a job. The third idea lies in people showing off their success not necessarily to brag, but to inspire others.
LinkedIn was launched on the 5th of May 2003 and has been growing ever since. Research shows that LinkedIn has a user base of 740 million in 2022. Approximately 57% of its users access the platform on mobile devices every month. A total of 87 million Millennials are on LinkedIn. There are 55 million companies that have LinkedIn profiles. The US has the most users, with more than 170 million profiles.
How to Set It Up?
Like any other social network platform, it starts off with you creating a profile.
Step 1: Add an image of yourself to your profile. Make sure this is a professional image, preferably with good quality and lighting. Keep in mind, this is the first thing recruiters and other companies will see.
Step 2: Add your industry and location. This is a tricky one because people tend to select the wrong industry. It is important to be very specific about which industry you work in. Then include where you are from for location. These options usually include a drop down box which allows you to choose available options.
Step 3: Customize your linkedin URL link. Personalise it by adding your name to the end of the link, for example.
Step 4: Write a summary. Describe who you are and what your interests are.
Step 5: Describe your experience. Mentioning previous work you did.
Step 6: Add skills. Elaborate on what you are good at doing by listing a number of skills. It’s always best to list more than just 1 or 2, because the more you present, the better your profile looks.
Step 7: List your education. Add all your certificates, degree’s or diploma’s that you have.
Step 8: Connect with 50+ contacts. Don’t be shy to send invites.
Step 9: Turn on ‘Let recruiters know you’re open’. This will highlight your profile.
LinkedIn vs Other Social Media
LinkedIn is purely based on promoting a professional industry. You will see people posting about starting new jobs or long posts about why they quit. Each and every post is either seeking help, showing appreciation or proving motivation for others. The promotion of working and reaching one’s goals is what Linkedin does best.
This is quite different compared to other social media. Most people argue that LinkedIn is not a social media platform, but rather a networking platform. I beg to differ, because there is not a vast difference between the two. Networking and socializing go hand in hand. Both include posts that include words and images. The idea remains the same but the focus differs because LinkedIn promotes a professional lifestyle where other platforms focus more on the ‘social’ lifestyle.
Instagram and Facebook, for example, showcase posts about where people are eating and what the latest fashion trends are. It is a rare occurrence that someone will post about their achievements on these platforms. A selfie is more likely to be posted instead.
How Is LinkedIn Beneficial?
The network helps people connect and find jobs. In addition, it creates a community where you feel comfortable expressing that you are in need or that you have succeeded because you are surrounded by similar people. You would rather post your goals and achievements on LinkedIn because the platform creates a space with people who appreciate this kind of mindset.
People often comment on posts in order to congratulate or promote a job. LinkedIn inspires hard work and dedication. Graduates benefit the most because they advertise their degree’s along with previous experience and this then opens up doors for them into the working industry because recruiters notice this. Soon after posting, you will receive help from people, whether it is recruiters or people that know of similar positions available. It helps to be specific about what you are interested in and edit your profile as you change careers. Therefore, it is important to stay active on LinkedIn by keeping your profile updated. It is not always as easy as posting. Sometimes you need to go follow the relevant people in order to be noticed. You need to reach out – network.
LinkedIn helps you build a virtual connection of contacts and further gain exposure.
LINKEDIN’S Culture and Values
Transformation
Employees at LinkedIn have every opportunity to better themselves by growing because they are introduced to a vast number of connections at work. The fact that they have the opportunity to improve themselves shows that the company provides their employees with space to grow. They get a first-hand opportunity.
Open and Honest
The employees at LinkedIn focus on seeking the truth and keeping it real. They are more likely to generate solutions to difficult problems. They welcome and seek constructive feedback so that they can learn and grow as a company and individuals. Having truthful individuals working at your company is important because trust needs to be incorporated.
They Are One – Emphasis on ‘Linked In’
They believe that it is their company and they operate together against a single vision in order to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce. Everyone at Linkedin is responsible for making decisions as owners: prioritizing the whole over any part, embracing doing good along with doing well, and realizing that they have an outsized impact and win when they move forward together.
Embody Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging
Everyone at LinkedIn is responsible for creating an environment where diverse perspectives and experiences are sought and valued and where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. They believe that talent is equally distributed but opportunity is not. They acknowledge that it is their responsibility both on their platform and in the company to create a more equitable and inclusive world of work.
Every company focuses on a specific culture and values. Linkedin portrays a family of inclusion, which is an important aspect to have at any company, especially when a company has such a large influence on society. The employees of the company should feel that their contribution means something and that their voices are heard.
Advancing Your Business Through LinkedIn
How to Set up a Business Page:
Step 1: Make sure you have a LinkedIn account.
Step 2: Go to the home page and click on the work icon. You will find this in the top right corner of your LinkedIn home page.
Step 3: You will find a drop down menu then select create company page.
Step 4: Select your business preference. It could be a small business: choose this option if your business has fewer than 200 employees). Medium to larger business: Select this option if your business has more than 200 employees. Showcase page: Choose this option if you want to create a sub-page associated with an existing business page. Then, lastly, an educational institution: Select this option if you want to create a page for a school or university.
Step 5: Enter your business’s name. Keep in mind, when you type in your business’s name, a public URL for your business’s LinkedIn page is created below the “Name” box. If you wish to use a different public URL, use this line to edit it.
Step 6: Provide your business’s website. Copy a URL to make things easier for yourself.
Next 5 Steps …
Step 7: Choose the relevant industry, business size and type (Business types included; public company, self-employed, government agency, nonprofit, sole proprietorship, privately held, and partnership) from the dropdown box.
Step 8: This step involves including your logo image. You need to select the button that says Choose File below “Profile details” and select an image. Images should be a jpeg, or png image that is 300 x 300.
Step 9: Select the tagline option and give a brief description of your business.
Step 10: You will find a checkbox at the end, click on it. This means that you are agreeing to the terms and conditions of the business and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the business.
Step 11: Click on Create Page. It’s the blue button at the bottom of the form. This creates your company page and you can start using it with immediate effect.
Tips on Advancement
Make sure you know who your audience is. Reach out to them. Share your page with other social media, get the word out there.Using the notion of networking by reaching out to relevant investors or people you think would be interested in using your services should be helpful as well. Join groups. You can join up to 50 groups. In these groups, you can see the individual members and connect with them.
Upload a post every week or more in order to keep your page active. Add valuable content, share quotes, websites and available positions so that you can keep your connections interested and increase your profile views. Another tip would be to respond quickly to messages so that people can see you are a reliable person, because frankly, people do not like waiting.
Additionally, creating videos is another way of advancing your business. For example: If you have a photography business, create a video explaining the type of pictures you capture and why so that people know more about your work ethics. This will give intell to the culture of your business as well. the more people know’s about someon’s business the more they engage.
Be Vigilent
Due to LinkedIn being such an advanced platform, there are some dangers attached to it as well. We post and express everything about ourselves, our pictures, videos, address (and email address), workplace, previous experiences and more personal information. LinkedIn owns your personal data and information.
Additionally, LinkedIn is full of scams and phishing. It can be hard to tell whether a company is legit. Here are a few things to look out for:
- You should know something is up when you receive too many invites from people in the same company.
- Suspicious profile pictures, especially those blurry ones where you can barely see the person’s face.
- When you are asked to pay for a job, a legit company would never ask you for money knowing you are seeking employment.
- Google the company for reassurance.
- The company’s email address. A company’s email would never have ‘@gmail.com’. It would usually have the company’s name or something relevant to the company after the @ has been added.
Why Is LinkedIn So Important?
It is the first way of professionally approaching someone virtually. Whether you are working or applying for a job. That company will go search for you on LinkedIn in order to give a minor description of who you are and what you have been up to – professionally. This makes things easier for the employer, employee and job seeker.
LinkedIn is all about connecting. LinkedIn has been a pioneer of social networking since it appeared on the market long before its influential competitors like Facebook and Twitter. It has over 500 million professional profiles and over a few million official LinkedIn Company Pages, providing the latest information about every listed company and its employees. LinkedIn remains an exceptional platform for connecting with professionals, promoting your brand, and researching companies and their employees. The biggest part of modern day companies prefers maintaining their LinkedIn pages and providing the latest news about the company and its employees. Researching relevant information can be beneficial for people who tend to work in a research company and need information about its culture and employees. It is a beneficial way of getting to know people before you actually meet them.
