LinkedIn

 Hello there, today I will be sharing my thoughts on LinkedIn. This platform is pretty serious since it is all about professionals. The TLDR on LinkedIn is basically that it is a social networking platform that aims to connect professionals and businesses. Think of it like Facebook but for work. It is one of the most popular platforms as it has over 740 million users in over 200 countries globally. However, it is unclear how many of those users are actually active regular users of the platform. The majority of users are male and one third of the users are 30-49 years old. About one quarter of all users are senior -level influencers. Pew Research Center claims that half of American adults with college degrees us tis platform. This is not surprising as tertiary level students are regularly told to create LinkedIn accounts. Unfortunately most of those students don't get proper guidance on how to use the platform and due to the paywall it may some people may get additionally flustered with the platform. This can result in them becoming inactive users with poorly filled out profiles. I am guilty of this. My current profile is a bit better that it used to be but I am still  not an active user. The reason for this is quite common;  LinkedIn just has not been of any major benefit to me. I will shed some more light on this in a moment.

Businesses On LinkedIn 

Linked in has over 55 million companies listed. This can be quite misleading as all of these business listings are not created and managed by the listed companied but are auto generated by the system as users adds unlisted organizations to their experiences and so on. Granted there are real benefits for business on LinkedIn. Business representatives can connect, share ideas and even sow the seeds for collaboration here. Bearing this in mind it is no surprise that it is the second most popular platform among B2B marketers. Businesses can also use their employees (who have joined the company page) and create content on the platform to advertise their company culture in order to attract even more employees. They can also hunt for prospective employees by searching the LinkedIn User database or by advertising jobs on the platform. The latter makes things easier for the business as the platform ensures that the job is seen by those best suited  for the job based on their listed qualifications. Advertisements on LinkedIn also have he potential of reaching millions as they have an advertising reach of about 160 million people.

Professionals On LinkedIn

LinkedIn has benefit for professionals also as it can aid in job searches, help them connect with professionals they know or professionals their connections know. For professionals LinkedIn serves as a mixer where they can network, learn techniques from others and even share their own knowledge. It also allows the professional to keep additional tabs on a company they are interested in working for. In other words they can get an idea of what the company culture is like, potentially see job opportunities before they are shared on other platforms or even get spotted by HR recruiters for a job that would be a good fit for them. It an give them insight into the do's and don'ts of their industry by observing professionals that hold senior positions accounts and posts. It can however be daunting as filling out the account information can feel nerve wracking as the user can wonder what to share and how they should share it. They may not know how to present the identity they should project  to get noticed. This can result in them becoming inactive. 

My Experience On LinkedIn

I found LinkedIn in short to be quite boring and I felt like I had to walk on eggshells. I mean, I should portray the best version so I can get the best out of this platform right? Interactions with people in the workplace is hard enough as is for me and having to do that again in another space I was unfamiliar with felt like an extra unnecessary stress. So needless to say my account was inactive for years. I had no guidance when I first created the page and I never quite understood why there was a paywall since I was technically giving them my data. That aside I was told by almost all of my lecturers that I have to create one because it will help  with my job search. A few years ago I decided to refresh my profile and try to be more active but I still felt out of place on the platform. I felt like it mainly benefited people who were much further along in their careers as they had more to bring to the table for their connections and the businesses searching for people to fill specialized positions. I got one (1) recruitment message which had me go through a series of tests for a chance to get interviewed for a position. I was not successful with this job. Otherwise I mostly would get messaged by people from MLM companies. It mainly turned me off of the platform. I have had successful job hunts via other platforms. Now when I get a message my first thought is " Oh, boy is it another scammer?"  Since then my account has been pretty "meh". I have tried making edits again recently based on some things that I have learned but I think I will leave the profile alone for now; just a little while longer. My attention is very split at the moment  and I don't think I can make any massive difference now.  That being said, I am happy to share what that I have learned with you.

Things To Note

1. Your profile photo and banner serves as a virtual handshake. Think of what message, feeling or impression you want to give when choosing them.
2. Create an industry specific headline and catch phrase. You want to let the viewer know who you are and how you can help them.
3. When it comes to education don't show which high school you went to, rather list groups that you were a part of as this can give the viewer an insight into what kind of person you are in an indirect way. Some one who runs marathons have endurance and determination while people who engage in team based activities would project qualities associated with team players.
4. If you have any achievements be sure to list them.
5. Add keyword specific skills. Choose three (3) and try to make them a mixture of hard and soft skills.
6. Request recommendations from people so your profile will have persons vouching for your competence in your listed skills.
7. Look at the profiles of established professionals in your industry to get an idea of what you can do or how to improve on your profile to take better advantage of the platform.
8. When you feel a bit settled in the platform and / or your industry give back by writing about your experiences or giving tips or tricks for your industry on your profile.
9. Ensure your content be it articles, posts or other content tell a story and/or add value.
10. To generate engagement consider the occasional grenade post. This typically involves a thought provoking  or controversial strong opinion which sparks debate. Choose something valid that you can honestly defend or debate about in other words choose a topic that allows you to "stick to your guns". For example " Chicken doubles is just a small roti"
11. Consider behind the scenes and review posts.
12. Be sure to tag others where you can to encourage conversation.
13. Share articles posts and so on to stay active with your content.
14. You can also take screenshots of posts you made on other platforms and share those also.
15. Let people know if you are job hunting by tactfully including it in your bio.
16. Share some of your work if possible.

LinkedIn is filled with opportunities for businesses and professionals alike but it is not easy to establish a solid presence. This is the case with all platforms it takes time, work , trial and error you name it. If you are determined I am sure you will get there. It can be discouraging and stressful as the environment is more professional. While I initially found this platform to be boring and stressful as I felt like I had to walk on eggshells I cannot deny the opportunities it can provide me with. I will go into round three or four with this platform again in time. I believe that I will get familiar with it and utilize optimally in both a professional and business capacity one day.

Reference

Images sourced from logonoid.com and freepik.com