26 important reasons why you should be using LinkedIn for business

How much time do you devote to LinkedIn? Read 26 important reasons why you should use LinkedIn for yourself and your business.

Many people assume that LinkedIn is a great resource for people who are looking for a new job. Not unlike an online CV. And they’re right. But it’s also SO much more.

In fact, did you know that, used properly, it’s also a pretty impressive business tool? To help you see some of the potential of LinkedIn, Vee Roberts, director of insight2Marketing, reveals why you should be using it more.

Find out we’ll turn you into a LinkedIn business pro in our online course Love LinkedIn for business

Are you using LinkedIn for business yet?

I recently had an interesting conversation with a client who didn’t have a LinkedIn profile. The conversation intrigued me. It also highlighted that she really didn’t get the benefits of being on LinkedIn, and had made several (wrong!) assumptions about it.

Since then I’ve noticed that many people aren’t using LinkedIn yet (or aren’t making best use of it), mainly because they aren’t aware of why it’s such an important tool – not just for individuals, but for businesses too.

So I decided to compile a quick list, based on my experience of working with other clients and also the success I have had on my own profile, of some brilliant reasons why you should take another look at LinkedIn and start making more of it.

26 reasons why you should be using LinkedIn for business

So here’s my list – 26 important reasons why you should be using LinkedIn more:

  1. It is a great way to increase you and your brand’s visibility.
  2. It’s a fantastic resource for trends and latest articles.
  3. It’s useful for making new connections, reconnecting with lapsed ones, and maintaining existing relationships.
  4. If you think of it as your online CV, it’s a great way to attract employers if you’re looking for contract work or a new job.
  5. It’s also a good way to identify prospects, suppliers and potential employees.
  6. LinkedIn is an excellent search tool – find who you want by searching specifically on key categories (location, business size or name, as examples).
  7. You can demonstrate your expertise or passion about things that interest you.
  8. It’s used, to a greater extent, by professionals who are serious about business.
  9. It is a handy way to identify potential sales opportunities
  10. It’s also an excellent source to identify potential sponsors.
  11. LinkedIn helps increase your credibility – if you know your stuff!
  12. You can work out who the leaders and influencers are in your industry.
  13. You can upload images, LinkedIn Slideshare presentations and even video (as three examples) to showcase your work and include it as part of your profile.
  14. You can send traffic to your other pages, websites or social media platforms.
  15. You can share your connections’ content as well as your own.
  16. Depending on their setting, you can follow people (who you are not connected to) and read their posts.
  17. You can highlight your achievements – for example, telling people about your awards, causes you care about and projects you’ve worked on.
  18. You can keep people informed about which opportunities you’re interested in (and not just by stating “I’m looking for a new job” in your profile!).
  19. You can refer others and be referred.
  20. You can set up your own and follow other Company Pages.
  21. You can keep abreast of what’s current and listen in or take part in key conversations in LinkedIn Groups.
  22. The LinkedIn InMail feature is great for connecting to hot prospects.
  23. LinkedIn depicts what people are saying about you – the good and the bad via the Recommendations Tool. Here’s how to request a recommendation.
  24. LinkedIn is a great way to make quality connections. It’s up to you whether you make your profile private or not (keep in mind your personal/business goals).
  25. Monitoring the type of people looking at your posts can give a good indication of what’s hot and what’s not.
  26. You can write articles (even if they are snippets of what is already on your blog, or some commentary). Remember to visit your LinkedIn post statistics – monitoring is handy!

Does your LinkedIn profile need some love? Read seven rules for a perfect LinkedIn profile

Need more help? You can find out when Vee’s next Get Going On LinkedIn Workshop is running here.