How do you find business or freelance work on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn isn’t just useful for job hunting – it’s also a highly valuable business or freelance tool. You just need to know what to do with it.
If you’re looking for a new job, getting your LinkedIn profile right may well be on your checklist of things to do. But what if you’re a freelancer, or running your own business?
To help you understand just how important it is to spend time on your LinkedIn profile if you’re a freelancer or entrepreneur, here are some excellent reasons why you need to be on the platform.
Six reasons why freelancers need to be on LinkedIn
So why should a freelancer spend time on their LinkedIn profile? Here are six compelling reasons:
- Because your clients are on there – LinkedIn has become the go-to resource for professional talent – whether you’re looking for someone to fill a permanent position in your business, or someone to work freelance on a one-off project. So if you don’t have a profile set up for your freelance work, you’re missing out on opportunities. Maybe even right now.
- Recruiters are there too – yet again, recruiters aren’t just hunting out placements for full time roles. They’re also looking for people to fill freelance and consulting contracts on LinkedIn.
- It’s your professional profile – if you want to be take seriously as a freelancer, you need a LinkedIn profile. Think of it as your online business card. New clients and recruiters want to check you out just as much as a potential employer will check up on a new hire. And LinkedIn is where they’ll expect to find you. If they don’t see a profile, they may well cross you off their list.
- You’re easier to find – if someone puts your name into Google today, your LinkedIn profile is likely to come top of the search results (or close to). And for freelance work that’s just how you want it. It ensures that their first impression of you is professional and controlled by you (after all, you create your own profile).
- It’s your online portfolio – your LinkedIn profile is much, much more than an online CV. Think of it as a portfolio, or even mini-website. You can add rich media (photos, videos, presentations etc) to showcase your work, and collect recommendations from happy clients to help win over new ones.
- You can use LinkedIn Groups to network and find jobs – used properly, LinkedIn Groups are the perfect place to not just extend your network of other influential freelancers (and gain valuable freelance and industry tips), but also connect with and impress potential clients.
So, you’re convinced you need to be on LinkedIn properly if you’re a freelancer? Your first step is to get a brilliant profile up. Once you’ve done that, read 10 ways you can find freelance clients on LinkedIn.
Three reasons why entrepreneurs need to be on LinkedIn
If you’re an entrepreneur, you may have recognised some value in the points above. But are there any other reasons why you should invest time in your LinkedIn profile? Here are three:
- You’ll establish yourself as an expert – whatever industry you’re in, it helps your business for you to be recognised as an expert or thought leader in your niche. And LinkedIn is a perfect place to establish that reputation through LinkedIn Pulse Posts, updates and LinkedIn Groups.
- People want to know the person behind your business – if people want to find out more about a business, where do they turn? The About Us page. That’s because they recognise that businesses are run by people – and indeed can only be as good as the people who run them. So it’s important to have a positive professional profile if you’re an entrepreneur. And a great LinkedIn profile is a must, because once people have discovered the team behind a business, LinkedIn is often their next port of call to learn more about them.
- It’s a brilliant networking tool – if someone is looking for an expert with particular professional skills or experience, LinkedIn is a great place to start. It’s also where other entrepreneurs (and investors and mentors) are networking and sharing opportunities and knowledge. So having an impressive profile is essential.
So, beyond following these seven simple rules for getting your LinkedIn profile right, how can entrepreneurs maximise the opportunities of LinkedIn? The answer lies in creating (and using) a company page for your business.
Five reasons why you need a LinkedIn company page
If you run your own business, here are five reasons why you should consider creating (and using) a company page:
- A LinkedIn company page allows you to engage followers with company news, updates, events and relevant content.
- It can also help with your search engine rankings as LinkedIn pages often perform well in company searches.
- Research shows that 50% of LinkedIn members are more likely to purchase from companies when they engage with them on the platform.
- Company pages are SEO-friendly – Google previews up to 156 characters of your page’s text, so edit your description so that it leads with powerful, keyword-rich sentences.
- Members can search for companies by keyword on LinkedIn, so include words and phrases that describe your business, expertise and industry focus.
