Guide what is LinkedIn and why join in 2020

laptop with linkedin website on screen on work desk at office

I have attended a great local networking event last night in my local Belgrad, Serbia about what is LinkedIn and why join in 2022

There were many people who I had communicated with on Twitter and finally had the chance to meet…the feeling was almost like seeing long-lost friends!  I will save Tweetups for another blog post because what interested me last night were how many people I met last night that were active on Twitter but not at all on LinkedIn.  Many saw the latter as just being a site for “professionals” or really didn’t know what to do with it.  In order to really explain what is the value of spending time on LinkedIn to those that are new to it or do not fully understand it, I think it is best to ask what it is in the first place and elaborate some reasons why everyone (and I mean everyone from Gen Y and Millenial college students to Baby Boomers) should be utilizing it.

What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is really a huge database of professionals.  Twitter lacks profile depth, Facebook is all over the place demographically and is also hard to find people.  LI standardizes information entered by users into predefined “Profile Headline”, “Summary”, “Education”, “Company”, etc. categories.  In addition to this huge database of information, the platform also provides an awesome search tool to allow you to pinpoint the person you are looking for depending on a number of very specific factors.

On the other hand, the more connections you have, the closer you will appear to more people – and the closer others that you might want to contact will appear to you.

So What is LinkedIn? Here’s how LinkedIn defines itself:

And this is how I define LinkedIn:

LinkedIn is the place to find other professionals and be found by other professionals.

Why Should You Join LinkedIn?

I wrote a blog post on 7 reasons why every professional should join LinkedIn, but I wanted to follow up with an updated recap of the 3 biggest reasons for those who are still not sure as to how much time they want to spend on networking platform.

1) Getting Back in Touch (Finding & Being Found)

Yes, Classmates.com and Facebook also allow you to get back in touch.  But because of the search functionality that LinkedIn has, I am finding people there that I can’t find on the other social networking sites.  And because it is easier to be found on LI, many are finding me too! You can find people primarily from where you both went to school as well as where you worked.

2) Acquire & Share Expertise

There are almost 2,000,000 Groups (see screenshot below) that you can join.  Each group has its own Discussions Board, News Board, and Jobs postings.  The subject matter in Groups covers a wide enough of topics that there is value for everyone to be participating. Furthermore, with LinkedIn Pulse, you can now read the news curated for you and your industry and keep tabs on what news you need to know from a professional perspective.

3) Career Management

Social Networking is a Career Insurance that you can never have enough of. The advice is the same whether you are looking for a job or are happily employed: a network should be your insurance for your future career growth. Companies are organic entities whose needs change and do not and cannot promise you a guarantee that your job will be there 10 years from now, next year, or even next month. That is why you need to be on LinkedIn so that you can both find potential companies and recruiters as well as be found by them. Even if you are happy in your job, it can’t hurt to have a minimal profile on LinkedIn and receive contacts from recruiters in your industry or specialty who may be able to help you out in the future, can it? LinkedIn is free career insurance! BUY INTO IT!

Note that it is also important for college students to dig their well before they get thirsty as well for the same career management reason, so if you are a college student or know of one, please check out my post in LinkedIn profile tips for college students.

If I was to list one more reason to be on LinkedIn, it would be to establish and maintain a robust professional brand, but some might consider this a subset of Career Management.

You will notice that I didn’t even mention the reasons you should join if you are looking for business benefits from social networking.  Of course there is lots of business and other advantages to being on LinkedIn.  Read my LinkedIn book as well as new LinkedIn book for business for all the details!

If you still don’t understand what is LI and its value and why you should join and leverage LinkedIn, I have not done my job as a blogger and LI advocate.  If you are still confused please comment and let me know how I can help you see the light!

Are You Ready to Maximize LinkedIn for Your Business?

  • Learn the fastest and easiest way to optimize your LinkedIn profile for business today.
  • Understand the powerful but “hidden secret” of leveraging content for personal branding and engagement.
  • Utilize best practices to maintain professional relationships for Social Selling and Referral Marketing.

 

 

What Is LinkedIn FAQs

What is LinkedIn and how does it work?

LinkedIn is a huge professional database. It makes finding people very easy due to its predefined categories such as profile headline, summary, education, company, etc — which you cannot find on other platforms. Thus, making it a great platform to connect with old friends, colleagues, and even corporate recruiters.

What is the main purpose of LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is mainly used for professional networking, job hunting, connecting with friends and colleagues, and career management. Most companies also use LinkedIn to recruit and search for potential employees. So if you are looking to build your professional reputation, you need to start utilizing LinkedIn.

Is it worth being on LinkedIn?

Yes! Especially when it comes to connecting with professionals, corporates, and organizations. In fact, there are 90 million senior-level influencers and 63 million decision-makers on LinkedIn. These people are the leaders of businesses. By connecting with them, you can get a sense of how to improve yourself professionally.

What is the function of LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is a social media platform created for the business community. It allows users to network and connects with other professionals and organizations within the same industry. In addition, users can also look for jobs, tackle business ideas, and grow their business connections.

Does LinkedIn cost money?

No, create an account in LinkedIn does not cost money, however, they also offer premium services that give users access to additional features. The basic account is for anyone that wants to network and build a professional profile. To build an impressive profile, check these 17 must-have profile items.

Guide what is LinkedIn and why join in 2020
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