In short, yes, having a LinkedIn profile is important for most professionals today. LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 850 million members. It has become an invaluable tool for networking, job searching, establishing thought leadership, and promoting yourself or your business.
What is LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is a social media platform designed specifically for professional networking and career development. Members create profiles summarizing their work history, education, skills, and professional accomplishments. You can connect with co-workers, clients, business partners, and other professionals in your industry.
LinkedIn allows you to:
- Create an online resume spotlighting your professional accomplishments
- Find and connect with colleagues, clients, and business partners
- Join industry or topic-specific groups to share content and participate in discussions
- Follow companies to get news updates and job postings
- Look for jobs and post your resume to be found by recruiters
- Share articles and publish thought leadership content
Why have a LinkedIn profile?
Here are some of the key reasons it’s important for most professionals to have a LinkedIn profile:
Networking
LinkedIn provides access to the world’s largest professional network. You can connect with past coworkers, employers, clients, vendors, industry experts, and more. It’s an easy way to grow your professional network and build relationships with influencers in your field.
Establish your professional brand
Your LinkedIn profile provides an opportunity to control your professional narrative. You can build your personal brand by highlighting your background, skills, accomplishments, recommendations from others, and publications. Profiles give you credibility and help you stand out.
Be found
LinkedIn profiles rank highly in Google search results. 80% of B2B leads come from LinkedIn. Having a complete, optimized profile makes you more findable by prospective employers, clients, partners, and collaborators.
Market your business
LinkedIn Company Pages allow businesses to promote their products/services, share company news and job listings, and connect with customers. Individuals can promote their companies, share work samples, and establish thought leadership.
Find job opportunities
The LinkedIn Jobs portal allows you to search millions of job postings, receive job recommendations, and be discovered by recruiters. Many employers now only accept online applications or post openings exclusively on LinkedIn.
Stay up-to-date on your industry
Following leading companies, thought leaders, and professional groups on LinkedIn lets you keep a pulse on important news and trends within your field. The personalized feed shows content most relevant to you.
How to create a standout LinkedIn profile
To fully maximize the benefits of LinkedIn, it’s important to have a complete, professional profile. Follow these tips:
Use a professional profile photo
Pick a high-quality headshot of you alone dressed professionally. This will be the first impression people have of you.
Write an informative headline
Summarize your current role and industry. Include important keywords. “Social Media Manager at XYZ Company”
Showcase your background
Provide details on your education, certifications, volunteer work, publications, honors/awards, courses, projects, and patents.
Describe your experience
Include all current and past work experiences. Focus on accomplishments rather than job duties. Quantify your achievements when possible.
Highlight your skills
Include keywords recruiters search for. You can take online skill assessments to add verified skills to your profile.
Customize your LinkedIn URL
Claim a unique URL like linkedin.com/in/YOURNAME to make your profile link more memorable.
Optimize your summary section
Briefly describe your professional background, discuss your specialties, mention your goals. Include keywords related to your industry and niche.
Request recommendations
Ask managers, colleagues, clients to write recommendations to showcase your work. This adds credibility.
Grow your network
Connect with at least 50-100 contacts on LinkedIn. Try to include co-workers, clients, vendors, alumni, etc. This will expand your reach.
Engage with content and groups
Comment on posts, share articles, join professional groups to establish yourself as an industry thought leader.
Track profile analytics
Use data on who’s viewed your profile to target networking outreach. LinkedIn shows you how your profile ranks on key skills.
Maximizing your LinkedIn presence
Once you’ve optimized your profile, focus on getting the most out of LinkedIn by:
- Regularly sharing professional updates, articles, resources
- Commenting and participating in Groups and discussions
- Connecting with new people each week to grow your network
- Following leading voices and companies in your industry
- Leveraging LinkedIn Groups and messaging to make new business connections
- Setting up job alerts and notifications to be aware of opportunities
- Researching key employees and decision makers at target companies
- Announcing new projects, milestones, promotions
Pro tips
Here are some additional tips for success on LinkedIn:
- Proofread your profile to avoid typos/errors
- Use keywords strategically to get found in searches
- Update your profile at least once a quarter
- Follow company pages to get news and job updates
- Join LinkedIn Premium for access to special features
- Install the LinkedIn app on your phone
- Personalize connection invitations with a note
- Make posts easier to read with bullet points and formatting
Should you pay for LinkedIn Premium?
LinkedIn offers several premium subscription options that provide additional features and benefits. Here’s an overview of what you get with LinkedIn Premium subscriptions:
Feature | Premium Career | Premium Business | Sales Navigator |
---|---|---|---|
InMail Messages | 25/month | 25/month | 50/month |
Profile View Insights | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Search filters | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Unlimited profile searches | ✔ | ✔ |
The main advantages of premium subscriptions are:
- InMail messages – Directly contact anyone on LinkedIn without needing a connection
- Profile analytics – See who’s viewed your profile and how you rank for skills
- Advanced search filters – Target your searches by job title, company, location, etc.
- Unlimited profile searches – Some plans remove search limits imposed on free accounts
Premium is most beneficial for those actively searching for a job or recruiting new clients. Occasional users likely won’t need the extra features. But premium can accelerate networking and prospecting if used strategically.
Conclusion
In summary, having a complete LinkedIn profile is extremely useful for the vast majority of business professionals, entrepreneurs, and job seekers today. LinkedIn opens up networking opportunities, allows you to discover job openings, provides a platform to build your brand and authority, and keeps you plugged into important news and connections within your industry.
Invest time into crafting a compelling, keyword optimized profile that gets into specifics about your background and accomplishments. Actively engage on the platform by publishing content, participating in discussions, connecting with new people, and leveraging Groups. Consistently keep your profile updated throughout your career.
With over 850 million members and growing, LinkedIn is the go-to professional networking platform. Maintaining an informative presence on LinkedIn is invaluable in building your visibility, authority, and opportunities in the modern business world.