LEVERAGING LINKEDIN: How to make the world's larget professional networking platform work for you
In our social media obsessed world, a professional networking platform like LinkedIn is … largely misused. Many businesses have it but don’t use it to its full potential. So, let’s help you get the most out of your LinkedIn membership!
Should you be on LinkedIn? If you’re looking to hire, expand awareness of your business, keep track of competitors or network with allies, there is no tool more powerful than LinkedIn. According to stats released by LinkedIn, more than 67 million companies are on the site, and in 2022, construction was the third largest industry represented. As for individuals, there are some 276 million members in North America and more than 800 million worldwide. More than 13,000 connections are made on LinkedIn per minute. Should you pay for a premium account? Probably. With an unpaid account you can make high-impact posts, but their reach will be limited. Plus, you can’t see everyone who views your business profile page, connect with anyone more than three connections away from you or use LinkedIn’s “InMail” messaging service for anyone more than one connection away from you. LinkedIn Premium Business lifts some of those restrictions for $59 a month, and the LinkedIn Recruiter subscriptions lift even more. Generally, if you’re actively hiring, hoping to grow awareness and/or you’d like to network with others in the industry, it’s probably worth paying for one of LinkedIn’s premium subscription levels.
WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO USE THE PLATFORM?
Marketing, recruitment, industry research — you name it. Here are some suggestions:
MARKETING
Many companies share news about projects they’re proud of, awards they received and informational posts that help position their business as an expert on the leading edge of the industry. Oftentimes, project and employee highlights create a fair amount of engagement.
NETWORKING
LinkedIn makes it easy for businesses and individuals to connect with and follow each other. If your business is on LinkedIn, your president, CEO and Project Manger should be too. This helps humanize your company and facilitates networking among professionals and potential recruits.
RECRUITING
LinkedIn’s built-in messaging service, InMail, allows you to DM potential candidates in your circle when new job opportunities arise. Businesses can also search for specific job titles in specific locations and the platform will find people who match those things. A more detailed search utilizing more than 40 filters is available through LinkedIn’s paid Recruiter and Recruiter Lite tools, which also provide you with automatic candidate matching recommendations based on criteria you define. Recruiter Lite, which is plenty powerful enough for most SMACNA Greater Chicago members, costs about $170 a month for a single license. Companies with more than one employee on recruitment would be looking at $270 a month for two to five licenses.
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