LinkedIn is a social networking website for professionals from all over the world incorporating 170 industries in 200 countries and with over 55 million members. Registered LinkedIn users keep contact details of people they know and can vouch for in business. The contacts are called connections. As a member, your social network would consist of your primary connections, their connections called 2nd degree connections and your 2nd degree’s connections called 3rd degree connections, linking you to a huge group of professionals. From this network you can access, business opportunities, business partnerships, information, good employees etc.
How Can LinkedIn Work for You?
LinkedIn is a valuable source of important information for both job seekers and employers to review each others profiles. LinkedIn employs strict privacy rules so that every connection is made mutually and confirmed. Connections appear in the LinkedIn network only with their express permission. LinkedIn has a paid feature that offers more tools to find people and also “LinkedIn Answers”, a free feature allowing users to post business related queries which can be answered by any expert. This is free consulting for your business.
LinkedIn also has a searchable feature called “LinkedIn Groups” that allows users to create new business networks by joining professional, industry, alumni and other related groups. These groups give professional networking a more personal touch.
Professionals are more drawn to you online if you have some kind of connection, for example sports teams, societies and alumni etc.
In addition, users can research companies they are interested in. Just type the company’s name in the search box and voila! The company profile and statistics are displayed.
How do you make money in LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is a platform to advertise your business opportunities and expertise. It does not pay you for this but it is a launch pad to the programs that actually pay. Though LinkedIn has less members than other social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace, the difference is that LinkedIn is composed of professionals with big incomes. Drawing this social network to your business can help you boost your own income.
If you are into blogging, employ good Google Adsense, link your blog to LinkedIn and take your connections to your blog. You can also use LinkedIn as a channel to take your connections to your online business. Make use of LinkedIn’s profile options that allow connection to anything that is related to online-business. The key in these ventures is patience. Get rich quick schemes in social networking are a no-no.
Final Thoughts
A social networking website that is business oriented like LinkedIn offers a platform for great business minds to collaborate, share ideas, create partnerships and is an invaluable asset to any business. It further gives the added benefits of quick and free consultancy services that can be crucial for decision making. It is a network that ultimately translates into more money.
