At first glance, LinkedIn seems a little more complex than any other social media platform. But, in truth, it's even more accessible. LinkedIn gives individuals and business owners a straightforward way to hire, market, and sell. It's a level up from Facebook, it's a site for professionals, so you won't see someone sharing funny dog videos. In this LinkedIn Guide For Beginners we are going to show you the dos and don'ts and how it differs from other Social Media Sites like Facebook and Twitter.
As a professional and LinkedIn beginner, you want to get started using this tool fast, so let's start with our easy-to-understand LinkedIn Guide.
At least at the beginning, there is no need to upgrade your account to a paid LinkedIn account. The free variant provides more than you will need until you become comfortable and use all the free features.
A free account, enables you to:
The premium version has all these features, and you can send emails to people you don't know, this feature is called InMail, which means people can contact you without knowing you directly. In addition, you gain the advantage of premium customer service, more search results, and you can store and save your data in their cloud. In addition, you get access to other user's full names in their profile.
You can upgrade at any time, so till you are habitual to the vast features of the free account, there is no reason to get a premium account at this time. Joining is fast and easy. If you've never registered, there is a sign-up window to join when you go to the home page. Fill this out using your real full name and the email address you commonly use to register private accounts. Be careful about using your work email unless you own the business; you could be losing your account access if you change your job one day, and you will not be able to access it anymore.
When filling out the form, as the system indicates you, you'll have completed a lot of your profile Infos. Remember that you can go back and edit later in most cases, but why not fill it out as precisely as possible now? This will eliminate the necessity to edit later. When you know that you should fill everything out as thoroughly and as honestly as possible professionally, you can't go wrong.
Currently, there are several section a LinkedIn profile:
Here you can find one of our popular Blog Articles on How to Create a Professional LinkedIn Profile That Rocks!
Once you have completed your profile, it's time to get some connections. Start with people with whom you've worked at any of the jobs you have mentioned in your work history and any fellow students at the schools you've attended. Relate to them, and ask directly for a recommendation. Send them personalized requests to get a more targeted recommendation.
Next, join a few groups related to your niche and target audience. Your target persona is dependent upon your goals for using "Big L."
For example, if you're using LinkedIn to grow your business, you will need to join groups that consist of potential customers (Once your request to join a group gets accepted you can message group members and here we show you a powerful approach on how to skyrocket your network growth). On the other hand, if you are using it to network to move up your career, you want to join groups with potential partners or colleagues. Once you join the groups, partake in the groups to get the full advantage.
LinkedIn is a strong networking community of professionals. But, unfortunately, it's a lot simpler to screw up on LinkedIn than on Facebook or Twitter. Nevertheless, it's a platform and the platform you should use to share professional insights and information about your niche and industry. With that aside, let us continue with the LinkedIn Guide For Beginner and go over four blunders to avoid.
LinkedIn is a repository for your professional life and offers chances to build your online reputation and network growth. The most wrong thing you can do is to be anonymous. I know there is much concern about people getting private information about you off the Internet, but this is not the time to worry about that. Being found on LinkedIn is the main point. If you don't use your actual name, you will not be found on the LinkedIn search result, and if people find out that your actual name is different, you'll miss trust. Additionally, you will need to ask for endorsements and recommendations from ex-colleagues, and you can't do that if they aren't sure who you are. Therefore, it would be best if you were the most authentic you can muster on the LinkedIn network to make it fruitful, and If you can't do that to be yourself, you may as well not join.
Your profile picture is a professional representation of yourself. It's perfectly okay if you work at home in your PJ's, but on LinkedIn, it's essential to try to capture an excellent close-up image of your face (what you have on won't matter). People need and require to see your eyes, nose, and mouth. This is how colleagues will recognize you and how new people will perceive trust for you. You can snap a picture by using your Smartphone, but think about that it should look professional. On Facebook, it's commonly practiced to use different types of images and to be creative, the same with Twitter. But on LinkedIn, the professional look matters substantially. So take a close shot of your face, and try to make the background less pronounced. Finally, don't skip the photograph. If you don't put a picture, people will overlook you completely. If you're seeking a job, finding new clients, or making sales of any sort, you need a good picture, but no picture is more damaging than a bad picture. You can always fix it later, so add a picture.
some people join LinkedIn and are so overwhelmed by the profile that they skip parts or never finish it. Yet, the profile is key to your ability to connect with others, obtain recommendations for work that you've done, and provide the social proof that shows you as the hardworking professional you are. Fill out all aspects of the profile that you can, and then note the parts you've not completed. Then, come up with ways to fill out the profile completely. From your photo to how you want people to reach you, it's all-important. The more attractive your profile is, the more trust you will gain. Remember, you can reorganize the profile to showcase and highlight the most important parts of your profile, putting the less essential parts toward the bottom.
Once you create your profile and you've jumped in connecting with current and former colleagues, it's vital to maintain an active account by participating. Joining in conversations, groups, commenting on, "liking," and sharing updates of others is an excellent approach to build trust and encourage reciprocity. Set out a few days a week to spend 10 or 15 minutes commenting, liking, and sharing. You will find it delightful, and you'll get a lot out of the interactions. You can demonstrate your expertise by entering into discussions within groups or by starting your targeted group too. If you spend any time on any social media, choose to spend time on LinkedIn participating.
Conclusion: Ensure to go over this LinkedIn Guide For Beginner from time-to-time till you get accustomed to use LinkedIn in the right way. Moreover, on our Blog you can find all the LinkedIn Marketing Tips and Best Practices to expand your reach and increase your connections. So keep going, and it will pay off.
