6 Reasons to Get the Most Out of LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the largest professional social network, meaning it is focused on professionals. To some, this means it is only for job-seekers – that having an active profile on LinkedIn means you are looking for a new job. In reality, LinkedIn has grown to be an active social network for people to make connections, discuss business problems, share knowledge and stay in touch. It’s classic networking, happening every day, accessible at any time.

6 reasons to get active on LinkedIn:

1. You need a professional and credible online profile. If someone Googles your name, what shows up? Hopefully a professional profile that looks polished, modern and familiar to people looking for information about you. LinkedIn provides this with the public profile option. It is very likely to appear high in search results for your name, if not at the very top.
2. Your business cards don’t update themselves. LinkedIn is the modern day Rolodex, with some improvements on the old system. If you manage your network on LinkedIn, their information is likely to stay up-to-date (42% of professionals update their LinkedIn profiles regularly). A business card may be outdated by the time you file it. You also can’t ask a business card a question, invite it to a meeting or find out what articles your contacts are reading this week.
3. You need to get better at networking. We all need to improve our networking skills. Everyone gets behind and feels they should contact so-and-so more regularly or feels guilty that they haven’t checked in with an old colleague in a while. LinkedIn is an effective and efficient way to strengthen your network because it enables you to stay in touch quickly and on a consistent basis. 
4. You need to expand your horizons. LinkedIn offers you the chance to learn about other people, industries and groups you might not otherwise come across. You may meet someone at an industry conference, and wish you had spent more time getting to know them. With LinkedIn, you can connect with them later, easily send a message and continue sharing articles, links and comments about mutually interesting topics. For commercial agents, LinkedIn can give you access to not only people active in a certain class of business, but their conversations, publications and thought leaders as well.
5. You are a thought leader, too. People trust other people who share their knowledge and expertise. On LinkedIn, you can easily share articles and ideas you come across that you believe will benefit others. You can also share links to content you’ve published yourself. If you have a blog, for example, share it on LinkedIn. If you want people to know you’re an expert in a particular topic, don’t tell them – show them.
6. You need to find good people to work for you. LinkedIn is an excellent source for the best kind of job candidate – what recruiters call the “passive candidate.” These are people who are talented, motivated individuals who would be perfect for your open job, but they just aren’t looking for another job right now. LinkedIn is your opportunity to first find out about them by searching for people with specific skill sets, then reach out to them in a private message (called InMail) to see if they might be interested. You never know – once they’ve checked out your LinkedIn profile and your agency’s LinkedIn Company Page, they might just be intrigued enough to consider making a change.

Join LinkedIn at www.LinkedIn.com. For more help, view the recorded webinar, LinkedIn for Insurance Professionals, on the Agent’s Council for Technology website at www.iiaba.net/act.

Have you used LinkedIn for these reasons or others? Share your experience by leaving a comment.