The state of LinkedIn in 2020:
LinkedIn is one of the most recognized “social media” brands around the globe. It is the biggest gig for professional networking on the internet. After its inception in 2002, today, the LinkedIn family has over 675 million total users.
Out of that 675 million, close to 46.97% of users are active. That is close to 310 million active users in a month. That shows the unprecedented growth the company is enjoying. This untapped potential can be one of the reasons Microsoft bought the brand in 2016.
Now LinkedIn accounts for 5% of the total of Microsoft’s revenue.
To put the total users into perspective, that’s close to half the population of India. Now LinkedIn is growing at a pace similar to other social media platforms. Which further solidifies its place among the most used social media platforms across the planet.
Before we move further ahead, we have to look at one more mind-boggling LinkedIn stat. According to the recent LinkedIn census, there are close 30 million active companies with 100 million job applications in a month.
LinkedIn, “faux pas,” to avoid:
1. Get the visuals and aesthetics of your right for your LinkedIn profile:
For any social media platform, a profile is our first impression. That remains relevant even in the case of LinkedIn. Therefore make sure your professional profile on LinkedIn is 100% complete without typo errors and mistakes.
LinkedIn is a professional social media platform thus, everything has to be formal. Don’t put weird selfies you took on vacation as a LinkedIn profile picture. Instead, keep a professional headshot as a profile picture where your face is clearly visible.
Fill all the credentials while keeping in mind what people would like to know about you. Additionally, give special preference to what you can do in a professional environment. Out of all the visitors you get in a day, some of them might be a future potential employer.
2. Credible recommendations do count:
Recommendations on LinkedIn are as important as in real life. The more recommendations you accumulate online the better your chances to get hired. Don’t go asking for recommendations from random strangers you know online.
Credible recommendations are more important than random recommendations accumulated over time. The more recommendations, the better but don’t overstress it. Get two to three recommendations from each job you do.
These recommendations will increase your stature in front of potential employers. In the world of LinkedIn, these recommendations work as a currency, the more you have richer and in-demand you’re. Albeit only relevant recommendations can be cashed out.
3. Information sharing or staying active:
LinkedIn demands people to be active on its platform to avoid your profile to become dormant. This consumes a lot more time than you usually take out for other social media channels. So what’s the point of staying on a professional social media network where you have to be part of social taboos set by other general social media channels.
Now with image and video sharing capabilities, LinkedIn is moving ahead in a pitfall created by other social media networks. You cannot avoid inefficacious videos and memes circulated online. This genre of content should not be allowed on a professional network like LinkedIn. Only industry insights, official documents, and relevant content should be enabled to democratize and differentiate it from other social networks.
4. Pay the subscription fee:
The subscription model was an outcry when it started, and I know a lot of people using the LinkedIn premium service on offer. On the contrary, there are a lot of people who earlier used to have a premium LinkedIn account.
Now according to the people still paying LinkedIn, additional services on offer are worth the money they are investing. A premium account provides InMails messages outside your connections, advanced filter searches, additional details on people who view your profile and tools to help your profile stand out to potential recruiters.
Comparing this to Tinder Plus, the paid subscription service would be wrong, but the comparison is a looks par. The free version is only available to make people hooked to Tinder, while the actual features you like can be accessed via only a paid subscription.
5. Mention a clear direction:
Align your profile with what you want to do instead of what you do. Your whole LinkedIn profile should be full of the things you can do. Before you complete the profile, think of your value-added qualities, you can add to potential employers.
Mention your current employer and a clear direction you want your professional future to head. Similarly, in an organization, you need a reliable attendance management system to get a clear direction. This clear direction will provide more significant insights about your professional career to an employer seeking the right candidate for their organization.
Why must you use LinkedIn?
- It helps you follow the industry leader’s LinkedIn influencers.
- It’s a modern-day professional social media for all your professional and work contacts.
- Track industry news and insights straight from working professionals in the industry.
- Opportunity to expand your professional network outside of your work helps you stay informed about your industry professionals.
- Excellent place for B2B content marketing.
Disadvantages:
- LinkedIn is growing like a social media platform.
- Greed has struck LinkedIn hard. It offers premium services with a monthly subscription model pricing ranging from $29.99 to $79.99. However, the promises made while providing you the services are not cent percent fulfilled.
- Memes and other social media distractions are creeping up LinkedIn’s alley, thus making it more like any other social media platform rather than meant everyone.
- Profile setup can take ages as there is a learning curve involved before you start making relevant professional contacts.
- Sometimes people not active on LinkedIn are overlooked due to an inactive profile, albeit of him being a proficient candidate.
Don’t forget the fundamental purpose to be on LinkedIn:
As mentioned above, LinkedIn is a service for professionals to connect with like minds and expand their professional network outside their office premises. A LinkedIn profile of a professional is his report card or an online resume.
Although LinkedIn works as a professional social media, it’s more than that. Especially for B2B content circulation.
Therefore before you start sharing memes and futile videos, remember LinkedIn doesn’t share the same ideologies as Instagram, Twitter, or like any other social media platform. LinkedIn is the #1 channel for B2B content marketing.
According to LinkedIn, they are involved in over 94% of B2B content circulating online.
Thus make sure you only share professional-quality content with provides relevant information and insights. Quality content will further increase your credibility among the workers and can gain the opinions of other industry leaders.
Divyang Metaliya is a Business Consultant at FactoHR, an online HR management system expert. He is a creative business strategist with more than 8 years of experience.