Alright, so right off the bat, what is LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is a business professional website.
It's kind of like Facebook, but for business professionals. I hate to compare the two with each other, but it's true.
LinkedIn is just a higher version of Facebook that people can use in the business world, without all the funny videos and food pictures.
1. LinkedIn is a business professional platform.
2. It is a phenomenal place for you to share your work in the best way possible.
Everybody builds jobs and resumes.
This is a great spot to showcase what you do and how you do it, not just for your current position but for future positions.
On top of that, if you're looking to do sales or anything in that realm, then other people can see your credentials and what you're doing on this platform.
3. LinkedIn is a place for companies to show off what they're doing right.
Companies will have a website easily accessible from google. But it's also beneficial, for companies with a lot of employees, or that are releasing content regularly.
LinkedIn becomes a great place for companies to build a page where they can display public information that may be less appropriate for their main website.
It's a great place for businesses to post what they have going on and for other people to see it, not just employees, but potential buyers interested in the company.
4. LinkedIn can expand your network.
There are only so many people you can talk to regularly through the power of social media.
You can now go out and connect with even more people, especially using LinkedIn.
While you're on this platform, there are many ways to build long-lasting relationships with people.
Don't think at any point you need to go on and say, "You know what, let me spend my few minutes there."
If you want to make something out of it, you absolutely can.
There are tons of people there, killing it in whatever field they're in.
It doesn't have to be sales, it could be their careers, it could be promotions or anything like that. This is the place to do it.
5. LinkedIn is a great place to show off what you've been doing.
If you've completed a major project, attained new credentials or things along that line...
Take time out to put it on LinkedIn.
You might be thinking, "Harrison, why on earth would I do that?"
It's a great place to show off what you've been doing, right?
Everybody sees what you do in your day-to-day business, but not everybody gets to see what you do behind the scenes.
For example, I'm a fireman on my LinkedIn profile.
I have a section on there that says I'm a fireman, what I've done, and things like that.
Go ahead and add those things, it will help build bonds between other people.
Another great example, I'm also a fraternity member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity.
Turns out, one of the guys I connected with on LinkedIn, happens to be in the same fraternity as me.
Because of that, we immediately had a bond, we immediately clicked, and there was a mutual level of trust since we had already done something similar.
He went to a different school, but for the most part, we still had that core bond between the two of us.
I still have a great relationship with this person today and I talk to him regularly.
This could easily apply to you as well, so why not take the opportunity?
6. This is one of my favorites... You can get a job on LinkedIn.
If your goal is to further your career, it would be silly for you not to have a LinkedIn profile.
It allows you to post not only your credentials, but everything you've done as far as school, work, credentials, and accolades you've received.
Also, it gives you one step up, because you can have companies reach out to you and say, "Hey, we like everything you're doing. We'd love to hire you."
And you can get job offers consistently from other companies this way.
On the flip side of things, companies might post job offers, and you can apply with your LinkedIn profile displaying everything you've done.
LinkedIn isn't a resume place, but it can be for the right person.
7. You can link up with peers if you're in a certain industry, a specific niche, or whatever it might be.
There are groups and peers of your on this platform all over the place. So, don't think you're out there on your own.
I promise you there are thousands of groups on LinkedIn.
Everything ranging between 2 to 5 people and up to 30,000 plus members.
That's a tremendous value.
If you're in sales, it's a great spot to connect with peers.
If you're in marketing, it's another great spot to go connect with peers.
If you're in a CEO position, that's another great place to connect with peers.
There are many different groups people put on there, because they understand it is a business platform.
This allows you to connect with your peers, both on and off the website. And you make the initial connection through the platform.
You can take it offline, and ultimately grow and develop relationships with these people.
It's tremendously powerful if you think about it, and I want you to have that success as well.
8. Lastly, it is a phenomenal place to go on for information about a business.
It doesn't need to be about your business, it can be about anything.
There's tons of business news, tons of companies publishing articles consistently. You can just show up and say, "Hey, what do I like? What do I not like?"
LinkedIn even goes as far as asking you what your interests are.
So, I could recommend content for you based on what you might find interesting.
Now, you might think that's kind of silly. Why would they do that?
I can't tell you how many articles I've read, how many I've engaged with regularly, and how many peers I've met on there.
Take the time out, you might find something you love.
Also if you're interested in going into another career or another field, this is a great spot to go on and say "Hey, what are other people doing in my position?"
Or, "What's going on to this other industry?"
It's something I want to get involved in.
It's a great way to learn and it's helpful to have an abundance of useful information, all located on one easily accessible platform.
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