From humble beginnings in the living room of co-founder Reid Hoffman’s house in 2002, to a $26.2billion acquisition by Microsoft in 2016; There is no doubt that LinkedIn is the most powerful social network for professionals with over 645 million members in 200 counties and regions worldwide.

But are you using LinkedIn to your advantage? The platform is growing and changing at a remarkable rate and our guess is that you aren’t using it much differently to when you first signed up over a decade ago.

Here’s how you can better use the platform:

Build your personal brand

LinkedIn is a great way to show the business world who you are. Be active in the community by posting, commenting and liking what your peers are putting out there – its an easy way to network and promote yourself.

Join specialty ‘groups’ to connect and chat with likeminded people, allowing you to further promote and show your connections what you are like in a professional setting. For entrepreneurs this is important as it demonstrates your passion and that you are good at what you do – you are the proof and face of your brand.

Share your expertise

LinkedIn users are on the platform to connect, share and learn. Use the platform as a soapbox for your work and industry.  This could be opinion pieces on industry trends, news, or just something you want to share about your business. By posting original content you are demonstrating expertise and knowledge in your area and building an online persona as the go-to person and re-affirming your personal brand. This is great if you are in a startup, as sharing content is a way you can tell people what you are working on and show the milestones and challenges you have faced – tell your story!

Make sure you back this up with a comprehensive profile that showcases your credibility, experience and background.

Find a job or recruit your team

According to LinkedIn, 75% of people who got jobs through the platform were not actively looking or applying.

By creating a well-rounded profile as well as connecting with people and interacting with posts, you can become a person of interest – the more you use LinkedIn the easier it is to be found on LinkedIn.

This goes for entrepreneurs too, you can search keywords in LinkedIn to find people with experience in the fields you are looking for and get a feel from their profile what they are about. Recruiting can be as simple as “Hello, I am looking for coders for my new project …” and just like that you could have talented people who back your vision on your team.

 

This Friday, the Canberra Innovation Network are running a new workshop called LinkedIn for Entrepreneurs with successful investor and salesperson Nick McNaughton. This workshop will revolve around key practices and methods to develop your business by finding prospects, customers, staff and even investors.

Gain access the largest online network for connecting professionals, learn in-depth tricks and improve the essentials for your profile.