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Four LinkedIn superpowers you cannot ignore

Posted: Fri 17th Mar 2023

LinkedIn is growing in importance as we speak. Despite this, many professionals and business owners still see LinkedIn as a CV directory used by stuffy CEOs and spammy salespeople.

As a result, they visit the platform sporadically or in case of an urgent need, such as the next career move or important business introduction. Then they go silent again until the next time, when they log back in and find themselves scrambling to reconnect.

This scattered approach to LinkedIn couldn't be more short-sighted.

LinkedIn is now officially a leading content platform full of inspiring people and key decision-makers. It's also an important personal branding and networking vehicle that can accelerate the growth of both your career and your business.

Here are some of the reasons why you shouldn't ignore it:

LinkedIn is a key personal branding tool

We live in times when online visibility is a necessity. Your professional contacts expect to find you online.

Whether you're applying for a new job, meeting a potential client or a business partner, people are very likely to look for you online first – and they will want to see credibility.

Which leads me to the next point – have you ever Googled yourself? If not, you may be surprised to discover that one of the top references coming up in search results is your LinkedIn profile. It often shows up long before your website.

So what first impression are you making? Will it encourage the person to visit your website and find out more about your business? Will it make them send an enquiry?

A LinkedIn profile is not something we can set and forget – it's a living personal branding tool.

Bullet-proofing your profile, or in other words developing it in a way that presents the best picture of you as a professional, is crucial. A strong LinkedIn profile will boost your credibility and build trust, which is essential for opening up conversations and generating leads.

LinkedIn is a great place to build your reputation and credibility

As you may already know, what others say about you is often more influential than what we say about ourselves. This is why recommendations are often referred to as the 'golden currency of LinkedIn'. They are your 'social proof'.

LinkedIn recommendations prove to your network, potential clients or recruiters that the skills and credentials mentioned on your profile are not an exaggerated attempt to appear more experienced or qualified than you are.

Hence when other professionals vouch for your skills and abilities continuously, you're striking the right balance between the way you position yourself and how others perceive your expertise.

You're demonstrating congruence and that's essential for establishing trust and attracting your ideal clients directly to your profile and inbox.

Google loves LinkedIn

That's right, in Google's eyes LinkedIn has a very high domain authority; in other words, Google perceives it as a trustworthy source of information. Hence why your LinkedIn profile, and the articles you publish on the platform, can be found through organic Google searches.

Optimise your LinkedIn profile with keywords that matter in your field or in terms of your next career move.

And don't forget about LinkedIn articles – they are a great way to boost your credibility, increase your visibility and there is no barrier to entry as anyone can publish articles on LinkedIn.

Articles will also need to optimised for visibility, if you would like them to be found through LinkedIn and Google searches.

If you choose to republish your existing blog content to LinkedIn, it's worth waiting a couple of weeks after sharing the post on your website. It will provide Google with enough time to index your post and give priority SEO to your website.

LinkedIn is a powerful professional networking tool

LinkedIn's search feature, combined with its power of introduction, offers fantastic networking opportunities.

With 49% of key decision-makers being active users, you can connect with the biggest names in your industry that you would've never had the chance of meeting in person. This, of course, will require some thinking and the right strategy, but it is definitely achievable.

I hope that these LinkedIn superpowers will provide you with enough motivation to start using the platform to your advantage. Should you need more advice on how to build and optimise your profile, or to devise a tailored LinkedIn strategy for your business, don't hesitate to get in touch.

Relevant resources

Joanna MichaelsBeyond Social Buzz

Hello, I’m Joanna, a Social Media Coach, speaker and a business mentor, with a desire to help your business succeed at social media. I promise to give you the energy and the enthusiasm needed to move from ideas to action, using insight which I gained from my hands-on experience and on-going education in marketing and social media. If you feel stuck, my perspective and positive approach will jump-start you from overwhelmed to optimised online. I founded Beyond Social Buzz, a digital marketing consultancy, seven years ago and I specialise in helping startups and small and medium businesses in their social media marketing journeys. Different businesses have different social media marketing needs and the character and the story of the business is at the core of my approach to each client. I also understand that a slower pace of training may be welcomed by those new to social media. Whatever you prior knowledge, my techniques are effective and easy to implement. I am a confident and informed speaker/ lecturer to large audiences. I am also an engaging and perceptive facilitator for smaller groups, and an encouraging yet incisive one-to-one trainer. I run monthly meet-ups for London based female founders with an eclectic range of business. My networking and interpersonal skills ensure that these events are spaces for women to make valuable connections, share advice and move forward, together. I also deliver social media marketing sessions for universities and startup hubs. I have spoken about social media marketing at many UK and international business events. The biggest to date being The International Bar Association Conference in Vienna in 2015.