Why LinkedIn Has Become The Most Popular Business Social Network
In this article, we will tell you about the features and benefits of LinkedIn, its purpose and development history, as well as about the useful features of this service.
Content:
1. LinkedIn - what is this service? How and when did it appear?
2. Why do you need LinkedIn?
3. Features of LinkedIn
4. Benefits of Paid LinkedIn Accounts
5. Conclusion. Social network for professionals
The LinkedIn social network is rightfully considered the main platform for interaction between employers and job seekers around the world. Moreover, this platform can become an effective tool for professional development, finding new business contacts or promoting a business.
LinkedIn - what is this service? How and when did it appear?
LinkedIn is a social network for job / employee search, business and professional communication, owned by Microsoft Corporation. As of February 2021, it had 740 million registered users from 150 countries. The company is headquartered in California and employs more than 20,000 people. The platform provides extensive functionality for companies-employers and professionals who are looking for work. Registration and login to LinkedIn is available through a multilingual website (supports 24 world languages), desktop app for PC and LinkedIn mobile app for iOS/Android.
The LinkedIn project was launched in 2003, its founder was the American entrepreneur and investor Reed Hoffman, one of the members of the so-called "PayPal mafia". In addition to the main office in California, the company has 33 other offices around the world, from London and Paris to Hong Kong and Singapore.
LinkedIn went public in January 2011 and was bought by Microsoft in June 2016 for $26 billion. Shortly thereafter, an updated desktop version of the LinkedIn app appeared with a new user interface and a number of changes in functionality. In 2019, the capabilities of the social network were supplemented by the Open for Business function, designed to search for freelancers. At the same time, the LinkedIn Events service was launched, which allows you to create and manage various events for a professional audience.
Why do you need LinkedIn?
So, Linkedin has the status of a serious meeting place for business people interested in business and career, but for what specific purposes is it useful?
- Job Search and Career Development. Here you can publish resumes, search for vacancies, establish contacts with recruiters and potential colleagues. LinkedIn provides a number of features to successfully position job seekers, such as comparing candidate profiles and more.
- Search for employees. This social network is literally sharpened for a quick and convenient search for employees for any business area. It provides very wide opportunities for headhunting, especially on paid tariff plans. After hiring, you can use employee time tracking software to check whether they get the job done well. (Bonus tip: With ContactOut's email finder extension, you can quickly extract anyone's email address from LinkedIn).
- Search for business contacts. Registering at Linkedin will also be useful for those companies/entrepreneurs who are not looking for employees, but simply want to expand the number of business connections. The platform allows you to easily and quickly find new business partners and like-minded people in any industry, communicate in thematic groups, etc.
- Lead generation. LinkedIn is a very effective lead generation channel, but it can also be used to strengthen connections and encourage the loyalty of existing customers.
Features of LinkedIn
At the same time, LinkedIn has a number of rather interesting features, which include:
- Extended Profile. Competently filling out a profile on LinkedIn is extremely important for all categories of users, both employees and employers. In it, you can specify detailed contacts, location, personal information (interests, achievements, etc.), skills, places of study, work experience, add a photo. It is possible not to fill out the profile manually, but upload it to the site in PDF format, in the same way you can add a portfolio and a test task for candidates.
- Contacts. After registering on LinkedIn, the user needs to add contacts, this can be done using a number of search parameters: from full name to more complex filters. The social network independently selects possible acquaintances by places of study / work, common interests and other points of contact. It is also possible to import contacts from email or Outlook.
- Vacancies. The job search option is very useful for job seekers: the service itself will find and offer the user suitable vacancies in accordance with the information from his profile. Also, an independent search for vacancies is available here using a number of filters, as well as e-mail notifications about new job offers.
- Communities. An important part of the LinkedIn social network is professional and business groups: official representative offices of companies and informal communities of their employees, industry and interest groups, university graduate clubs, etc. LinkedIn groups are a useful source of information and a place to find new contacts.
- Search for applicants. LinkedIn helps employers and HR professionals quickly find suitable candidates through a range of filters. For example, these include searching by skills, by job title, by work experience, by industry, by geolocation, by keywords, and so on. Separately, there is a search in groups, a search through Google, and there are also a number of plug-ins that make it more convenient and efficient.
- Advertising campaigns. The social network provides ample opportunities for advertising campaigns, with which you can promote anything: a vacancy, content, or a website / service / application. LinkedIn provides flexible audience targeting for displaying ads by parameters such as industry, specialization, geolocation, etc., up to a specific position. Advertisers also have access to advanced analytics for their campaigns, including views, clicks, budget, and other data.
Benefits of Paid LinkedIn Accounts
The LinkedIn social network offers several types of paid accounts for both employers and job seekers.
| Premium Business | The basic paid plan contains 15 premium messages per month to connect with any users of the platform, including those with whom you have not yet established contact. In addition, the owners of this account get access to advanced search and detailed statistics. |
| Recruiter Lite | This paid plan is designed specifically for HR professionals, with it they can view an unlimited number of accounts and send up to 30 premium messages to any user every month. Detailed statistics, project synchronization and candidate list management are also available here. |
| Professional Sales Navigator | The tariff is optimal for those who are going to use LinkedIn as a platform for finding customers and promoting goods/services. It allows unlimited viewing of profiles and shows the profiles of those who themselves viewed your company/brand/product account. In addition, lead collection and 20 premium messages per month are available here. |
| Premium Career | Tariff for specialists who are looking for job. Allows you to view 3-month account statistics, get promotion tips, view profiles and jobs in incognito mode, and send 3 messages to recruiters every month. |
Conclusion. Social network for professionals
LinkedIn is a business and professional social network designed for interaction between employees and employers, finding new business contacts, promoting goods and services. Users can post resumes and vacancies here, communicate with HR specialists, join thematic groups and communities.
Linkedin allows you to fill in the profile of the applicant or company in detail, upload resumes, portfolios and test tasks for candidates. There are also ample opportunities for advertising campaigns, as well as a number of paid accounts for job seekers and employers.
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