LinkedIn is a social media network that is business-oriented. It was founded in 2002 and released in 2003 for public use. LinkedIn focuses mainly on professional networking. By 2006, LinkedIn had 20 million active users. Currently, there are more than 300 million active users networking on the platform. This shows an exponential increase and interest in the business networking social media platform - showing that LinkedIn is here to stay.
LinkedIn can be accessed and used in 20 different languages. In January of 2011, LinkedIn released an IPO to become a publicly traded company. The initial price was $45 per share. The current price per share is $155 as of June 5, 2014. This is a fairly large increase, but some believe it is far underpriced for the usefulness of the service.
LinkedIn allows users to make "Connections" to other users on the platform. However, if the invitee does not know you or believes you are spam, they will deny the request to connect and it will inevitably harm the status of your professional profile. It is crucial to only connect with users that you personally know, or with users that are in a similar job industry or field of study.
Features
There are very powerful features that users have access to on the free version of LinkedIn. Note that there is a paid Premium Version that users can purchase that will help with networking and establishing a professional profile. For the average everyday users, the free version of LinkedIn should be efficient enough for networking. If you are a CEO of a large cooperation, the Premium Service is probably the best option for you.
There are a few things to note when creating a professional profile on LinkedIn. There are far more details to include when creating a professional profile on LinkedIn compared to creating a Facebook or Twitter profile. One of the most crucial areas to focus on when creating a profile is the Skills section. This section allows users to list skills they believe that they possess. Other users can then Endorse these skills, showing that they agree - further progressing your professional profile. The more Endorsements the better!
LinkedIn measures your professional profile with a 5-step process.
1. Beginner
2. Intermediate
3. Advanced
4. Expert
5. All-Star
It is important to strive for the All-Star level on LinkedIn. This will increase your professional profile and make you more successful when networking. The way to do this is by getting Endorsements, Connections, uploading content and not being reported as spam - usually occurring when users attempt to connect with other users that they do not know or who are irrelevant to their professional industry or field of study.
There are great ways for networking, hiring or applying for jobs via LinkedIn. Users have the ability to list or apply for jobs. This is very powerful networking and has been extremely successful since the release in 2003. If you are an employer and need to hire someone with a specific set of skills, you have the ability to list a job application that will appear to users who possess the same skills required in your application. This works visa-versa for users who are looking for a job.
LinkedIn is a must have for anyone who wants to maintain a professional presence online. It is the only business-oriented social media platform in the world today and is growing at an exponential rate. There will be an estimated 500 million users on LinkedIn by the end of 2014. If you haven't had the chance to create a profile, please visit www.linkedin.com to begin creating your professional profile and presence online.
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