Linkedin is a social network well known by all those who are looking for work or who are looking for personnel for their company. However, not everyone really knows how Linkedin works, or uses it like any other network (we are talking about Facebook, Twitter or even Instagram).
If you really want to know how Linkedin works, what it brings you, who is this social network for and some more details, do not hesitate to take a look at the information we have prepared for you.
What is Linkedin
Linkedin is a social network that was born in 2002 (but it wasn't really released until 2003). Its creators are Reid Hoffman, Konstantin Guericke, Allen Blue, Eric Ly and Jean-Luc Vaillant. Currently, it is the best-known and largest professional social network in the world, with more than 3 million users in Spain alone (150 million or more worldwide).
What differentiates it from other social networks? Your professionalism. The network is not to post photos or to laugh with videos that are jokes, but to connect with other people at work and professional level, whether they are co-workers, training colleagues, work interests, etc. A) Yes, The main objective of Linkedin is, without a doubt, to put businessmen, entrepreneurs, freelancers and workers in contact to be able to find what you are looking for.
Who is Linkedin for
Once you know what Linkedin is, it is likely that you already know the type of people (and companies) that you are going to find in it.
But, just in case it is still not clear to you, you should know that Linkedin works as a place of connection between professionals and companies. In other words, you will be able to find companies, entrepreneurs and workers who seek to establish business and professional relationships with other people, whether they are from the same sector or from another. In the case of companies, you can do networking, business, promotions, or even recruit staff that can enrich your company.
For workers, it will be a way to make themselves known since on Linkedin there are many companies that could look at your profile to offer you a job.
This is what it brings
Despite the fact that Linkedin is always seen as a social network to look for work, or at least to make visible the curriculum of those who want a job, the truth is that this network can contribute much more.
If you have not yet realized all the potential it has, now you will see what it brings and, therefore, also how Linkedin works. Perhaps it is what you needed to find what you were looking for.
As a network of contacts
Seeing Linkedin as a network of contacts is perhaps the first thing you think of. And the truth is that it is so. Like other networks, where you have "friends", here you go contacts that are related, either because you have things in common, because you work together or for many other reasons.
As a professional marketing tool
See Linkedin as a marketing tool is not only a matter of companies, but also of workers and freelancers. And it is that, through it, sharing content, videos, messages ... you will be transmitting something that can reach a large audience. If you also manage to repeat that success over and over again, that marketing will be well done and will make you become an influencer that many will want to follow. And this can be both for a professional person and for a company.
As a job portal
It is how Linkedin is best known, since many companies offer jobs through the Employment section of the network. The vast majority of them take you to external links (and some do not work), but there are others that they do put you in contact with companies and even give you the opportunity to access their selection processes (especially in some which is much more difficult to achieve).
We cannot predict that you are going to get a job, but you do have many possibilities, especially if you do not just look at the employment section but also, with your contacts, you can launch your CV and get it to reach the people it should.
As a professional brand
Linkedin is also a very useful network to enhance your professional brand. Imagine that you are a writer, artist, painter ... Many companies related to culture are on Linkedin and may be interested in what you do. If you also start to have a certain reputation on the Internet, success will be assured and will make you better known.
How to work with Linkedin
Surely, now that you have seen everything Linkedin can offer you, you are eager to create an account, or perhaps to recover the one that you made at the time and that, in the end, you ended up abandoning. But to be successful, you need to know how Linkedin works, not only to complete your profile, but also to use it correctly.
To start, you should know that Linkedin is like a resume. In it you will have to fill in your professional data, in other words: the training you have, where you have worked, what you have done, etc. Yes, it will take you a long time, but the more complete it is, the more it will attract the attention of those who find you online.
Also, something that not many know is that, as you complete the information, Linkedin begins to establish relationships or give you an "audience" in the sense that when someone searches for a person with your profile, you can get listed (and people will come to you). But, depending on the use you want to give Linkedin, you will have to act one way or another. For example, if you want to promote your brand, you are not going to look for work, but to give visibility to your own business, which is your brand.
On the other hand, if what you want is a job opportunity, the way you interact online will be totally different.
How to use Linkedin as a network of contacts
Using Linkedin as a network of contacts does not have much mystery. You just have to go to the «My network» area where your contacts will appear but also people with whom you can connect because you have something in common (training, work, interests, etc.). Once you click on the connect button, you will have to wait for the other person to accept you.
How to use Linkedin as marketing
In the case of Linkedin as a marketing tool, it follows the same publication rules as other social networks, but with a more specific (professional) content, as well as a limited schedule.
How to use it as a job portal
Either to look for a job or to post a job offer, on Linkedin you can do both. All of them they will go to the Employment section. However, you can also post on your profile or company page requesting a job or staff. Many come to search through the search engine for this type of publication and it does not hurt to do it.
How to use it as a professional brand
Finally, to use Linkedin as a professional brand, you will have to use it as a marketing tool, only with posts and relationships focused on that professional brand you're trying to nurture.