Social media such as Twitter and Facebook are made primarily for entertainment. People chat, find useful information, form communities, rate and comment on their friends’ photos. But there are other platforms like LinkedIn that are built on an entirely different premise, making them stand out from the rest.
LinkedIn went online in 2003 and originally was designed to be a business networking platform. Its audience primarily consists of entrepreneurs, business and other professionals.
Today Ln serves over 467 million users and over 1.5 million communities. The platform is available internationally. Currently LinkedIn employs over 10,000 staff in 30 branches across the globe. As we have said before, among LinkedIn users are the people making decisions in business. For example, all of the Fortune 500 CEOs are active on the platform.
Who will find LinkedIn useful?
The platform is a convenient hiring tool that doubles as a search engine for potential clients and partners.
LinkedIn isn’t going out of its way to attract more users, the goal is different. It’s built for business and professional communication. This makes the primary choice in B2B operations.
Newcomers will find the platform especially useful in two cases: looking for an international company to work for, or seeking new partners or clients for your own business. The platform’s focus on business development makes it all easier to achieve.
Where to start
To start making money on Ln, you first need to make a page there. You should fill out your profile with real information. That includes your first and last name, because if you ever need help from the platform’s support, they may ask you for an ID to prove your identity. It is important to fill out all the fields with relevant information about yourself. Having a good profile picture on LinkedIn is just as essential here as anywhere else. Statistics show that pages with pictures are more likely to draw attention. Link your corporate or personal email, subscribe to the people you know. The platform allows bulk mailing LinkedIn friend invites to your contact list — don’t skip this opportunity.
Optimize your LinkedIn profile so that it becomes easier for platform users to find. Add a main keyword (SEO consultant, external writer, etc.) to your profile header, add your key skills. This will increase your chances of being found through the LinkedIn search.
The platform allows you to upload video, publish text posts and articles just like any other social media. Interacting with your audience is the key to success. If you are promoting your brand, hosting a livestream on the platform will make a good start. This allows you to build credibility and show that you’re ready to share your knowledge and expertise with your audience on LinkedIn.
Create a group about a relevant issue
If you plan on promoting a company instead of a brand (or you have a very specific line of work) — create a group. You can publish company news and press releases, invite people to rate and repost your content.
You can also add your company’s products to the projects section of your profile, consult with significant figures of your industry and invite them to review your product or even become your partner. Look for people with high approval ratings and recommendations as they are more trustworthy in the eyes of LinkedIn users.
How to make money on LinkedIn?
Ln is a network for business where lots of people are looking for partners, employees and even employers. Here you can make money by helping people make their search more successful: by giving recommendations, analyzing profile pages and putting together job opening reports for your clients.
By promoting your company’s group on this platform, especially if you’re providing B2B services, you can find new clients and expand your audience.
The very first and most obvious way of making money on Ln is to develop and promote your personal brand and expertise. That being said, having a successful blog with a dedicated audience will help you promote any product. Below is a few interesting examples:
A famous TV host and the CEO of his company Conan O’Brien wasn’t on LinkedIn back in 2013. After he decided to expand his business and branch out, he made a profile on the platform. Now his follower count is upwards of 300,000.
Shaquille O’Neal has once been the best basketball player in the world. He has retired from his sports career since, but he’s still big on business. He is active on various social media, but his LinkedIn profile is completely filled out. The content he puts out provides a captivating and very useful read. The information he shares there will surely help you make money. Shaq’s profile discloses a lot of less-known facts about the famous athlete, such as his education history that includes a bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. As it also turns out, the Hall of Famer has served as a reserve police officer in multiple American states.
A TV journalist Emily Chang is currently the anchor of Bloomberg West — a daily show about technology, innovation and the future of business. Her profile is eloquently presented, without any unnecessary information.
Business coach Karie Kaufmann is also working hard at building his personal page — here you can find useful and motivational posts, educational videos and articles. Karie has a following of a few thousand subscribers.
Marketing expert Josh Turner specializes in promoting brands and people on LinkedIn — he is the owner and creator of his group with a sizable follower count of 2,000,000.
LinkedIn is a professional social media, and that’s why it’s important to take 100% of the opportunities it presents. By keeping a LinkedIn page, reposting useful articles and publishing your own content, professionals from almost any field can build up a socially-verified portfolio that validates both their expertise and business image. This allows a future employer to more accurately assess your personal and professional qualities.
Posting just a couple of times a month, in a year your LinkedIn page will grow enough to double as a great addition to your resume, not to mention all the extra visibility you will get with hiring managers and recruiters.
By taking advantage of all the opportunities that LinkedIn provides, you can boost your business to new heights and find valuable connections that will help you prosper. The path to success is not as hard as it may seem!
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