LinkedIn is a well known platform on which businesses and individuals are able to connect and network with each other. LinkedIn’s real value however, lays with the advantages it offers businesses. Businesses which take the time to create and manage their profiles can reap the benefits of the LinkedIn world.

LinkedIn offers new ways of conducting research on competitors, potential clients and potential employees. LinkedIn is also a valuable resource through which a business can communicate with their own clients.

Even though many businesses use LinkedIn, there remains underutilised features that could greatly impact the business environment. These tools and methods are aimed at adding value to the lives of employees and the community, while also positively impacting the image and relationships of your business.

Career Advance

Career Advance is a LinkedIn feature that helps connect mentees with potential mentors on LinkedIn. This service is aimed at the thousands of job seekers and career builders looking for advice on career decisions.

So why is this important for businesses? Giving career advice is a useful networking and recruiting tool for your business. It allows you to meet young, ambitious, business people in a informal setting, in which you, the mentor, are offering your experience.

It is a platform that can be used to build meaningful relationships and promote your brand without actively selling it. Your mentees are likely to act as positive word of mouth and could create future opportunities for new clients or prospective employees.

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How To sign up to Career Advice?

• Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
• Select View profile.
• In your dashboard section click Career Advice bud.

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• Setup your preferences by choosing to be a mentor or mentee.
• Click Agree and you’re on your way!

LinkedIn Learning

Knowledge is Power, and LinkedIn has made knowledge more accessible than ever with its LinkedIn learning service, available to premium subscribers. LinkedIn learning gives the ultimate opportunity for continuous learning and innovation. The long-standing issue of employee skill gaps and the need for continuous skill refreshers has been simplified. Whether it’s soft skills or hard skills, LinkedIn learning offers more than 9000 courses which encompass a wide range of topics and skills. With new courses constantly being added, a business that utilises LinkedIn learning can strengthen their skills and stay ahead of the competition on trends and innovations.   

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How to sign up for LinkedIn learning?

• Click the Work icon in the top right of your LinkedIn homepage.
• Select the Learning icon, which will take you to LinkedIn learning.

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• Choose your prefered course and LinkedIn will walk you through sign up.

LinkedIn Pages

In November 2018, LinkedIn made major changes to pages, adding a host of new features for businesses and individuals. LinkedIn Pages is your business’s attraction page, and arguably the most important element in any LinkedIn business profile.

Pages can be used to create curiosity and lead to a call to action. Your LinkedIn Page is where a business can really shine, posting relevant content, E-books and case studies to show what your business is made of. LinkedIn Pages have multiple features, such as showcase pages, Affiliated Pages and the ability to run page analytics. If you would like to learn more, LinkedIn created an indepth LinkedIn Pages guide.

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How to create a LinkedIn page?

• Click the Work icon in the top right corner of your LinkedIn homepage.
• Select Create a Page at the bottom of the popup menu
• Complete the detail forums prompted
• Click the Create page button

Requesting and giving recommendations

A major part of LinkedIn revolves around the interconnection formed by connecting and networking. Along with this comes the ability for users to scope out a company they may be interested in, whether it be as a potential client or employee, in which instance the highest form of assurance could come as a recommendation from a third party. Recommendations are social proofs from clients, whom are staking their own name to assure others of your business quality. They are powerful influencers that can confirm the businesses skill to potential clients.

But how do you get recommendations? The easiest way is to ask for them. Asking clients that have been happy with performance to give a recommendation assures positive feedback. If a client agrees to give a recommendation, reciprocate and give a recommendation in return. Reciprocation shows that you want to build and award business relationships, not only to current but also future clients.

How to request recommendations?

• Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
• Select View profile.
• Scroll down to the Recommendations section and click Ask to be recommended
  • If the Recommendations section is not visible it may be under the Add profile section pinned to the top of the screen

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• Type the name of the connection you’d like to ask for a recommendation.
• Compile the message in the given text window and click Send

LinkedIn is continuously redefining the way people and businesses interact with one another. Keeping up to date with the tools and tricks provided, is invaluable to creating a strong, diverse network.