(As published in July 2012 Edition of WBM Magazine)

There’s often discussion about the role of LinkedIn as part of your social media presence. Is it just an online Rolodex  and a haven for recruitment professionals? Should you be spending the time to actually use the network and why would you bother?

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network and has recently surpassed three million Australian members. Globally, the site attracts more than two new members every second  and grew to more than 150 million members worldwide in February 2012. There’s an active community using it and according to Cliff Rosenberg, Managing Director for LinkedIn in Australia, “over 60 percent of Australia’s professional population is now on LinkedIn.”

So how do you use LinkedIn most effectively and get the most out of it? Here’s a few pointers:

  • Complete your profile – make sure that your profile is complete and that you list your key roles and achievements. This will help others who are using the network to understand what you’ve done and how connecting with you might be relevant.
  • Join relevant interest groups – this is a great way to get to know other people and ask questions and share information. You can join up to 50 different groups and there’s lots of relevant forums to discuss wine – Wine Communicators of Australia, Wines and Spirits Australian and NZ, Drinkstrade for starters. LinkedIn also has a “groups you may like” function that suggests groups based on your current profile and connections.
  • Use to prepare a sales pitch – many fast moving consumer goods companies use LinkedIn as part of their sales process. It helps understand backgrounds of people they are going to meet and helps to quickly find common grounds of conversation.
  • Set up a Company Profile – There’s some great features to utilize as an organisation on LinkedIn. Take the time to set up a company profile and encourage staff to join.
  • Download the LinkedIn App – it’s often more convenient to send and accept requests on your mobile or when you’re on the go.
  • Resist the urge to connect to your twitter account – this is a separate platform and people don’t want to be bombarded with a stream of tweets. Use the update feature to post relevant content, not to post irrelevant tweets that clog up a news stream.

Marketers have also seen the benefits of using LinkedIn to reach out to influential, affluent and highly educated audiences in Australia. There’s some great examples of Tourism Australia and Microsoft using the platform to connect their business to a target audience in a relevant way.

Like any social media platform, what you get out of your LinkedIn experience will depend on your objectives. It does take time to contribute to the community and build relationships but given how targeted it can be, there’s plenty of reasons to explore it further.

So next time you hear of LinkedIn or get a request to connect, think about how you can use this platform for your own professional development and career aspirations before dismissing it.

Connect with me on LinkedIn  au.linkedin.com/in/trishbarry