Every week I hear individuals scoff in disbelief that I still value and use LinkedIn as a social media platform. Though the years, LinkedIn’s popularity continues to decrease with the arrival of new and more exciting platforms – Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat.
In a way, I appreciate that fewer individuals spend their time on LinkedIn because it means there is less noise and more value for me. But the truth is, everyone in a professional field can benefit from using LinkedIn the right way.
Why is LinkedIn far from being considered dead?
I wish I could just say because I said so. But that is not the social proof you are looking for. Here is my LinkedIn “story”:
I used to think LinkedIn was pointless. I never thought it was necessary to create an online resume when I already had a job that I enjoyed. But at every marketing conference I attended, there always seemed to be a speaker who talked about why I needed one. So I joined the bandwagon and created a profile. At first, my profile included my college education and existing job. That’s it. Absolutely no value to myself or anyone that took the time to read it.
I would “hop on” LinkedIn once every other month to accept new connections, and then I hopped off. During one conference, the speaker reviewed LinkedIn profiles and tore individuals in the room I was sitting apart. Knowing that theirs was better than mine, I returned to my room that evening to make some necessary changes.
In less than 24 hours, I added 75 new connections. I thought this is great! I’m networking online! And it’s easy. Except that more than half of those connections meant nothing to my profession and didn’t add to the company I worked for’s bottom line. Really what was the point?
And so I stopped using it yet again. (Do you see a trend here?)
Until I found a dusty stack of business cards in my desk drawer. I hate clutter! So I thought, what was I way to organize these electronically? I opened up LinkedIn and sent a connection request to each individual in the stack. 24 hours later I had a message from one of those individuals asking for help with her organization’s insurance. The power of LinkedIn finally showed itself. It’s not about the number of connections you have, it’s about the quality of connections.
During a recent LinkedIn session (these are now scheduled on my calendar for 3 times a week), I interacted with a former client’s post. I hadn’t heard from him for five months but had completed a number of projects successfully for him. He must have noticed because the very next day I had an e-mail with a new project. And 2 days later, another arrived. Those e-mails still continue to arrive one to two times a week, and they resulted in more than $150 in revenue for 30 seconds of my time and no marketing dollars.
There is power in LinkedIn, don’t turn your back to it. Instead, take the time to learn how to use it to generate leads and revenue for your business.
About The Author
Kathi Fuhrman
Kathi Fuhrman, owner of Fuhrman Creative has many years of online marketing experience.