LinkedIn appears to be a very overlooked platform, especially in the Caribbean. Is that a mistake? Should we be paying more attention to it?

 

If we are being honest, when most of us hear the words ‘social media’ or ‘social network’ we think of platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, to name a few. LinkedIn is rarely considered in that category.

At last report, LinkedIn has over 546 million users (February 2018, source Linkedin), which is considerably less than a quarter of that for Facebook, with 2.2 billion monthly active users, or for Instagram, at around 800 million monthly active users, (both as of January 2018, source: Wikipedia). However, it is more than on Twitter and Snapchat, which is around 330 million and 187 million monthly active users, respectively (source: Wikipedia).

To be far, LinkedIn is not a necessarily a place to follow your friends. It is considered a professional network: a place to connect with colleagues, associates and other professionals with whom you might share common interests, and to establishing some visibility within that context. However, with the popularity of some of the other social networks, and the seemingly limited profile LinkedIn has especially in the Caribbean, is it still an important platform in 2018?

The short answer is yes, and for a number of reasons. The three main ones are highlighted below.

To increase your visibility and establish a digital presence

First, if someone is unfamiliar with you, and wants to perform a quick background check, they quickly Google your name. LinkedIn profiles are frequently included in the search results. Your LinkedIn profile is something you prepare and curate; hence you have some control of the information you share and consequently, the impression you make to others.

For those who might have very sketchy LinkedIn profiles, or no profile at all, in this day and age, it can be a bit disconcerting if someone does not have an online presence or is not keen to shape his/her personal brand. Further, although there are legitimate reasons to be concerned about your privacy, people – and busy professionals at that – might not as willing to engage you if they do not have a sense of who you are beforehand. You are thus more likely to be overlooked, even though you might be a excellent fit for whatever they might be looking for.

Excellent professional networking tool

Second, LinkedIn is an excellent place for networking, specifically to connect and maintain links with people you have met or have otherwise engaged. In the current business environment, people move around constantly, so if you got a business card from someone, within a year or two it could be outdated. In being connected to an individual on LinkedIn, for all intents and purposes, the connection remains alive and valid– as long as he or she remains a subscriber. It therefore means that your network remains up to date and you can access your connections at any time.

Increasingly useful platform for job seekers

Finally, LinkedIn has become an important resource for recruiters and head-hunters, as it allows them to conduct some due diligence before actually engaging prospective candidates. Additionally, more and more companies are advertising job vacancies on LinkedIn – even Caribbean firms, or for positions within the region. Based on the completeness of your profile, LinkedIn can highlight jobs that you might be of interest in, based on your skills, qualifications location, etc. Further, if you a member of certain LinkedIn Groups, where the members share common interests, jobs and various opportunities are also advertised there.

In summary, LinkedIn is still a powerful and relevant platform of which we all should be making greater use. Similar to the other social networks, to get the most out of it, you must put in the effort in order to yield the benefit it offers.

 

Image credit:  TheDigitalArtist (Pixabay)

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