LinkedIn For the SME

LinkedIn is geared towards professionals and has become one of the world’s largest virtual networking platforms. It

For a small business it is seemingly not what you know but who you know. It’s all about the contacts, building relationships and taking advantage of the dimensions of your business relative to your larger competitors!

LinkedIn’s mission is to connect the world’s professionals supporting increased productivity and success.

Set up 6 years ago it has achieved continuous monumental success by linking over 70 million professionals worldwide across 180 countries and 157 industries with approximately 3 million new professionals joining every month which is the equivalent to 1 joining every second!

There are now over 675,000 groups, with 1,500 new groups being formed every day and 1million status updates every week. The UK has the largest membership in comparison to its European counterparts with over 4 million professionals signed up to the network.

When you sign up you build a profile, add you C.V and information about your experience, expertise, interests, accomplishments and qualifications. From there you can begin to construct your network, searching for people you know first and foremost and from their connecting with additional professionals through invitations, introductions and links.

When searching for people you know consult your outlook contacts or business cards and carry out a quick search for them as well as anybody you may have worked for or with, in the past or that you are seeking to work with in the future.

The whole point of LinkedIn is to network, get to know people in your vertical, advertise job posts or seek out employment, offer your services or advice, create discussions and gain insight that you may otherwise remain oblivious too.

For small businesses it removes obstacles such as geographical isolation and time constraints creating a level playing field with larger competitors. Everything is done online which means that networking can be done almost anywhere and anytime whenever the time is available.

Through making valuable connections professionals can build their brand and find new opportunities.