By Jaclyn Baldovin, Radiant Digital Solutions
For administrative professionals looking to grow their careers, social media is one of the most powerful tools at their disposal. With 310 million monthly active users, LinkedIn provides you with an excellent opportunity to connect and network with thousands of business professionals. A fantastic place for admins to focus their social media efforts, the platform offers a wide variety of features to leverage for career advancement.
Not convinced that the platform is worth your time? Here are some benefits of getting active on LinkedIn:
1. Build your personal brand. LinkedIn facilitates brand building by helping you showcase yourself in a unique and positive way so you stand out as a professional. You can use your LinkedIn profile to highlight your skills and strengths, share examples of your work, and spotlight professional accomplishments. If someone searches for your name or your name plus your company on Google or another search engine, your LinkedIn profile will appear in the search results, giving you great exposure for your brand. Additionally, the posts that you share on LinkedIn can help you continue building a personal brand that demonstrates you’re a polished administrative professional who is knowledgeable about your profession and industry.
2. Grow your professional network. The social media platform gives you the ability to connect and network with thousands of professionals around the world. The more people you connect with, the more you increase your chances of finding new career opportunities. You never know who could introduce you to the manager at your dream company or who could provide you with significant insight into a challenging project. Be open to connecting with people in the same or similar industry as yours who you don’t know personally. Expanding your network with people outside of your direct professional circle can be an incredible way to open more career doors.
3. Stand out to potential employers. When you have a strong LinkedIn profile, you increase your chances of getting found by potential employers. Be sure each section is filled out to showcase your skills and experience. Many hiring managers and recruiters use LinkedIn to find qualified job candidates, so being active on the platform will increase your chances of getting seen by them. Some employers check job candidates’ LinkedIn profiles before even asking them to come in for an interview, so it’s critical to make sure yours is always up to date. The platform also has its own job search function that allows you to look for available jobs that employers have posted and apply for them directly on LinkedIn.
4. Gain access to training resources to expand and strengthen your skills. There are many industry experts sharing tips and free resources on LinkedIn to help you in your administrative role. This can be an incredibly valuable way to acquire new skills and sharpen your current ones without having to pay for expensive training courses or conferences.
5. Establish yourself as a subject matter expert. LinkedIn enables you to stand out as an expert in the areas in which you have strong skills. You can become a subject matter expert by sharing content, such as insightful articles, career tips, and professional strategies with your audience. Commenting on your connections’ posts is another good way to demonstrate your knowledge and abilities to your network.
If you’re ready to become active on LinkedIn, but you’re unsure of exactly where to start, here are three actionable steps you can take today to begin using the social media platform:
1. Fill out each section of your profile completely. Go through the sections of your profile and take the time to fill them out. Make sure your profile and background photos look professional, include a summary of what you do, and provide descriptions and accomplishments for each of the jobs you’ve held.
2. Expand your network by connecting with people you may not know personally. LinkedIn provides you with connection suggestions. Take a look and consider connecting with a few of those people who are in the same or similar industry as you to start building your network.
3. Post valuable content and engage with other users’ posts. Find an industry article that you would like to share with your audience and post the URL to it on LinkedIn along with some commentary that will spark a discussion among the people who see it. Additionally, scroll through your LinkedIn news feed and comment on and react to some of your connections’ posts. This is an excellent way to network and converse with other LinkedIn users.
LinkedIn isn’t a social media platform you can afford to ignore in 2022. The site provides you with plenty of opportunities that can open new doors and help you move forward professionally. If you’re looking to achieve significant career growth, LinkedIn is one of your best bets!
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