As it stands, LinkedIn is in the top five most actively used social media networks in the world, with roughly 300 million members among its ranks. LinkedIn is fundamentally different than the other big social media networks in that it focuses predominantly upon business to business relationships, rather than personal connections. As a result, this network has become one of the most powerful marketing tools for those who want to expand their repertoire and make new connections. Exactly how important is LinkedIn in 2014 and what can be gained from its use? We’ll discuss these important elements in the following article so that you understand the need to utilize it for your business and brand-related endeavors.

Relationships and Connections

As with any social media network, LinkedIn presents valuable opportunities for connecting with others and building relationships between brands and businesses. Recent studies have shown that an overwhelming majority of hiring managers and businesses utilize LinkedIn for purposes of evaluating prospective employees and contractors. If you are not currently on LinkedIn, then you are most likely missing out on valuable opportunities to make good impressions. When in contention for a job interview, it may even come down to who has the best LinkedIn profile (or who has or doesn’t have a profile at all).

Promotional Opportunities

Not only can LinkedIn be used to build connections, but it is a great platform through which you can promote your skills and expertise. A variety of endorsement features exist on the network that be used to vouch for your skills when others have used your services or interacted with you in the past. When pinging servers with this information, you are more likely to appear in search results – both on LinkedIn and on search engines. In addition to these features, you will also have access to paid advertising features that can allow you to get your message in front of those who will find it most relevant. These features make LinkedIn irresistible and unavoidable to those who need to expand their clout.

Job Alerts and Opportunities

You can also use LinkedIn as a platform to find and apply to new jobs directly, thanks to several changes that have been made to its interface. You’ll be able to enable notifications that alert you whenever potential jobs matching your background and qualifications become available. While many people may still search for job opportunities by pinging servers of sites like Monster and CareerBuilder, LinkedIn allows you to be proactive and cease opportunities as soon as they arise; following the traditional job application avenues severely limits your capability to find work in comparison to this new method. In the 21^st century, the most powerful tool you can have in your occupational arsenal is efficiency – these job alerts make it possible for you to operate highly efficiently when searching for new employment.

Conclusion

LinkedIn cannot be avoided in 2014 because it has so much to offer the individual employee and business. To neglect the relationships, promotional possibility and job seeking ease that it offers is to limit yourself to older, less effective ways to complete in a global market. Those who find the sleekest and most efficient ways to do business usually come out on top, so you owe it to yourself to create an account and get involved with LinkedIn today.