LinkedIn and its Social Media Marketing Perks

It's quite common to find yourself automatically unemployed when you're fresh out of college.

You're done with school and it's time to go to the next level, but you don't know how to go about

getting a job or building contacts for your small business.

'Join LinkedIn, now! its a great social media marketing platform ,"everyone tells you. "You can

show off what you can do and many people will be begging to give you a job.'?That's what

people say. The hype on LinkedIn has most people convinced it is the only way they build their

brand or can get a job, besides having real life 'connections.' Is it?

First of all, what is LinkedIn? LinkedIn is virtually a social networking site that allows workers

and employers to search for jobs and network, two key things people particularly need once they

starting a new or running a business or are out of school, and nowadays, during university years

as well.

Founded in 2002, LinkedIn now has over 300,000 million users in more than 200 countries.

Nigeria is one of these countries. Only last year, LinkedIn announced that over one million users

on LinkedIn are Nigerians.

On the site, employers can list jobs and find potential employees while job searchers can display

their skills like they would on a curriculum vitae and research statistics of companies they might

be interested in working in. The benefits of LinkedIn as a social media marketing tool are

endless, but does it have the same advantage in Nigeria?

There are two ways to go about finding out how beneficial LinkedIn is in Nigeria as a social

media marketing tool. We currently live in a digital age where almost everything is online and

social media sites are dominating the web.

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'It is quite normal to know that people are not just socializing with friends, but trying to network

and make new connections to grow their business or snag employment from a reputable

company. This is where LinkedIn comes in as a social media marketing platform, the world's

largest professional network.'

According to Alexa.com, a site that calculates the relevance of websites, LinkedIn is the 14th

most visited site in the world (2015). That's right, the world. As at 2011, LinkedIn was the 19th

most visited website in Nigeria (AsotoAdeola), and has continued to rise over the years.

While on LinkedIn, users can create profiles and showcase their skills by typing in 'keywords,'

which enable those searching for them to find them faster. Additionally, users can add each other

like they normally would on Facebook, and reach out to friends, colleagues, employers,

recruiters and hiring managers.

The process is easy, and has caught on like fever in Nigeria. And the perks are many. First off,

your presence on the internet will be made known, particularly on a professional level. Every

organization makes an effort to join LinkedIn, and the keywords will attract hiring managers

fishing for certain skills to your page.

Another special factor is that you don't have to be physically present to make valuable contacts.

What could be you lingering around trade and career fairs or job hunting events for hours trying

to make contacts with "ogas at the top" could be channeled into learning a skill or two and

promoting these skills you have learned on your LinkedIn page.

Image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The more the merrier, they say. What's more is that if you do end up going for a job search in the

real world is that hiring managers will indeed check for your name online, and one of the top

three searches would be your LinkedIn profile, along with your accomplishments, skills, and

passion (Assuming your name is not common like Tom Smith, Dick Harry, Chika Emeka or

Aisha Abdullahi.)

Conclusion

There you have it, for a site that has over a million Nigerians networking and recruiting, it is

surely a good idea to start creating a LinkedIn profile right about now. If you have a profile

already, get upgrading.

However, the same reason why you should not promote your business on another businesses

Facebook timeline also applies to LinkedIn.

Therefore in order to make use of LinkedIn properly and get the job you've been searching for,

try to:

1. Make sure your identity is clear on Linked in: Describe yourself in the first person and

point out what you've done in the past and what exactly it is you do or want to do.Be

creative and unique and don't leave out anything!

2. Use a professional photo and not one that is likely to embarrass you or make you look

other than what recruiters might desire, a dedicated, hardworking person.

PS: To view this article on www.nativedge.com click http://nativedge.com/blog/linkedin-and-its-social-media-marketing-perks-why-you-should-join-now/

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