LinkedIn has become the most powerful tool for career advancement, professional networking, and building your brand. It’s time to stop ignoring the power of LinkedIn.

The sad part is that many professionals are not utilizing this amazing career management tool to its full potential. Their profiles are horrible, their photos are unprofessional, and they passively accept invitations from whoever contacts them, assuming that when they reach 500 connections they will become well networked.

By creating a presence on LinkedIn and having an active and engaged network, people will come to you unsolicited with great opportunities that fit your background and skills. You will also have a network that you can mobilize should you need to more actively look for a job. Building your network is all about the content of your page, the activity you produce, and the way that you market yourself to connections.

Here are a few critical areas to focus on:

Image Matters – Get a Professional Headshot

As you begin to leverage LinkedIn as the powerful business networking tool it is, the first place to start is your image, literally. Having a professional photo is a must. These days professional headshots cost less than $200, and it’s worth every penny.

Update Your Content 

Creating content on your LinkedIn page helps you build your professional network on LinkedIn faster with people who are more aligned with your skills and career goals.

Completely fill out your profile. Use this free and very valuable space to market your accomplishments and experience. Include all the industry buzz words for your space and special skills.

Improve Your Headline

The headline is right under your name when you edit your profile. It shows up right under your photo everywhere on LinkedIn when people see you in their search, when folks consider connecting with you, and when you reach out to connect with them. Your headline should include your current role along with something unique or beneficial about you.

Join Groups

Another opportunity is to join groups or to start a group. In the best case you should do both; in many cases you can contact people on LinkedIn for free if you are a member of the same group, so do not neglect this valuable networking tool. Find groups that fit your skills and career goals.

Build Your Network

There are only two ways to build your connections: you can invite people, or they can invite you. There are quite a few benefits to driving incoming connection traffic. When people come to you, they are asking for something. By granting them the connection, you are in a better position. Second, a strategy of building a network where people come to you grows with less ongoing work from you. To actively connect with people, first you must find them through search, then you must find a mutual connection, and finally you must send an invite. Getting the right people to want to connect with you starts with having high quality searchable content on your page. Now you must help people see it.

Getting More High Quality Connections

The best place to start is in your own direct world. You would be surprised how many people are not connected to their boss and coworkers. Invite these people ASAP, then go a step further and connect with others at your company in the same space as you and folks that you previously worked with. You can keyword search your company name, and it will give you past and current employees. Next, think about vendors in your space—are you connected to them? Go through your outlook and phone contacts and invite those people. Then, go through the connections of your connections and find people you know. Invest time actively looking to build your network, and it will grow.

Closing Thoughts on LinkedIn

You can and should build your presence and brand through this tool. One of my employees was recently speaking to a candidate, and my name came up. The candidate said, “I know Mike” in a very warm and connected way, so my employee asked, “Did you work with him at Edwards?” The candidate’s response: “No I have never met him. I know him through LinkedIn.”

If you’re following the steps outlined in this article, more people will get to know you. They will learn about what’s important to you, what you’re good at, and what you think. Content branding will help humanize you and allow people to connect with you through your words and ideas. If you haven’t done so already, it’s a good idea to connect with me on LinkedIn.

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