Why You Should Invest an Hour a Day on LinkedIn

Ok, let’s be clear right up front. “An Hour a Day” is not really prescriptive. Your actual time allotment might be 20 minutes – or 90 minutes (or more). The point is, if you really want to be successful, you should probably spend a reasonable portion of your online day on LinkedIn. Here are a few good reasons why.

1. LinkedIn is an incredibly strong social networking platform, focusing on business relationships. LinkedIn was ranked number 1 I the Forbes Magazine “Fast Tech 25” for 2013 (Facebook was second, Google a distant 17^th).
2. Your LinkedIn Profile allows you to present a ton of information about you that business contacts appreciate. It’s like a super online résumé, where you can post your personal mission statement, work and educational experience, awards and publications, skills and areas of expertise.
3. Feedback from others is readily apparent to anyone reading your LinkedIn profile. Not only can others post specific recommendations (tied to current and past positions) but LinkedIn’s system encourages your top-level contacts to recommend your skills and expertise.
4. Multi-level networking features help you make business contacts. Are you interested in connecting with business leaders in your field, or people who might become potential customers, but you don’t know them personally? Chances are you may both belong to the same LinkedIn interest group, making it easy to contact them directly. Or, using the “six degrees of separation” principle, someone you are already connected with is connected with that new person. The LinkedIn system makes it possible to find out, and to get a positive introduction to the contact you seek.
5. LinkedIn updates are valuable to your business. If you have cultivated a legitimate business network on LinkedIn, you will see updates from you contact, similar to Facebook postings, but much more relevant to your work life. Example: I recently looked at the 10 most recent postings on my LinkedIn page and found 7 of them worth reading. On Facebook, that number was 3…
6. LinkedIn Groups are valuable sources of information, opportunities to share your knowledge and abilities, and connections to like-minded business people. Behind the first rule of LinkedIn (complete your profile!), my second recommendation would be “join and participate in groups relevant to your business interests”. There are over 1.5 million interest groups on LinkedIn, covering just about any area you can think of (2 groups for “orchid growers”! 7 groups for “watch repair”!!). Joining, and more importantly, actively participating in LinkedIn groups will help you create a reputation for yourself, and connect you with other people you can add to your network.

This list could go on, but hopefully you are getting the picture. If you aren’t interested in growing your business, or learning about new ideas that will help you survive and thrive, or meeting professionals who will help you form a thriving network, just skip this idea. Otherwise, plan to spend/invest an “hour a day” on LinkedIn and see how things change for you!