LinkedIn may have begun with the sole intention of serving as an online professional network, but more and more LinkedIn is seen as a “must” in the social media realm,too.

We receive a lot of questions about LinkedIn, what it is and why a blogger or business should join. This post is meant as a introduction to the platform and reasons why you should consider adding another social media profile to your arsenal. Future posts will delve deeper into filling out and customizing your profile, adding product and service listings for your company and LinkedIn’s other functionality and networking features.

If you are a blogger who has wondered if creating a LinkedIn profile is worth your time, here are some reasons to consider doing so.

Reasons Why a Blogger Should Join LinkedIn

• Social Media – As mentioned above, many consider LinkedIn to be a social media platform and will be looking for you in order to connect.
• Networking Opportunities – You can build connections with other bloggers, writers and companies. Also, searching through LinkedIn’s Groups Directory means you have the chance to connect with others in your area, college alumni and join special interest groups.
• SEO – LinkedIn is highly favored by Google.
• Online Resume – It’s the perfect chance to marry your “real life” work experience and education with your social media experience.
• Recommendations – LinkedIn has a feature that allows you to ask your connections for recommendations of your work. Recommendations approved by you are then visible on your profile for others to see.
• Expertise – Answering questions posed in their Answers section can demonstrate your specialized knowledge.

Reasons Why a Business Should Join LinkedIn

• Social Media – Users can “follow” your company on LinkedIn just like they can on other social media platforms.
• Networking Opportunities – Your employees using LinkedIn for themselves will be listing your business as their employer.
• SEO – LinkedIn is highly favored by Google.
• Services – You can create a listing for the products and services that you sell/provide.
• Recommendations – You can ask clients for recommendations on your listed products/services, which are then viewable by other LinkedIn users.
• Find Qualified Candidates – You can create a job listing for an open position at your business.
• Advertise your business to a select group of users – LinkedIn allows you to purchase ads to advertise your business and allows you to designate the type of LinkedIn user to whom you want that ad to be shown.

What Is Needed to Create a Profile

For an individual, any email address and password will get you started. For a business listing, or for those bloggers who want to create a listing for their site, a company-specific email address is required (Meaning, a free email address like @gmail.com, @yahoo.com or @hotmail.com is not accepted).

Most sites that are self-hosted can either add on a branded email (i.e. Info@EliRose.com) feature to their existing hosting contract or have that already included and simply need to set up their account.

Do you have a LinkedIn profile? Do you think of LinkedIn as a social media platform?