What is LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is one of the longest-standing social networks and one of the few specifically geared toward business and professional networking. The network has over a billion members worldwide, with over 200 million in the United States.
As a professional, you can set up a LinkedIn Profile that is based on your resume. On LinkedIn, your contacts are called Connections versus “Friends.”
LinkedIn offers a free basic version with features limited to connecting to others, requesting and providing recommendations, receiving InMail messages, and conducting a limited number of searches.
LinkedIn also offers Premium Subscriptions with more robust tools to advance your career or business:
- Premium Career for job listings and resources
- Premium Business for deeper insights
- Sales Navigator to generate leads
- Recruiter Lite to find and hire for your company
- LinkedIn Learning professional development courses for you and your team
Once you have a LinkedIn Profile, you can create a free LinkedIn Company Page and follow other businesses or organizations. You can also join LinkedIn Groups that are similar to Facebook Groups, to participate in topic-specific, moderated discussions.
Three Degrees of Separation
Connections are at the core of LinkedIn. Cultivating those connections thoughtfully help you reap the most benefits out of the network. LinkedIn’s algorithm is based on the concept of “six degrees of separation,” the idea that any person you want to meet is less than six people away from you. On LinkedIn, people within your network are ranked by 1st, 2nd, or 3rd degrees. If they aren’t connected to you within three degrees, then they are considered “Out of Your Network.”
Your 1st-degree Connections are the ones you actually know or who have accepted your invitation to connect. You are able to communicate with your 1st-degree Connections directly. Someone who is connected to your 1st-degree Connection is considered a 2nd-degree Connection. A person who is connected to a 2nd-degree Connection and not directly connected to you is considered a 3rd-degree Connection.
If you are interested in communicating or connecting with someone who is several degrees away from you, LinkedIn shows you which of your 1st-degree Connections are connected to them. LinkedIn only reveals the names of your direct Connections and uses neutral, non-identifying words to designate anyone who is not your direct Connection. LinkedIn hides people’s identities and contact information until a 1st-degree connection is made.
Networking Through LinkedIn
To use LinkedIn’s built-in referral system and get an introduction to someone not directly connected to you, you can send a request to a 1st-degree Connection and ask them to pass it along with your contact information to their Connection. If your contact feels comfortable making the introduction, their Connection will see your message and can decide whether or not to respond.
To get more value out of LinkedIn, you should be selective about whom you connect with so the leads you give and receive are trusted and more fruitful. If you know or have met someone in a professional setting, they are more likely to respond to, or pass along, your message. With a Premium Subscription, you can use LinkedIn’s InMail feature to reach out directly to LinkedIn users who are out of your network.
If you want to find a company or organization on LinkedIn, type the name into the search box at the top of the LinkedIn site or mobile app. If they have a LinkedIn Company Page, you can access it to learn more about them and see a list of their employees who are on LinkedIn. With that information, you can determine if you have any 1st, 2nd, or 3rd-degree connections at the company to ask for an introduction.
A LinkedIn Company page can be a useful tool to market your business, and it is similar to a Facebook Page. Once you have one, you and your team can link to it from your personal LinkedIn Profiles. To network with others in your industry who share similar professional interests, join a LinkedIn Group or start one of your own. LinkedIn offers a variety of powerful networking tools for anyone in business or looking to do business.