The Importance of Staying Active on LinkedIn
Get Yourself Connected
In today’s digital age, social media isn’t just for fun anymore — it’s a critical part of our professional lives. LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional networking platform, is at the forefront of this shift. With over 930 million users, LinkedIn is a powerful tool that goes beyond just job hunting. Yet, many people overlook its potential, resorting to it only when in need of new employment or seeking new clients.
However, consistent and active engagement on LinkedIn holds several benefits for professionals across the spectrum. Here are the reasons why.
Building a Strong Professional Network
LinkedIn is about networking — making valuable professional connections that can benefit your career. This could be someone who inspires you, a potential mentor, or even future colleagues. By being active, you can steadily grow your network, discover new people, and learn from a wide range of professionals.
Showcasing Thought Leadership
Regular activity on LinkedIn, such as sharing industry-related content, writing posts, or engaging with others’ posts, allows you to demonstrate your expertise and thought leadership. It’s an opportunity to share your insights, show what you stand for professionally, and build a personal brand in your industry.
Continuous Learning
LinkedIn isn’t just a platform to show off your skills; it’s also a learning hub. Regularly active users can benefit from a myriad of articles, professional tips, industry news, webinars, and online courses. The more you engage, the more tailored and beneficial this content becomes.
Visibility and Reputation Management
Having a complete, up-to-date profile is crucial on LinkedIn, but so is being active. Consistent engagement increases your visibility on the platform. It helps you remain top-of-mind among your connections and can positively impact your online reputation.
Employers, clients, or business partners often research a person online before making decisions. Think recommendations don’t matter? Think again! A vibrant, active LinkedIn profile can often tilt the scales in your favor.
Job Opportunities
While we stated that LinkedIn isn’t just for job hunting, it’s still an essential aspect of the platform. By staying active, you increase your chances of being noticed by recruiters or other professionals who may have exciting opportunities for you. More importantly, it’s often about being in the right place at the right time. You never know when an opportunity might present itself.
Staying on Top of Industry Trends
LinkedIn is a goldmine for the latest industry trends and news. By regularly browsing, reading, and participating in discussions, you will always be in the loop. You’ll be aware of the changing landscape in your field, which is especially important in fast-paced industries.
Cultivating a Personal Brand
Your LinkedIn profile is a digital resume and portfolio combined. By sharing projects, accomplishments, or thoughts on relevant issues, you create an ongoing narrative that forms your personal brand. Staying active on LinkedIn means continuously refining and reinforcing this brand.
To further illustrate this, let’s look at some examples of people who tend to use LinkedIn mostly when they are job hunting:
The Recent Graduate: After finishing their degree, many graduates create a LinkedIn profile to aid in their first job hunt. They add their educational history, internships, skills, and possibly a few professors and classmates. Once they’ve landed that first job, however, they tend to go silent. Their profile remains stagnant until they’re ready for their next career move. Without ongoing updates and engagement, they miss out on the chance to showcase their professional growth and achievements.
The Career Switcher: Career switchers are another group who primarily utilize LinkedIn when job hunting. They update their profile with their newly acquired skills and experiences, connect with industry professionals, and then reduce their LinkedIn activity significantly once they’ve transitioned to their new field. By not maintaining an active presence, they miss the opportunity to deepen their new professional connections and learn from industry trends.
The Downsized Employee: Unfortunately, layoffs are a common part of corporate life. Those who are downsized often turn to LinkedIn to seek new opportunities, update their profile, and connect with potential employers. However, once they’ve secured a new position, their LinkedIn activity often dwindles. This on-and-off pattern might create a perception of inconsistency, which can be detrimental to their professional branding.
The Contract Worker: Many contract or freelance workers use LinkedIn heavily when they are looking for their next project or contract. They connect with potential clients, share their work, and actively participate in discussions. However, once they’ve secured a new contract, they tend to step back from LinkedIn, returning only when the contract is nearing its end and it’s time to find the next one.
Not great, Bob.
These examples underscore a common theme: professionals often miss out on the myriad of benefits LinkedIn offers by not maintaining a consistent presence. A reactive, sporadic use of LinkedIn tends to limit one’s professional visibility, restrict networking opportunities, and undermine personal branding efforts.
Hey, I get it.
Life is busy, and putting an extra half-hour into a social media channel every week is a chore that can be the first thing to go when the heat is on. My point is not to castigate, but to remind: LinkedIn, when used right, is an investment in your career. Think of it as a bit of an insurance policy when you need a network to help you find new clients, a new job, or just to get feedback on your next moves.
If you use LinkedIn only when you need a job, client, or even advice — without contributing consistently, you will have very few people on the platform who know you well enough to see you, let alone help. And the algorithm may not take you seriously, so to speak.
Therefore, it’s essential to stay active on LinkedIn, regardless of your current job status. In fact, as soon as you get that new job or client, I recommend you double down on your LinkedIn activity.
It pays. Trust me.
What do you think? Is LinkedIn a vital part of your regular career upkeep, or do you use it less consistently?
PS: I’d be honored if you followed me on LinkedIn!