I found an article today titled, "10 Reasons Why You Should Upgrade Your LinkedIn Account." Although most of us in our social media class only have a LinkedIn account because it is a course requirement, we should keep in mind that it could be potentially helping us for our future - since a majority of us are graduating in May. And although we probably aren't to the point where we use LinkedIn enough to find it beneficial to pay for its use the article did bring up a few good points.
The first major point was about the use of InMail. InMail is just like email but it sends messages via LinkedIn. Studies found that InMail is actually 30% more effective than regular email because the receiver of the message immediately knows you are part of the LinkedIn community and also can view your profile instantly to find out more information about you rather than just being a name on an email.
For those who use LinkedIn a lot to recruit and find potential employers, the paid version could definitely be beneficial to them because of the search filters that are offered to paying customers. On the free version of LinkedIn, you are very limited to who you can find and you must put a lot more effort into searching for others. With the paid version, recruiters are offered many different types of search criteria to filter their results which keeps search times to a minimum.
Another great tool with the LinkedIn paid version is being able to see who has viewed your profile and what keywords people are searching that brings them to your page. This allows you to edit some of your information to reach more of your targeted audience.
There were other reasons mentioned for upgrading your LinkedIn account and there is no doubt that it can be beneficial to many. As an individual it is your job to determine if upgrading is worth it to you or if the free version is taking care of your basic needs. All in all, LinkedIn is a powerful recruiting tool and social media tool that should not be brushed under the rug and I think it is very important that we keep them neat and professional because you never know who will look at it and see you as a potential employer.
"10 Reasons Why You Should Upgrade Your LinkedIn Account"
I like the topic of your post! Linkedin is definitely a valuable social media tool for job searching and evaluating possible employees before you ever meet them! I understand the purpose of updating your Linkedin account but in my opinion the upgraded Linkedin is a little pricey for social networking. I found that plans range from $20-$100 each month. I definitely think the free version works just as well. Maybe I am just a broke college student and after I enter the working world it may be more beneficial to upgrade then. Good Post:)
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