Content Creation

Underutilized LinkedIn Features You Should Be Using

CopyPress

October 24, 2013 (Updated: February 9, 2023)

LinkedIn? More like LinkedOut! This vast website has become the top business network in the world. With more than 135 million users, LinkedIn has been acting as a digital agent for resumes as well as place for professionals to connect with one another. Yet so many people are underutilizing the tools LinkedIn has to offer. Check out these LinkedIn features you may not have known about.

Customize Your Content

As you may already know, LinkedIn curates its own unique news channel called LinkedIn Today where users can post content about the business world or other related material. While you may see these posts come up on your News Feed and occasionally click on them, you can now customize the articles you see with topic-specific story channels?

This is awesome for two reasons:

• The tool helps you stay up to date on topics that interest you.
• Your News Feed won’t be consumed with information that is not of interest to you.

What you don’t have to filter through can be just as important as was content you see. I personally love the feature as it keeps me informed on the latest tips and news about marketing.

Test Out the LinkedIn Lab

LinkedIn offers a tool called Labs where you can with experiment various features that have been built by the software engineers of LinkedIn. If the feature is popular and receives good feedback, LinkedIn sets it as a tool for users, and if it receives negative reviews, the feature is removed.

Are you still wondering why this is cool? Well, how many time have you been disappointed and frustrated with a tool that other social networks have applied? I know I have! The reviews also lets LinkedIn engineers know what its users are looking for. Think of it as an app store for the social network.

Explore Your Career Path

The Career Explorer tool on LinkedIn is a great feature for those who are trying to start their careers or improve in their current positions. The tool pulls specific data and trends that relate to your career to help you become more knowledgeable in the industry you desire to enter or are currently in.

If you recently graduated from college and have no idea how to land a job in the field you want, Career Explorer can help you get there. You can learn what others in your shoes have done and what professionals in the industry are saying. Career Explorer can also recommend people who you should be connecting with.

I find this tool to be an excellent resource for someone like myself who is always trying to learn how to advance in my field. As a manager, I am always trying to learn how I can improve and excel at my company.

Utilizing Your URL

Here is one awesome feature some of you may not know about. If you are unsatisfied with the default URL for your profile, LinkedIn allows you to modify it. You are more than a series of numbers, you are a name!

Once you are logged into your account, you can simply change your URL under the settings in the public profile page. You can customize your URL using your name or a keyword that best describes your skill set.

Company profiles can also take advantage of this as it is a great marketing tool to improve SEO and generate leads. Customizing your URL can help your profile come up in Google searches if someone searches for the keyword you use in your URL.

Turn Your Resume into a Portfolio

Do you want to add some spice to your profile? Why not turn your resume into a professional portfolio by adding visual content! LinkedIn has a feature that enables you to add photos, videos, and other content to your profile.

You can upload an unlimited amount of multimedia projects in the work summary, job description or even in the education section of your profile.  Once the content has been uploaded, you can include a description to further explain your work.

Whether you are a writer, graphic designer, or a photographer, this is a great tool for creative professionals to showcase their projects and add visual examples of their skills.

Whether you are using LinkedIn to network, find a new job, or just grow in your industry, treat it as more than a digital resume. Give these tools a shot and watch your profile improve and your network grow.

CopyPress

October 24, 2013 (Updated: February 9, 2023)