If you’ve not yet joined LinkedIn, you’re missing out on the single most important social business network bar none. In terms of online reputation, LinkedIn is a must-have. More industry professionals are joining daily and integrative health and wellness groups are proliferating.
Here are 6 reasons why LinkedIn rocks for integrative health and medicine professionals. But first, a minor disclosure: No, I don’t own LinkedIn stock (but probably should!). And yes, it’s my favorite social media site. It’s where I spend the most time and get maximum benefit.
1. LinkedIn Ranks High
Google’s algorithm assigns LinkedIn profiles very high page rankings; often higher than the actual website(s) with which an individual is professionally associated. Realistically, your LinkedIn profile may come up before your bio-sketch located within your site’s ‘About Us’ or provider, clinician or staff page. This is especially true for static websites improperly positioned to generate meaningful traffic via search engine optimization.
A LinkedIn profile is even more essential if you don’t have a website. It becomes your most visible online professional calling card. If you are a business, your LinkedIn profile will often appear in close proximity to your Yelp page and other physician or business ranking sites. But here’s the rub, these rankings sites are often riddled with errors and inaccuracies that, thankfully, your LinkedIn profile helps correct or clarify, because…
2. LinkedIn Offers Control Over Your Personal Brand
Simply put, LinkedIn allows you to clearly define your personal brand via deeply populated relevant content. You can upload your image and professional profile and create a detailed ‘summary’ section (‘about’ you) to communicate who you are, what you do and how you might be of service. Beyond highlighting employment history, areas of expertise/interests and academic credentials, you can feature links to Slideshare (owned by LinkedIn) PowerPoint, Keynote presentations, documents and blog posts.
3. LinkedIn Strengthens and Extends Your Professional Network
You may currently use Google Contacts, Outlook or even a hybrid method to organize and synch important contact data. Regardless, LinkenIn enables you to effortlessly invite folks you already know to join your network; they make it so easy to import your contacts. Within days of your profile going live, you’ll be invited to link with current associates and former colleagues, including those you haven’t interacted with for a while and in some cases even lost touch with due to employment and/or other life changes. Convenient LinkedIn Updates inform you of key activity happening in your network.
4. Opportunity Knocks
Your LinkedIn profile can generate new opportunities. Perhaps you’ll be asked to contribute project expertise, participate in an interview, provide a quote or even consider a new employment option. Importantly, when conference planners are looking for speakers, they typically consult LinkedIn first and then a prospect’s personal website to learn more about a potential presenter. But you must be found. Good thing you have a professional LinkedIn profile!
5. LinkedIn Groups Provide Forums to Learn & Establish or Extend Thought Leadership
LinkedIn currently features over 1 million groups (not a typo) and allows you to join up to 50. Groups are free to join or create. Within the integrative health and medicine space, there are scores of groups and subspecialties to consider. Participation allows you to learn more about what’s happening within your particular areas of interest or expertise as well as to interact with likeminded professionals. Content is often shared and meaningful discussions had. These groups also provide great forums for linking your own content, asking specific questions, offering clinical pearls or for just ‘listening”.
[Read: Becoming an Integrative Medicine Thought Leader]
6. Ideal Platform to Park Your CV or Resume
Though you may not be actively seeking new employment, LinkedIn is the place to upload your CV or resume. You can use the automated system, populate various forms with a more customized approach, or simply upload as a standalone document. Again, your LinkedIn profile becomes even more important if you don’t have an active website featuring a detailed ‘about’ bio or link to your CV or resume. And even if you do have a website, remember, chances are your LinkedIn profile will be ranked higher on the page and thus enjoy greater visibility.
LinkedIn offers potential high yield value with a minimal time investment depending on your career goals and chosen path. Professionals use LinkedIn in different ways. Some are quite active (like me), while others just ‘set it and forget it’. Those working in business-to-business (B2B) environments find LinkedIn especially important for developing contacts and growing their companies. It only takes about an hour to properly create a profile and the long-term value and dividends can be absolutely priceless.
So what are you waiting for? Learn how to set up a LinkedIn profile here.
And once your profile is published, please invite me to connect; join FON’s LinkedIn Group; and follow FON’s company page.
About FON
FON is a leading business development and consulting firm delivering customized solutions to integrative health organizations—focused on growing patient volume, program and product sales—driven by innovative marketing, messaging and branded storytelling, all rooted in fiscally viable business models that work.
Contact us today to schedule a complimentary 30-minute consultation to discuss your career strategy or business development needs.
Related posts:
- The Best Clinic and Business Model for Integrative Medicine
- 5 Reasons Why Content is King for Growing Integrative Medicine Services
- Social Media: Opportunity or Risk for Growing Integrative Medicine Practices?