All About Linkedin

LinkedIn has proved to be the go-to place for professionals and an active platform for job seekers.

If you’re a writer with the dream to connect with like-minded professionals, land a writing job, or to simply extend your network,  LinkedIn is a good place to start.

So here goes the top 5 Tips to help you make the most of LinkedIn. Let’s begin …

1) Networking

One of the best advantages of a platform like LinkedIn is the freedom it gives you in terms of creative expression and networking with the right people.

People that you wouldn’t have otherwise met in real life become accessible on LinkedIn. You will get the opportunity to network with fellow screenwriters, producers, and people in the film and TV industry. It never hurts in the media to find out what everyone else is doing! Thanks to social media sites like Linkedin, this is easier than ever.

How this works is simple … Send a targeted connection request to people in your industry. If they accept your connection request, this is the start of your online relationship.

So if you haven’t already, make the most of LinkedIn for networking! Just don’t spam people, pitch people randomly, or make a nuisance of yourself. MORE: 4 Indispensable Social Media Platforms For Writers

2)  Using Linkedin Analytics

If you are a screenwriter, author or a creative writer looking for opportunities, LinkedIn can be extremely helpful for you.

For example, it provides you with a great analytics tool which gives you a word count of the  people reading your published posts on LinkedIn.

By using LinkedIn Analytics, writers can easily identify their total viewership, demographics, and how much followers a posted video or article has gained, total number of impressions, and lastly, the total number of interactions made on your profile.

Writers can also identify the type of viewership their posts attract which helps them decide which content they want to promote. This makes it easier  to take a judgement call on what kind of content works (or doesn’t work!).

Getting to know your target audience has far-reaching advantages. It also has the power to transform you into a good marketer, something that you should not underestimate. Building a good online platform can pay dividends to a writer.

3) Building professional Connections

LinkedIn has a vibrant community of screenwriters, producers, publishers, editors and literary agents.

As a writer, making connections within these communities can help you connect with the right people, which can transform into a potential screenwriting deal or an employment opportunity overtime.

But who is to say that you need to only make new connections to find a new opportunity?

You can always revisit your current connections and inquire if they are looking for a screenwriter. This is called querying. (Just make sure you send query emails, DO NOT send queries via social media, EVER!).

Additionally, if you have a paid account, you can make use of Inmail – a LinkedIn feature available to paid users that helps you connect with people who aren’t your first-level-connections.

Inmail gives you the option of shooting emails to people who are not in your network. This means that you get the opportunity to send your message across to a potential employer without having to wait for them to accept your connection request!

BUT AGAIN … Don’t spam people, pitch people randomly, or make a nuisance of yourself! MORE: Why You NEED To Stop Spamming People Online Right Now 

4) Linkedin Endorsements & Recommendations

As a writer, you can make the most of your LinkedIn profile through endorsements and recommendations.

What you can do here is ask for recommendations from people who directly managed you and are aware and appreciative of your talent and potential.

Here’s a 3 step process to help you get endorsements and recommendations:

1. Select the skills in your LinkedIn profile.
2.  Get people you work with to endorse your skills.
3.  Ask for recommendations.

But while we say this, DON’T just get endorsed by anyone and everyone! Being endorsed by friends can be counterproductive as it is obvious that you have no professional working relationship with them. So steer clear from this as much as you can.

5) Switch on job notification alerts

A career in writing is full of ups and downs. You must always be on your toes and ready for every opportunity that comes your way.

At LinkedIn, there is no dearth of opportunities. Companies regularly post job vacancies for writers, both full time and part time.

Additionally, you can also look up freelancing opportunities for writers and create a job alert for these job types. Doing this will ensure that you are notified whenever an opportunity comes up.

This also has the added benefit of saving time as you won’t have to constantly search for opportunities. MORE: How To Build Your Own Online Platform 

Concluding

• Networking is key.
• Make the most of analytics to identify the strategy that works for you.
• Connect with esteemed people in your field to build relationships and query where appropriate
• Join groups to get in touch with like-minded professionals.
• Get recommendations and endorsements from people you work with.
• Make the most of job alerts by switching on the notification alert.

Good Luck!

BIO: On a quest to help professionals across the world land their dream jobs, Aditya Sharma lives and breathes Hiration — an AI-powered online resume builder and platform to help job-seekers find their way in the treacherous job market — where he’s a Co-Founder and the unofficial CPO (Chief Problem-solving Officer). He likes to code away his days and nights when he’s not busy disrupting the career space.