2024年5月24日

What is LinkedIn? Explaining the benefits and usage for individuals & companies.

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What is LinkedIn?

What are the benefits of LinkedIn?"

The following information is provided for those who have these questions.

What is LinkedIn?
Advantages and disadvantages of LinkedIn for individuals & companies
How to use LinkedIn

This article explains the advantages, disadvantages, and how to use LinkedIn for individual users and companies.

It also introduces examples of LinkedIn use for companies, so you can refer to them to expand your business.

What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is a business-specific social networking service established in 2003.

Its main features are as follows

A social networking service for networking with business people
Users can create detailed profiles of their own background, expertise, skills, etc.
Browse and apply for job postings from companies
Connect and exchange information with peers and business contacts
Read industry updates, news, and articles from experts

Companies use the site to recruit top talent and acquire business opportunities, while individuals use it to change jobs, improve their skills, network, and build their brand.

In addition, it can be used as a social networking site to gather trends and expertise from influential executives and experts.

Thus, LinkedIn is becoming an essential SNS for both companies and individuals.

Number of LinkedIn Users

According to LinkedIn, the number of users has exceeded 1 billion worldwide as of November 2023, according to an official announcement. Also, the fact that Microsoft has invested approximately 3 trillion yen ($26.2 billion) in the acquisition of the company shows its high potential.

In fact, it is said that almost all knowledge workers in the U.S. and many other countries use LinkedIn. Thus, it is the major social networking service following Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).

According to LinkedIn Japan, in recent years LinkedIn has become increasingly important as a business SNS with over 3 million users in Japan.

LinkedIn's user base includes executives, managers, and professionals, who are the very best customers for companies to target. LinkedIn's strength lies in its ability to directly reach these influential people.

This makes LinkedIn an ideal social networking service for BtoB marketing.

Advantages of LinkedIn

Below are the advantages of LinkedIn for individual users and for companies.

Benefits for Individual Users
Benefits for Businesses

Benefits for Individual Users

The benefits of LinkedIn for individual users are as follows

Benefits	Overview
Efficient collection of up-to-date business-related information	While other social networking sites mix information with personal posts, making it inefficient to collect information, LinkedIn allows users to efficiently collect information by streaming information specific to business topics.
Separate private and business SNSs	This reduces the awkwardness of having your private posts seen by people in your workplace and the need to be careful about what you post.
Build a network of work-related acquaintances and centrally manage contacts.	It is easier to keep track of the status of others' job changes, promotions, etc., allowing for smooth communication.

As mentioned above, making good use of LinkedIn can be highly beneficial in terms of work quality and career development.

As mentioned above, the good use of LinkedIn can be highly beneficial in terms of quality of work and career development.

Benefits for Businesses

The advantages of LinkedIn for companies are as follows.

Benefits	Overview
Low-cost branding and recruiting	Compared to traditional job sites or corporate websites, LinkedIn allows companies to communicate information about their company and recruit with fewer resources. Also, you can reach out to potential job seekers that you have not been able to reach before.
Build and analyze your own human resources database	Clarify the image of the most suitable human resources for your company, improve the efficiency of the recruitment process, and accumulate know-how.

In this way, LinkedIn is a social networking service that offers significant advantages to corporate users, as it allows for low-cost branding and talent acquisition.

Disadvantages of LinkedIn

The disadvantages of LinkedIn for individual users and corporate users are explained below.

Disadvantages for individual users
Disadvantages for corporate users

Disadvantages for Individual Users

The disadvantages for individual users are summarized below.

Disadvantages	Overview
Penetration rate in Japan is still low	LinkedIn is widely used worldwide, especially in Europe and the United States, but its penetration in Japan is still low compared to SNSs such as Facebook and Twitter. As a result, networking among Japanese users is somewhat inconvenient in some aspects.
English Proficiency Required in Some Cases	English is the primary language on LinkedIn, which may limit the ability to gather and disseminate information in Japanese only. If you are not good at English, it will be difficult to use LinkedIn.
Few jobs from Japanese companies	There is a tendency on LinkedIn for jobs at foreign-affiliated companies to stand out, and it has been pointed out that there are few jobs at companies in Japan. In terms of the quality and quantity of job offers, this may be a disadvantage for individuals who are interested in working for domestic companies.

On the other hand, as LinkedIn itself grows, the user base in Japan is expected to expand, and it is likely that networking among domestic users will become more active in the future, leading to an increase in Japanese-language content and job openings at domestic companies.

Disadvantages for Businesses

The disadvantages for companies are as follows.

Demerits	Overview
Multifunctional and difficult to utilize	A large number of functions and plans are available, and full use of these functions and plans requires a certain level of knowledge and understanding. The complex and advanced functions, such as recruiting, advertising, and analytical functions, require knowledge within the company.
Disclosure Risk	The more actively a company disseminates information, the greater the risk that competitors will learn about the company's strengths, strategies, and the type of personnel it is seeking.
Damage to corporate image due to direct approach to job seekers	Direct approaches to job seekers and job applicants may be perceived as spamming. The content and frequency of messages must be set appropriately, and in some cases, the corporate image may be damaged.

As described above, there are disadvantages such as the complexity of the function, the risk of information disclosure, and the difficulty of the approach, so companies must establish an operational system or risk not realizing the benefits of the system.

LinkedIn Application Examples for Companies

The following are examples of LinkedIn utilization.

LINE Corporation
Adobe Systems, Inc.
Panasonic Corporation
Wealthpark Inc.

LINE Corporation

LINE Corporation utilized LinkedIn's human capital data and analysis functions to develop recruiting strategies and tactics on where to focus resources in their recruiting activities, and realized an efficient recruiting process.

Challenges before introduction

New graduate engineers with high skills and immediate competitiveness are in demand.
Need to increase awareness of "LINE" outside of Japan
We wanted engineers who shared our corporate philosophy and vision, as well as our business and products, to join our company.

Why did you choose LinkedIn?

To utilize LinkedIn's human capital data to conduct market and competitive analysis and formulate recruitment strategies and tactics.
To strengthen our corporate branding in Japan and overseas
To recruit talented people who share both the company's philosophy and products by using a direct approach to attract and engage candidates on a case-by-case basis.

Results

Utilization of Talent Insight enabled selection of areas to attack and streamlined the recruitment process
We were able to increase the number of "LINE" fans (followers) as a company
We were able to strengthen the branding of individual recruiters and increase the number of connections with candidates
We have been able to hire excellent engineers who share both our corporate philosophy and products.

Reference: https://www.slideshare.net/linkedinjapan/line-141172508

Adobe Systems

Adobe utilizes content marketing and advertising to reach decision makers through its social networking site for business,

The cost-effectiveness of this approach to decision makers can be attributed to the fact that it was a cost-effective way to reach them.

Challenges

Implement targeted content marketing

Achieve significant results based on demonstrable ROI

Strengthen and expand campaign effectiveness

Solution

Panasonic Corporation

Panasonic Corporation has implemented LinkedIn to reach out to talented potential job seekers and leverage the global platform to develop a unified recruiting effort across the group.

Issues before introduction

Seeking a way to hire talented people quickly
Promote recruiting activities utilizing the global scale of the Panasonic Group
Communicate the new Panasonic brand image and direction from a recruiting perspective

Reasons for using LinkedIn

To attract excellent human resources

Effective recruitment of talented people by reaching out to potential career changers

Global platform

Enables us to promote recruiting activities on a unified platform across the entire global group.

Recruitment branding

Employ company pages to proactively disseminate corporate information and enhance the brand.

Effectiveness

80% of career hires in North America have been made via LinkedIn. Achievements have also been made in Brazil and India, and expansion to other regions is underway.

Reference: https://www.slideshare.net/linkedinjapan/panasonic-case-study20140301

Wealthpark Inc.

Wealthpark K.K. has been able to reduce its recruiting costs by more than half compared to last year by utilizing the LinkedIn platform, and has been able to strengthen its recruiting collaboration.

Challenges

The company was only able to approach the most obvious job seekers and had no other means of recruiting in a red ocean environment at a high cost.
Recruitment know-how was not accumulated in the company, and there was no reproducibility in successful recruitment.
There were too many indirect contacts, and the company was only able to obtain the direct thoughts and feelings of job seekers in a formal manner, which made it difficult to get a firm grip on the job change process.

Reason for introduction

We were attracted to LinkedIn because it has a large number of excellent human resources registered both domestically and internationally, and because we could approach them directly.
We felt that we could approach potential career changers and create more touch points more quickly than our competitors, thereby creating a breadth and quality of recruiting that had never been seen before.

Results

Successfully recruited several new employees in one year, and reduced recruiting costs by more than half compared to the previous year.
Collaboration with the business units was strengthened, and a cooperative system for recruitment was established. This has also led to the promotion of referrals.
Increased awareness and fans of the company by increasing the number of followers on the company page.

Citation: https://www.slideshare.net/linkedinjapan/wealthpark-239495785

LinkedIn Registration and Profile Setup

Below are the steps for registering on LinkedIn for individual users and for companies.

LinkedIn registration steps for individual users
LinkedIn Registration Steps for Businesses

LinkedIn Registration Steps for Individual Users

Below are the steps for registering a personal account on LinkedIn. Note that you can skip the photo registration and application download.

Step 1: Enter your e-mail address and password

First, access the LinkedIn website, enter your e-mail address and password, and click the "Agree and Register" button.

Step 2: Enter first and last name

After registration, enter your first and last name on the screen that appears.

Step 3: Enter your area of residence

Enter your area of residence and click Next.

Step 4: Enter your area of residence and job title or position.

Enter your area of residence again, and enter your job title or position in the "Other" field.

Step 5: Enter the code that was sent to your e-mail address.

Enter the code that was sent to your e-mail address and click Agree & Confirm.

Step 6: Connect with people you know

Use the Import Address Book feature to connect with known business associates and friends.

Step 7: Upload a profile image.

Upload a clean image of yourself to your profile.

Step 8: Download the mobile app.

Download and install a smartphone app to make LinkedIn more convenient. This will allow you to easily exchange messages while on the move.

How to Create an Effective Profile

Here's how to create an effective profile on LinkedIn

Update your headline and career regularly
Posting recommendations from authority figures
Utilize keywords in your job postings
Listing hobbies and interests

Update headlines and careers regularly

Headlines and career details are the heart of your profile and the first information visitors see. Clearly stating your interests, specific job titles, and experience, and keeping them up-to-date will naturally attract the right opportunities.

Post recommendations from authority figures.

A recommendation on LinkedIn is a sign of trust because it is a direct indication of what others think of you. Receiving a recommendation from a former colleague or supervisor can objectively demonstrate your skills and work ethic.

Utilize keywords in job postings.

It is important to include keywords related to your relevant industry and skills so that your profile appears in the top search results. This will make it easier for recruiters to search and find your profile and increase the likelihood that it will lead to a job offer.

List your hobbies and interests.

Including personal interests and hobbies in your profile, in addition to your professional aspects, will help you form a multifaceted persona and promote friendliness. This type of information gives a human touch and is more likely to lead to the development of deeper relationships.

LinkedIn Registration Steps for Businesses

The steps to register for LinkedIn for Businesses are explained below.

Step 1: Click on "Create Company Page" from the "For Business" tab menu.

After registering a personal account, click "Create Company Page" from the menu on the "For Business" tab in the upper right corner of the home page.

Step 2) Select a page type that matches your organization type.

Choose the page type best suited to your organization from among "Company," "Promotional Page," and "Educational Institution."

Step 3) Enter each required information.

Enter basic information such as company name, official website URL, industry, and company size. The tagline allows you to introduce your company profile, so be sure to include content that highlights your unique features, culture, and vision.

How to use and utilize LinkedIn

The following two features are explained on how to use and utilize LinkedIn.

Connecting Features
Product Promotion

Connections

Tsunagari Function

The "Tsunagari" function is a feature that allows you to connect as a follower or a follower.

Using this connection function, you can easily search for the attributes you want to connect with by filtering by company name or occupation.

This function allows companies to search for potential job changers and individual users to efficiently gather the latest information.

Product Promotion

By posting relevant content, such as announcements of new product sales, campaign information, and case studies, you can promote your products to your followers.

LinkedIn advertising can also be used to develop targeted advertisements based on specific professions, industries, or geographic regions. This is especially effective for promoting B-to-B products and services because they can be delivered based on a user's professional profile.

TheDigitalX provides consulting support for overseas expansion using LinkedIn

If you have any concerns about how to develop and utilize LinkedIn strategies, please contact The Digital X for a consultation.

Our local native marketers and specialists in Japan will support you.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.

We look forward to hearing from you.

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