Why Corporate Nigeria Should Join LinkedIn!!!

1. Why Corporate Nigeria SHOULD Join LinkedIn!!!
I am always amused whenever i come across professionals, executives, business owners, government
officials, recruiters, consultants, head hunters, and even job seekers on LinkedIn.com, with 2 or 10
connections. That immediately tells me how much they know about Social Media and the power of
networking. Maybe they’re too busy to reap the immense benefits of “being Linked”, or got the invite and
simply just signed-on and went into what i call “LinkedIn Coma”, or worse still, they joined but want to
keep their privacy?!
(Helloo, why exactly did you join LinkedIn?).
To my mind, every professional and business person in Nigeria should be on LinkedIn. If you represent a
business or brand, if you have something to say/sell to the world (about a product, service, an idea or a
cause), if you’re employed, unemployed, or under employed If you’re a consultant, trainer, public
speaker, blogger, entertainer, politician, an event manager, or you’re seeking to recruit staffers for your
company etc.; In my estimate LinkedIn is your best bet. According to www.inc.com: “Today, LinkedIn is
the No. 1 social media platform for professionals. Estimates of professional participation in LinkedIn are
as high as 83%”.
My LinkedIn Story
I have been a member of LinkedIn since: October 7, 2008. I can’t remember exactly who invited me or
how i stumbled in. I can imagine that the invite came into my email inbox saying “Leke, I’d like to add
you to my professional network on LinkedIn”. I must have clicked on the “Accept” button because the
message came from a trusted associate. And afterwards, i went into “LinkedIn Coma”, like many people i
see online today. Unknown to me, i had just joined one of the most powerful business resource platform
of the 21st century! For most people who “accidentally” joined LinkedIn like i did, they usually ask “Now,
i’m on LinkedIn, Now what?”
This was my question too until i attended a Booth Camp (for HR-professionals) in Lagos 2010, where a
young man briefly discussed Social media/LinkedIn. Then, i had my “Aha!” experience and an
understanding of the power of LinkedIn.
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2. And since then i have: studied LinkedIn, trained many
individuals, spoken at seminars and conferences about this amazing platform. Using LinkedIn i have:
recruited local and expatriate employees, helped a number of people find jobs, developed power
relationships across the globe, collaborated with very experienced professionals on various projects,
recruited board members, have been recruited as a board member for an international NGO, have
obtained professional help/answers to difficult business questions, joined and participated in very
interesting group discussions, created and managed a vibrant professional LinkedIn group, mentored
some young professionals, connected with some great mentors and have exponentially increased my
“social capital”. etc
You too can succeed professionally or in your business using LinkedIn by making connections and
capturing great opportunities on the Web’s #1 Business Networking Site.
While most folks are still wondering if Social media is a fad or a revolution, LinkedIn has suddenly
become an essential business networking tool for professionals across all demographics. Today, there are
over 161 million members on the site. Some have fondly referred to LinkedIn as the “Facebook of
business”. To my mind, this professional networking site can be a valuable resource to Corporate Nigeria.
LinkedIn is not a play ground like Facebook seems. It’s got that “office ambience”. Rather than
connecting users to one another just for socializing sakes, LinkedIn connects users to the business world
of “serious business minded people” providing them with a virtual platform to display professional work
experience, connections, and groups. And like I said before, if you want to market yourself for job
opportunities, business endeavors, or networking opportunities, LinkedIn is the place for you.
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3. About LinkedIn
"LinkedIn is the office, Facebook is the barbecue in the backyard, and MySpace is the bar,"
referring to the three major social-networking sites. ~Reid Hoffman CEO of LinkedIn.
 Founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003.
 A Public quoted company, revenue for the first quarter (2012) was $188.5 million, an increase of
101% compared to $93.9 million in the first quarter of 2011.
 In October 2010 Silicon Valley Insider ranked the company No. 10 on its Top 100 List of most
valuable start ups.
 As of December 2010, the company was valued at $1.575 billion in private markets.
 It was reported that LinkedIn earned $154.6 million dollars in advertising revenue alone in 2011. This
number was actually higher than that of Twitter who earned $139.5 million dollars respectively.
 Has more than 14 million Business Owners.
 LinkedIn is still young and still growing with over 4million new sign-on per month!
 All 500 of the Fortune 500 companies are represented in LinkedIn. In fact, 499 of them are
represented by director-level and above employees!
 It’s Facebook for serious minded business people.
 Houses world corporations and business leaders (Of Fortune 500 companies, SMEs, NGO etc)
 Free consultancy platform.
 You can reach the world and be reached.
 Has more than 14 million Business Owners.
 It’s the most untapped Business resource of all social networks.
What Can Corporate Nigeria Do with LinkedIn?
The following are some of what you can accomplish with LinkedIn:
1. Go beyond borders: Network with resource people locally and internationally.
2. Share information, Ideas and opportunities with 161,000,000 professionals! World’s largest
professional network on the Internet with 161 million members worldwide (As at February, 2012),
and still growing rapidly (That’s equivalent of the entire population of Africa’s most populous
country, Nigeria!)
3. Increase your visibility: let the world know what you do.
4. Meet professionals in your field to share and collaborate on projects and business opportunities.
5. Increase your chances of employment: LinkedIn is 21st century’s resume. Call it resume 2.0
6. 21st century recruiting platform for employers and head-hunters. Find great professionals (local
or expatriate) to recruit into your business: 80% of recruiters now use LinkedIn for head-
hunting!
7. 21st century Job finder’s platform for the under-employed/Unemployed.
8. Reduce your recruitment cost and increase your chances of short-listing a great staff.
9. Publish your articles, positive ideas and business concepts to business people: Publish or perish.
(NB: Be weary of sending unsolicited marketing messages to other users on LinkedIn)
10. Raise great Board members for your local brand: Or be invited to the board of great businesses.
11. Find yourself a great mentor or become someone’s great mentor.
12. Make your local business go “Glocal”: Think Big, Start small, and Scale up fast!
13. Promote your Brand: Use LinkedIn as your branding focal point.
14. Drive traffic to your existing business website.
15. Ask important questions, and help some find great answers on the platform.
16. LinkedIn connects you to your trusted contacts and helps you exchange knowledge, ideas, and
opportunities with a broader network of professionals.
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4. Why i really want Corporate Nigeria on LinkedIn?
 As at today (June 2012), Nigeria (Africa’s most populous country with 165million people) is
grossly underrepresented on LinkedIn with regard to Internet averages.
 Total number of LinkedIn visitors from Nigeria is lesser than 200,000! (According to the
statistics of LinkedIn visitors by country-Booleanblackbelt.com)
 There’s need for the global community to interact with corporate Nigeria: we need to forge better
strategic alliances, and cross pollinate our business thoughts and ideas with advanced business
communities. This can take place, real-time, on a daily bases. And there’s no better platform to
achieve all this other than LinkedIn.
 Corporate Nigeria can equally use this platform to disabuse the mind of the world about Nigeria
and Nigerians, as we project our positive/Professional side.
 I predict that someday, most Nigerian recruiters will use this platform for 90% of their
recruitment drive, because it’s cheaper, easier, faster and better. (The general implications of
this will be discussed in another article).
 Summing it all up, it is my belief that increased presence of corporate Nigeria on LinkedIn will
ultimately bring us prosperity as a country. (If we stay on the positive track in the usage of this
great platform).
 My dream is to see 5,000,000+ Nigerian professionals on LinkedIn by June 2015!
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5. LinkedIn Visitors by Country
Source:http://www.booleanblackbelt.com/2010/09/linkedin-demographics-and-visitor-statistics/
How Do i get Started (11 Baby Steps)?
1. Go to www.linkedin.com and sign-up. ( That is if you’re not already a member)
2. Upload your picture, insert you email and phone number-Your privacy is not an issue on LinkedIn!
3. Invite your existing contacts to join you. It’s a game of numbers! (Upload your Yahoo, Gmail, Ms-
Outlook contacts)
4. Sell your expertise and experience!-Describe your achievements and goals.
5. Write your summary-Stating WHY you joined LinkedIn (attracts like-minded people)
6. Join groups- You can join up to 50 groups of your choice.
7. Participate in group discussions- 15mins per day is enough. Discuss. Share. Collaborate.
8. Ask for recommendations – be recommended!
9. Promote and attend events.
10. Tip and trick – customise your public profile URL, make it your name!
11. Use the right keywords on LinkedIn! (watch out for my next article on “How to increase your
connection on LinkedIn”)
Testimonials and Co
How I Found My Dream Job Using LinkedIn, Forbes
"I conducted a LinkedIn search for the company and discovered that one of my former co-workers, a
direct connection, was connected to someone there through previous work experience..."
"...As you can guess, since I wrote this article, the former co-worker graciously introduced me and even
praised me (hallelujah!) to the person at my first-choice company. Two days later, I received a phone
call inviting me to schedule an interview. A week and a half later, I was hired." ~Avril David, an
energy and environment analyst for Project Performance Corporation (In Forbes)
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6. "You may not be surprised to learn that companies such as technology powerhouse Salesforce.com use
social networking sites to search for job candidates, but even buttoned-down firms such as Allstate
have gotten with the program. In fact, 40 percent of Fortune 100 companies use LinkedIn
specifically for that purpose. That’s why it’s critical to have a profile on LinkedIn..."
~CBS MoneyWatch
See you at the top.
By Leke Oshiyemi
HR-Expert| Recruiter | Conference Speaker: on Human Resources Mgt, Personal effectiveness and Social
Media/LinkedIn.
Let’s connect!
www.linkedin.com/in/lekeoshiyemi
www.twitter.com/lekeoshiyemi
www.facebook.com/lekeoshiyemi
lekeoshiyemi@gmail.com
http://lekeoshiyemi.blogspot.com
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