LinkedIn is a leading global web-based social network, now managed by Microsoft, that specializes in professional and career networking. Among other things, users (private individuals and companies) can maintain business contacts or establish new business relationships, follow and post news, upload job advertisements, filter and search according to specific criteria and apply for jobs. The paid premium version gives users access to additional functions, such as a complete overview of people who have visited and viewed their profile.

In contrast to Xing, which focuses on the German-speaking DACH regions, LinkedIn has an international focus. The business network, which is available in 24 languages, claims to have over 660 million users in 193 different regions and countries (as at 2020).

Social selling refers to the development and expansion of a customer relationship with the help of social networks, which can be part of a sales strategy, for example for lead generation. Social networks such as LinkedIn are therefore used as lead platforms. Through appropriate behavior, such as the posting of images or text contributions, interested parties can be searched for, found, understood, contacted and the relationship with them maintained.

This is by no means a matter of aimlessly sending heaps of private messages and posts, but rather of responding to the needs of interested parties or potential customers at the right moment and thus achieving relevant interactions.

A LinkedIn course provides you with tips and tricks and the necessary skills and expertise for a successful online presence and targeted social selling.

The course shows how to build an online business and career network with international reach on LinkedIn. This includes the procedure for creating a profile and making new contacts in order to increase your own visibility and the visibility of a company or brand. After all, anyone who cannot be found online these days, or who does not present themselves in the best possible light, does not stand a good chance in any respect. Job searches, job exchanges, recruitment, branding, etc. now take place not only on the World Wide Web but also on platforms such as LinkedIn.

The LinkedIn course explains how a focused and professional exchange with customers, contacts, interested parties, future employers and employees is possible.

Depending on the type of course, various topics relating to the business platform can be covered. The following topics are often addressed:

• General introduction: development, functions, features, etc.
• Use as a business platform: Industry-specific use
• Use and benefits for private individuals and companies
• LinkedIn as a sales and marketing tool: social selling, storytelling, social media marketing, content marketing, B2B and B2C marketing
• LinkedIn and search engine optimization (SEO)
• Profile creation, profile maintenance and profile optimization for private individuals and companies and their products, services, etc.
• Personal branding and positioning for individuals, companies, products and services
• Building a career network: do's and don'ts of the approach
• Increase in follower numbers and interactions
• Language, internal and external communication
• LinkedIn as a recruitment tool
• Insight into the guidelines, security and data protection

A LinkedIn course is basically aimed at anyone interested in learning more about the social business network and being able to use it professionally. Depending on the type of course, no prior knowledge is required.

There are also course formats that are specifically aimed at people who already perform operational tasks in the relevant areas such as communication, marketing, social media, etc.. The aim here is to show how LinkedIn can be used optimally and effectively for a company, for example.