LinkedIn to Business Success with Alex Pirouz

When talking about social media and networking for business, most of us think of Facebook and Instagram, but how many of us are utilising LinkedIn as well?

For many years, LinkedIn has been seen, for the most part, as a recruitment platform. You could set up a profile, upload your resume and hope to get noticed. However, just as the business world is evolving at a rapid rate of knots, as is LinkedIn. There is massive potential in this underused platform to excel your career and Alex Pirouz is here to show you how.

Alex has been an entrepreneur since the age of 13, having tried his hand (and unfortunately losing out on) four businesses by the age of 26. However, in true entrepreneurial spirit, Alex did not give up and was able to successfully scale and then sell his next two businesses. His passion for helping people evolved into his next venture, an advisory firm, where he learned the power of clever networking and relationship building through LinkedIn after a mentor suggested he take a closer look at the platform.

In just six months, Alex had made 330 meaningful connections and had begun connecting with four major publications, such as Entrepreneur, Huffington Post, Forbes, Hubspot and Business Insider, for which he was then able to write for. He began to have more queries about LinkedIn than for his advisory firm, so he pivoted his business to become Linkfluencer – teaching others how to build their brand and thrive in a competitive market through effectively utilising LinkedIn.

He made it his mission to transform social selling, unlocking the potential for this platform to propel other entrepreneurs and career-driven individuals to the next level.

LinkedIn’s evolution

When Alex first began teaching people about LinkedIn six years ago, it still served simply as a space for holding an online resume. However, two years ago, Microsoft bought the platform and things began to change significantly. There are now over 700 million users worldwide.

One of the main differences is the ability to add content, which Alex believes is one of the key success factors for effectively utilising a LinkedIn profile.

“Some of the biggest positives people find with LinkedIn, as opposed to other social media platforms, is that they are learning and getting content from some of the best creators in the world and they are getting educated. They are able

to make solid business connections, as opposed to Facebook, where people are posting up stuff about their morning coffee or meeting up with friends,” Alex said.

“Building your personal brand and influence is a big goal for a lot of people, and if you are a business, there is no better platform to do that than LinkedIn.”

How to build your career through LinkedIn

Whether you are looking for a new career, building your personal branding or seeking prospects for your company, LinkedIn is immensely valuable. A great LinkedIn profile will showcase not only your qualifications and experiences, but who you are as a person and what you can bring to an organisation on a broad scale.

“You can write whatever you want on your resume, but a good profile picture, a good story about who you are, your experiences, recommendations and endorsements, the people you follow, the content you are putting up – that can’t happen on a resume. Sharing your journey – that can’t happen on a piece of paper,” Alex said.

“You’ve got to have your online footprint in order, otherwise you are just not going to make it. It shows you are progressive, which is what a lot of companies are looking for now.”

How do you use LinkedIn to excel in your career?

1. Be proactive – do your research

2. Be aware of the sales process – make the connection, but don’t be pushy

3. Connect only with relevant people

4. Share quality content

5. Be clear on your desired outcome

To read more from Alex head over to www.yourcareermagazine.com