Although LinkedIn is one of the most powerful social media platforms for professionals across all industries, there are still a lot of myths about how to use it effectively. To help you fully take advantage of this great platform, here are the most pervasive misconceptions about LinkedIn:

1. You are only allowed to connect to people you know well

Although the best connections are those with end goals of building relationships, you should feel free to invite people to connect with you even if they are not your best friends. Nonetheless, the best way to make connections on LinkedIn is to send personalized invitation or ask people in your network to make introductions.

2. There are hidden features that get unlocked when you hit 500 connections

When you hit 500 connections, LinkedIn will stop displaying the number of connections in your profile. However, nothing substantial will happen when you go beyond this number of connections. The secret is to focus on both quantity and quality. Developing quality relationships with your networks will open up more opportunities with other like-minded professionals in your industry.

3. You don’t need a company page because your company is small

Company pages in LinkedIn rank highly in search results and having one that lists basic information about your business is a great step to take. Nonetheless, the real value of having a company page is using it as a publishing tool. Posting insightful articles, updates, and other types of content on your business will help your company earn a lot of exposure and credibility.

4. You don’t need to post on LinkedIn because you are already doing a lot of promotion on Facebook.

The truth is, it is hard for company content on LinkedIn to compete with content posted on Facebook, where users log in to see photos of babies, cats, and vacations, and not necessarily updates from your business. Users on LinkedIn are serious and mean business all the time. Moreover, you company’s content has more chances of being viewed on LinkedIn as a simple status update is likely to reach 20 percent of your followers.

Bottom-line

People flock to LinkedIn with a wide range of preconceived notions. A bigger percentage do what they feel will help them derive meaning of the platform. How you maneuver and get the most out this site, therefore, depends on your observations, reflections, and interpretation. Once you have learned how to use LinkedIn, and tested various insights, you will judge for yourself. The best way to debunk common LinkedIn myths and realize the needed success, therefore, is through actual experience. Watching LinkedIn marketing videos can help you further fine-tune your LinkedIn skills.