Social Media: Your new #BBF (best business friend)

Social media is a love-hate relationship for most professionals, as either either joyfully embraced or begrudgingly gave in to Facebook and Twitter for their businesses. Many however, have ignored another social media platform that could prove equally or even more successful for them. While giants Facebook and Twitter have dominated the conversation and taken the spotlight, LinkedIn has quietly doubled in users over the last year.

In fact, LinkedIn is gaining two members every second. It is currently valued at $12 billion and it was largest initial public offering since Google at the time of its IPO.

So what? You may be thinking, "I'm tired of seeing what people ate for dinner or how their son did in his soccer game. I don't want to be forced to get on Instagram or Pinterest because that's where my daughter is. Can't we just pick up the phone like the good 'ol days? I really don't think I can bear another social media platform."

Well, let me tell you why you should.

1. LinkedIn members have the highest household incomes of any social media platform with an average of $109,000 annually. (Facebook is $69,000; Twitter is $60,000.)

2. LinkedIn boasts more top executives than any other platform with executives from all 2012 Fortune 500 companies.

3. LinkedIn means business. Its self-proclaimed title is the world's largest professional network with 187 million members in over 200 countries. Its talent solutions are used by 85 of the Fortune 100 companies.

4. LinkedIn is on pace to surpass 5.3 billion professionally-oriented searches this year.

5. A recent Hubspot study found LinkedIn 277 percent more effective for lead generation than Facebook or Twitter.

So now you may be patting yourself on your back because you post job openings on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is so much more than that! New capabilities have made it far more powerful for much more than job-hunting. It is now a resource for landing new clients, developing new business, gleaning relevant industry information and news, getting feedback, marketing businesses, networking, building relationships, and sharing business-related information.

What do you need to do?

1. Profile.

Create an account and a profile for you personally. Start by deciding the primary purpose for your use of LinkedIn and identify the key words or phrases most important to you and your company to promote.

* Make sure those key words are in five places in your profile:

* Headline, current experience, past experience, summary, specialties, and a nice professional photo.

* Go through the guided steps to complete your profile: Your experience, skills, awards, education, interests and contact information.

* Make your summary relevant to those you want to do business with and include:

* Who you are, who you help, what you do (your services or products)

* Call to action with your website

* Don't just stick with the default setting calling your Web site "Web site"

* Call your site something applicable such as "Best Reno PR Firm (OK, I admit that was a bit self-serving)

* Add your Twitter and Facebook pages if you have them and your blog if you have one.

2. Connections

Connect with people you know.

* Start by importing contacts from your email.

* Search for friends, colleagues and classmates and invite them to join your network.

* Check out who those in your network are connected to and invite them to join your network.

* Get more connections by adding your LinkedIn link to your email signature, Facebook, Twitter and blog.

* Check your inbox for people inviting you to join their networks.

3. Groups and discussions

This is my favorite LinkedIn function! Search for groups relevant to your business- financial advisors seeking doctors, look for doctors groups.

* After joining groups, view what groups LinkedIn recommends you may want to join based on your preferences.

* Follow conversations that may provide you an opportunity to share some of your expertise. This is where the lead generation comes in.

* Manage your settings so you can receive information they way you want it - daily, weekly, via email and so on.

4. Engagement

* Start conversations. For example if you are considering new software ask your colleagues what they've used and recommend.

* Post updates on your profile to stay top of mind and in front of your target audience, share links to interesting articles, news and information in your industry.

5. Answers

Utilize the Answers section to ask questions and view questions and answers from others on topics relevant to your business.

6. Companies

Follow companies that you respect and see how they are utilizing LinkedIn.

7. Company Profile

Create a profile for your business. Like your personal profile, LinkedIn will walk you through the process with questions.

8. Applications

LinkedIn offers a wide array of applications you can plug in for everything from linking to your blog, conducting polls or hosting events.

9. Jobs

And, of course career functions of LinkedIn. Again, this is the largest network of professionals. You can post jobs, seek talent, or career options for yourself. Jobs automatically targets the most relevant candidates with matching algorithms and profile data. There is a fee to post a job across the network but you can post them for free within groups that you are a part of.

10. Advertising

LinkedIn now offers advertising opportunities with a minimum budget of $10 a day.

A recent article on TheBuildNetwork aptly summed it up: "If you and your executive team are missing from LinkedIn, then it's the 1990s equivalent of not having a corporate web site. You may not be the only one, but you're missing out on a key advantage: The chance to boost your credibility and prominence. It is no longer an option. It's a must!"

Tierra Bonaldi is a principal at The Impetus Agency, a Reno-based public relations and social media agency.