Three Reasons to Get on LinkedIn Now

Can you recall the last time you logged into your LinkedIn account? In the past, LinkedIn may have been seen as  just a hiring tool, but it has become a powerhouse for business owners and is essential to growing your practice. Your LinkedIn profile can be one of the initial places potential new patients find you, so making a positive first impression is key.  

Three reasons why you should update your LinkedIn profile today: 

• Build Your Personal Brand: A well-crafted profile can highlight your optometric skills, experience, work history, educational background, and testimonials and can help bring business opportunities and more optical industry connections. Check out these articles, 4 Tips for Turning Your LinkedIn Profile into a Powerful Marketing Tool and 15 Ways to Boost Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn, to learn how to effectively create your personal profile.  Here are a few quick tips to help you get started:
  • Showcase your professional accomplishments, such as practice ownership and involvement in community and professional associations.
  • Update your profile photo with a professional-looking headshot—no sunglasses or hats! Post a clear picture of your face, professional, yet friendly.
  • Accept and send connection requests to build your network. 

• Attract and Hire Staff: We understand you’re busy and finding time to hire staff can feel overwhelming. LinkedIn is a great tool to attract and hire new employees. Try setting up a free company page, which is a profile page for your business. You can share high-level information about your practice to help engage new employees and post job openings with information about the roles available. There are also paid recruiting resources available if you have the budget for it.
  • Tips for creating a LinkedIn profile for your practice: 
    • Create an engaging “about me” section and tell your story. This will keep potential new patients interested in learning more about your practice.  
    • Provide an employee list by adding an employee as your teammate to the top of your LinkedIn home page, highlighting your company structure. 
    • Regularly update your page with the latest content. You can add new promotions or share thought leadership articles that relate to eye health.  
    • Be your own recruiter! LinkedIn is a great tool for proactive job applicant outreach.  

• Connect with Colleagues: Building a LinkedIn network is a great opportunity to connect with colleagues, potential patients, and new employees. Growing your connections can lead to a larger network and more opportunities for your business. Be sure to accept all connection requests—you never know where it might lead. 
  • Suggested connections to get started: 
    • Follow businesses you work with, such as: VSP Vision, VSP Ventures, Marchon, Bausch and Lomb, HOYA, Kering Eyewear, Tura, ZEISS, WestGroupe, WEAVE, Solutionreach, Maui Jim, and Modo. 
    • Follow optometric associations and industry accounts like Eyecare Business, Review of Optometric Business, etc. 
    • Connect with prominent optical industry leaders and other practicing ODs who might be recommended to you. 

Find out more about how Premier Pathways supports you with recruiting and matching services: careers.odpaths.com 

^{1. “15 Ways to Boost Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn.” Searchenginejournal.com  
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/social-media/linkedin-personal-brand/#close} 

^{2. “4 Tips for Turning Your LinkedIn Profile Into a Powerful Marketing Tool.” LinkedIn.com 
https://www.linkedin.com/business/marketing/blog/content-marketing/4-tips-for-turning-your-linkedin-profile-into-a-powerful-marketing}