I work with business professionals every day. And throughout my travels as a professional trainer, coach, and consultant, I’m often surprised by the number of people who dismiss social media and tell me they don’t need it. (And yes, you’re correct: many of them are, ahem, a wee bit older…) When I ask them to elucidate, I usually get an eye roll and some excuse about “not seeing the benefits” for their particular professional circumstances.

But I tell them I’m not talking about posting pictures of their dogs or their children on Facebook. (Not that we don’t all love seeing adorable pets and cute kids…) The social media that I’m talking about (and promoting) allows you to do at least four essential things:

• Discover new ideas and trends
• Connect with existing and new audiences in deeper ways
• Bring attention and traffic to your work
• Build, craft, and enhance your professional brand

And, perhaps most importantly, it’s estimated that 81 percent of American adults have at least one social media profile. That means eight out of ten of your colleagues and associates (both the ones you know and the ones you have yet to meet) are on social media. No matter what you do for a living, or who your audience is (customers, clients, guests, students, or patients), social media is a great way to make and keep professional connections.

(For some eye-opening statistics, check these out from Blue Corona.)

Let’s take a look at how the three major social media channels will benefit you professionally. And since I want to keep my posts short, sweet, and readable, I’m going to do two things: we’ll stick with Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter for now, and we’ll leave Instagram and Snapchat for another time; and I’m dividing this article into two parts. We’ll cover LinkedIn today, and we’ll tackle Twitter and Facebook in two weeks (September 12^th), so stay tuned.

Before we begin: Even though I’m here to sing the benefits of using social media, there are definitely a few pitfalls to avoid. I’m going to assume that you’re far too smart to be caught using a selfie from your frat party as your LinkedIn profile pic or posting radical and inflammatory pieces on your Facebook account. Faux pas like these will actually damage your professional reputation, rather than strengthen it.

And one quick word of caution: If you don’t work for yourself, be aware of your employer’s policies about the use of social media—more and more corporations are instituting or revising stricter policies, which, believe it or not, is their right.

LinkedIn

As a business professional today, you must have a profile on LinkedIn if you’re serious about having a social media presence. At last check, LinkedIn has 500 million members across the globe, and unless you’ve taken a social media seminar or hired a professional media consultant to help you, you may not be optimizing your LinkedIn presence to its fullest capacity.

Many people simply take LinkedIn for granted. Perhaps you’ve created a cursory LinkedIn profile and then forgotten about it—until you suddenly have to look for a job. But it’s often too late at that point. Just like using a fire extinguisher or an airline life vest, you’re far better off learning to use LinkedIn when you don’t need it. And in fact, LinkedIn staff members will tell you their site works best when you employ it as a career management tool, and not just for job hunting.

Expanding your network and influence

LinkedIn offers many ways to expand your network by finding and connecting you with relevant professionals in your industry. The key is to locate, approach, and connect with people you already know, others you’d like to know, and as many as possible whom you should know. It’s also a good idea to post your own content, showcasing your expertise, on a regular basis.

Use the recommendation feature to give (and receive) recommendations to people you’ve worked with in the past. However, in order to protect your professional integrity, you should give recommendations only to people whose work you are willing to vouch for. Therefore, if anything makes you hesitate, find a gentle way to turn down a recommendation request. Also, do not feel awkward about asking for a quid pro quo and getting a recommendation in return.

Looking for a job

LinkedIn is probably the most powerful tool out there for finding a job. The beauty of it is that you can track specific companies, people, and job openings. It’s a good idea to spend some time practicing with the search features that let you drill down into networks of people, companies, and job postings—before you actually find yourself in job-hunt mode.

When you’re looking for a new job, numbers do matter these days, so take some take time to build your network. But be sure to do it in a smart way. Mass blasting invitations at complete strangers in the hopes of connecting with either them, or with the people they’re connected with, is not a good strategy. Instead, look for legitimate connections you have with people—your alma mater, or people in your specific industry, for example—and reach out with an invitation to connect that includes a personal note.

Up next: Twitter and Facebook. Catch you in two weeks!