When considering relevant content, network building and brand awareness, what better place to be social than LinkedIn. Here are a few of the benefits of having a presence there:

Share your expertise – With the launch of theLinkedIn share button, it has now caught up with Facebook in regards to bringing outside content in. Included in LinkedIn’s connected audience are 7.9M business decision makers, 4.2M corporate executives, 1.3M small business owners, The Huffington Post and Reuters.

Advertise your expertise – Use LinkedIn’s small text ads to win new business by answering questions in your field of expertise, promoting unique keyword-driven content, and targeting by job title, company or groups.

Extend the reach of your expertise – The new LinkedIn Today delivers the day’s top news, custom-tailored to you based on what your connections and industry peers are reading and sharing. It also allows for topical search functions with categorical filtering through industries, companies, etc.

Research other experts – Prepare for meetings. Gain valuable insights. Establish talking points. Look up everybody you can. Even small amounts of information about your prospective clients, your competition or industry leaders and mavericks can give you an edge in everything from conversations to sales.

Recruit the right experts – This is the core strength of LinkedIn. Search resumes, identify funding sources, research potential investors or simply find someone to fill your knowledge gap. The tools available here are invaluable to business growth.