Many of our clients think LinkedIn is just for recruitment or irrelevant as “it isn’t where they’ll find their patients”. Like a lot of social media platforms though, it’s not until you start digging a little deeper that you start to discover some really useful functions.

This isn’t a hints and tips blog on how to generate more leads for your clinic, or help you bypass expensive recruitment fees to employ the most skilled workers for your practice. It is, however, an explanation of one really nifty function of LinkedIn to help you engage with like-minded individuals in the dental industry, provide support and an opportunity to share and learn best practices.

If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, you really should. LinkedIn will enable you to connect with old and new colleagues alike in order to get a flavour of what activity, thoughts and events are happening within dentistry and with your peers. Unlike other social media platforms, LinkedIn only focuses on business activity.

In addition, there is a really great function called ‘groups.’ LinkedIn groups are forums for professionals in the same industry, or with shared interests, to find answers to recurring problems, share relevant content and learn from more experienced peers.

You can search and view already established groups, or create your own. Have you ever wished you could get instant, credible advice from well informed and experienced peers to help in your decision making process, or to share their experiences of similar growing pains that you are going through?

You can create a group and invite colleagues to engage with you. Other members can join and engage in conversations and create new topics. But crucially, because of the shared interest or industry, the conversations and posts will be far more relevant and interesting than your general news feed. It is being part of an instant community with others who understand the responsibilities and stresses of being a dental professional.

So, a bit like the chat rooms of yesteryear internet (for those of us who remember!), groups will filter out all the noise from your LinkedIn experience, and provide online spaces to connect with others in the dental industry – sharing and supporting each other – right from the end of your smartphone.

If you do not have a LinkedIn profile, or you do not use groups, you are missing out on an instant supportive network. To learn more about getting the most of your online presence, get in touch.