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New LinkedIn Freelance Marketplace
With over 750 million members, LinkedIn is undoubtedly a great place to network and do business. Its relevance has been further underscored by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced people to do more remote work. To continuously find leads and offer services, LinkedIn provided a professional platform to do these, which translated into an increase in revenue.
Businesses had to recalibrate fast and adapt to the work from the home set-up. This trend isn’t going away anytime soon, especially when the gig economy is booming. Time and different resources are significantly saved as well, allowing businesses to focus on other priority areas.
Today, Linkedin ramped up its efforts to attend to the needs of gigsters or freelance workers. It will introduce the LinkedIn freelance marketplace that enables users to find, connect, hire, and pay gigsters all on the Linkedin platform itself. This move is backed by the observation that there is a rise of people searching and requesting services amidst the pandemic. LinkedIn hopes to capitalize on this new way of working through the marketplace where gigsters can find work relevant to their skillset.
Official Statement From LinkedIn
LinkedIn spokesperson Suzi Owens said in a statement that the number of LinkedIn users who added “open for business” to their profiles has soared since the start of the pandemic. This badge on their profile picture suggests that they are openly looking for work which certainly worked thanks to the Microsoft-owned social networking platform. The marketplace will provide an avenue for white-collar jobs in marketing, design, and software development, among others.
According to the tech publication The Information, Microsoft is considering getting a portion of the transactions on LinkedIn Marketplaces, which is supposedly for launching this September. The Linkedin gig marketplace is supposed to take on Fiverr and Upwork—the two behemoths in the freelance marketplace field.
Aside from its functionality, what sets the LinkedIn freelance marketplace apart is the digital wallet that they are working on. The wallet makes LinkedIn a more attractive end-to-end solution in the gig economy as it can efficiently facilitate transactions.
It’s a matter of grasping how it works by navigating through it firsthand for the gigsters and ultimately making it one of the best apps for remote work where they can increase their visibility through the systems in place. This system includes employer review once the work is submitted, an opportunity for employers to pay for job ads, and an option to advertise for gigsters. Employing their users is an interesting change in direction for LinkedIn that continues to adapt its approach to the professional world.
Its features are pretty much the same with Fiverr and Upwork but with the data and user base of LinkedIn. Gigsters must prepare for this innovation by LinkedIn by building up their portfolio to highlight their most awesome projects, as this would speak louder than a resume. Choosing only around 10 works with their respective captions is advisable, including your role, scope, client, industry, and outcome. Rack your brain if you can come up with a new narrative by rearranging your works as needed.
Great News For Gigsters
One of the most asked questions in the gigster world is how much should a freelancer charge for their work. This is indeed a difficult question as it varies, but it would be best to base it on the industry-standard wherever you might be and guide your freelance fee with your desired annual income. Do not be afraid to set competitive prices, especially if you’re confident with the quality of your work. Finally, remember to set boundaries by clearly defining your working hours and planning for your day-offs.
Be brave to market yourself on LinkedIn and even on other social media platforms. Doing so could earn you good reviews that can increase your exposure. Take time to develop your communication strategy and content buckets to show what sets you apart. Like any business, you should be able to articulate your skills and expertise creatively. Take time to share tips about your craft, clarify industry misconceptions, and learn to produce how-to videos. These activities could grow your audience and help you gain bonus referrals. Once you’ve covered these tips, install your Gmail app on your desktop and turn on notifications to make sure you can readily respond if someone contacts you directly via email.
Final Conclusion
Indeed, the marketplace will become a promising platform for gigsters to leverage on the network of companies that frequent LinkedIn that can be considered potential clients. Regardless of your level in the freelance world, you can take advantage of the opportunities in the marketplace by doing the necessary research and investing time to stand out from the crowd.
Explore self-marketing activities by comprehensively branding yourself for your target audiences to connect and resonate with you. You are one step ahead of the game by intentionally creating and influencing public perception in preparation for the much-awaited marketplace created for nontraditional workers.
