In honor of Valentine’s Day, here are 15 reasons why I love LinkedIn (and why you should too!).

PS – your success on LinkedIn is totally up to you – it’s all about how much effort you put into it and how consistent you are about building your network and your personal brand through high-impact, high-value content.

1. It’s all about career development, professional connections, industry discussions and other business-related activities.

2. It’s the largest and most effective social media platform for business professionals. With more than 800 million users around the globe, it’s the easiest way to reach others.

3. It gives you access — and makes you visible – to people from all around the world who can help you be successful.

4. It can help improve your Google search results. When someone googles you, your LinkedIn profile will show up at the top of the search results. Since most clicks go to the top three results, LinkedIn is the place where people will learn about you, underscoring its importance and power.

5. It can help you easily build your brand. LinkedIn is a simple way to put your name on the professional map by posting content in your niche.

6. It helps you stay in touch. You can easily maintain your professional relationships by being connected on LinkedIn as well as by using the Notifications section to engage with your connections on their job moves and anniversaries, professional milestones and more.

7. It helps you tap into industry news and provide valuable research on companies and its employees, including competitors.

8. It helps you grow professionally. I learn from others every day on LinkedIn. Make sure to follow your favorite creators by clicking the bell on their profiles to receive a notifcation when they post a new update.

9. It helps you find and track leads. There are so many LinkedIn tools that can help you get new clients.

10. It’s an efficient way to build your network. There is no better way to develop business relationships from all over the world right from your desk or mobile device. I have made friends through LinkedIn and have built strong relationships with people I’ve never actually met in person but yet I feel like I know them well – that’s the power of LinkedIn!

11. It’s free! You don’t have to spend a dime to take advantage of LinkedIn’s organic reach.

12. It is an effective job search tool. LinkedIn is where employers post new opportunities. Even if you’re not actively seeking a new job, you can set job alerts based on your career interests to regularly receive email updates and stay in the loop.

13. It is essentially a blog and website. Think of your LinkedIn profile as your homepage and your posts as blog posts. You don’t need a blog anymore because you can post long-form content and articles (like this one) on LinkedIn too.

14. It is evolving for the better. LinkedIn is constantly adding new features to accommodate its users such as Creator Mode, the featured section, LinkedIn newsletters and LinkedIn live.

15. It enables you to validate what you say about yourself via professional endorsements and recommendations. Use these in your social media campaigns and web site copy to underscore your market-leading position.

Many people underestimate the power of LinkedIn for brand building, job hunting and networking, and while they might have a profile, they don’t actively use the platform for networking, relationship building, business development, content creation and visibility.

I would not be where I am today without LinkedIn – so isn’t it time you started to use LinkedIn in earnest?

Why do you love LinkedIn?