LinkedIn is the largest professional networking tool in the world. The social platform not only allows you to connect with others in your industry, but it is also a great way to put yourself in front of consumers who may be interested in buying a policy from you.

Here are nine ways for insurance agents to use LinkedIn:

Attract connections through a well optimized profile.

Your profile should include a comprehensive title and summary. Just as you would with your website, use keywords that explain your business in detail.

Note: The more comprehensive your profile the better chance you have of ranking high in the LinkedIn search engine.

Believe it or not, this is how many people search for professionals throughout a variety of industries.

Add a profile image.

LinkedIn profiles with an image are seen as being more professional. If you have a LinkedIn profile but have yet to upload your headshot, there is no better time than now to do so.

This is a great way to add a personal touch to your profile, allowing others to connect with you on a deeper level. Also, an image also goes a long way in helping you establish trust. People like to put a name with a face.

Take advantage of groups.

Did you know that there is a LinkedIn group for almost every type of professional? In addition to general groups for insurance agents, you will likely find a few that are based on your particular geographic region.

Can’t find what you are looking for?

Don’t be shy about taking the initiative and starting your own group. When you start a group you are in control of the group. This allows you to use the platform to your advantage.

Actively connect with those in your network.

It only takes a few minutes to send a connection request to your current email contacts. The same holds true for connecting with current clients.

The more connections you have the better chance there is of getting your name in front of the right people. You never know who is going to come across your profile and realize that you may be able to help them with their insurance needs.

Take full advantage of a company blog.

With each post that you write on your blog, you can link to it from your LinkedIn page. This may not sound like a big deal, but soon enough you will find that your connections, as well as others, are clicking through to your website. Subsequently, they are now in position to learn more about your business and hopefully contact you about your products and services.

Integrate your Twitter feed.

This is a great way to stay in front of your connections and shed light to new efforts without having to publish them across both platforms.

Note: If your Twitter feed contains business and personal content, LinkedIn allows you to use a hash tag for posts you want to appear on your profile. Be sure to use this option to maintain a professionally focused profile.

Post job listings when seeking new talent.

LinkedIn has quickly become one of the top recruiting tools on the internet. You can search for prospective talent manually or use the site’s job listing options.

Add a link to your LinkedIn profile on your website and your email signature.

This allows your website visitors, prospects, and colleagues an opportunity to learn more about you and your company. It also provides as a source of authority, trust, and social proof.

Use LinkedIn Ads to generate new leads.

LinkedIn offers a pay-per-click ad network that provides the ability to hyper target an audience all the way down to one specific person/profile.

This is a great way to target decision makers that could net a high value group health or commercial P&C sale.

If you don’t yet have a LinkedIn profile, you should be more excited than ever about creating one.

With more than 150 million users, this is one of the most powerful networking tools in the world.

Best yet, you never have to pick up the phone or leave home to get involved.

As you begin to learn more about LinkedIn, you will find that tens of thousands of agents are actively using the service to their advantage.

By focusing on these tips, you can have the best results for your time investment.

Some insurance agents use LinkedIn on a daily basis. Others only sign in from time to time. Regardless of your future plans, it all starts with creating a profile.