When LinkedIn first hit the Internet in 2003, jobseekers and HR professionals were the primary, if not the only, users. It was a place to stick a digital resume and not much more. A lot has changed since then—but users haven’t kept pace, says marketer John Nemo, who uses LinkedIn as a publishing platform and a personal branding machine.

“Your content is now your sales pitch,” says Nemo, who is based in Woodbury. “LinkedIn has now enabled you to be pitching all the time to people you don’t even know.”

Nemo runs a marketing agency, Nemo Media Group, for debt collection agencies, of all things. He started using LinkedIn to generate business in 2013 and brought in $288,000 in revenue that year. Six months into 2014, revenue is already at $301,000—almost all of it from clients met through LinkedIn.

So what’s the secret? Is he gaming the system? No. The key, he says, is to use all the features the social network has to offer. Instead of treating LinkedIn as a virtual resume, users should modify their profiles so they are client-facing and full of personality. Members can upload articles and videos and share them with 300 million other professionals on the site.

Nemo suggests businesses looking for leads address questions such as: What can you do to help a client’s business? Do you mesh well with the company culture? What do you have in common on a personal level that can help break the ice?

Making a meaningful personal question is “how business has always been done—since we were in caves,” Nemo explains. “Do you have personality? Do you have a pulse? Are you a diva? You couldn’t do that electronically. You had to meet someone in person.”

Taking the time to interact within the network allows potential business partners to get an idea of who you are and what you can do, Nemo says. It’s like Facebook in a suit and tie.