LinkedIn is recognised as the B2B social media with a staggering global membership of over 120 million people.
It should be the place where savvy business net workers hang out, connect and form serious business relationships, right? I’ve considered for a while that the average LinkedIn user is the least sophisticated when compared with users of other social media, why might this be the case?
Well, perhaps because a larger part of the LinkedIn user base is made up of traditional business people, this traditional mindset is naturally going to try to employ more direct sales and marketing tactics on LinkedIn. I could continue to speculate but I’m not sure I would be any closer to the answer. So instead here are my 10 Reasons You’re LinkedIn, But Still Not Tuned In:
1. # You’re using your profile for your business
LinkedIn is a business networking tool. Remember people network with other people so ensure that you are using your profile in the correct manner, profiles are not for a business. Tip: You should use the companies page to add your business.
2. # You use the generic message to connect with people
Are you simply too lazy to add my name or give me a reason to connect with you? Just think about the message this sends out to everyone that you attempt to connect with! What does it say about you and how you represent your business?
3. # You indicate that someone is a friend even though they’ve never met you before
Again, this is sheer laziness when it comes to connecting. Claiming to be someone’s friend when you have never met that person before is both stupid and insulting.
4. # You try to sell stuff via the messages
OK, so now we have connected and what do you do, of course, you try to sell me and your other new connections stuff via the messages. Honestly, ask yourself! what are the chances?
5. # You abuse your contacts, by using them as a personal e-mail marketing list
Remind me again, when did I sign up to be on your e-mail list? Oh, that’s right I didn’t so stop abusing your connection with me in this manner.
6. # You automatically post all your tweets to LinkedIn
LinkedIn and Twitter are different communities with different expectations and cultures. Why then would you want to post all your tweets to LinkedIn? Surely it’s better to be selective and share only tweets that contain #in or #li. Tip: You can change these settings at any time be clicking “Edit” next to your Twitter account name.
7. # You ask for recommendations from people you don’t even know
If I don’t know you and if I haven’t worked with you previously, how can I in all honestly publicly vouch for you? I can’t so please don’t embarrass yourself by asking.
8. # You would rather spam than become an active member of the groups.
Groups provide an opportunity to engage and start to develop meaningful businesses relationships, yet many prefer to spend their time spamming the discussions instead. Why join a LinkedIn group if you don’t really want to become an active member?
9. # You post promotions and jobs in the discussions section
Groups have three tabs where members can post under, they are:
- discussions
- promotions
- jobs
This may seem fairly self explanatory but unfortunately it’s not for a great many people.
10. # You’ve created an account but you don’t use it
It continually amazes me the amount of people who go and set up their LinkedIn account and then just leave it unused and unloved. For all the ways that people continue to misuse and misunderstand LinkedIn, it remains a global networking platform full of opportunities for smart business people.
Thank you for reading,
Niall
